Sports betting might be driving the US hungry, study claims

• A new study finds that sports betting states see a decline in food-insufficient households among sports bettors
• In addition, healthcare bills have also increased in these states, with researchers pointing out a $130m jump in health-related expenses
• Even though the study focuses on sports betting as a potential driver, the researchers acknowledge that proving a causal relationship is hard all the same

A new paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) suggests that there may be a direct correlation between states that have legalized sports gambling and what the researchers call food-insufficient households in these regulated jurisdictions.

Are sports betting states, and sports bettors, more likely to be hungry?

The paper, called Wagering the Bread Money: Sports Betting Legalization and Food Sufficiency, suggests that the arrival of sports betting is associated with over 284,000 additional food-insufficient households, and it may be pushing healthcare bills up by an estimated $130.2m.

The researchers specifically found that the people affected by this were sports bettors, with household food insufficiency dropping by 10.5% for the target group compared ot a drop of just 2.1% for working-age adults.

In other words, bleeding too much money on sports betting may already be depriving householdsof food items, as a way to tighten their purses and save up. The NBER, however, was aware that proving a direct causal relationship was difficult and that researchers had to rely on self-reported food insufficiency data, which further complicated matters.

The researchers also noted that declines in food sufficiency were most prominent among households with adults who are between the ages of 25-44 and racial and ethnic minorities.

"Our findings have important policy implications, especially considering upcoming major sports events in the United States, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games," the researchers noted.

To arrive at its conclusion, the NBER has tapped data from the Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This is not the only survey and research to assess how sports betting is affecting people’s basic needs and spending. A 2025 US News survey found that 30% of sports bettors have, in fact, missed a bill payment because of placing wagers.

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