Gen Zers and Millennials account for 88% of betting activity

• Bank of America is noting a steady increase in online sports betting adoption in July
• Gen Zers and Millennials account for 88% of all gamblers on sports
• One in five Americans now views sports betting as a legitimate financial strategy

New research by Bank of America has looked into cross-generational gambling habits and behavior, establishing that 88% of all sports gambling activity today comes from two generations: Gen Zers and Millennials.

The findings come at a time when a growing cohort of young people are turning to mainstream sports betting and sports event contracts as part of what they consider an investment strategy, although there is a clear gambler’s fallacy in this claim.

Adoption of online gambling increase rapidly in July

According to Bank of America, about 5% of its customers participated in online gambling in July, but consumer adoption increased by 40% in the month, compared to the start of the year.

The bank was similarly able to analyze the profile of those who participate in betting and confirmed that men continue to gamble more than women.

"According to a recent CivicScience survey, over a third of those who partake in online sports betting did so weekly and almost a quarter placed bets daily (Exhibit 3). Women were less likely to report doing so frequently (i.e., daily or weekly) compared to men," BofA said in a research note that was viewed by TheStreet.

The bank determined that 37% of wagers were placed by people in lower-income accounts, with middle-income accounts constituting 34% of the activity, and high-income accounts accounting for 29% of all bets.

In July in particular, 48% of all bets were placed by Gen Zers, with Millennials bringing in another 40% of the total. Gen Xers only account for 9% of the total wagers, followed by Baby Boomers with 3%. Bank of America had an explanation for this phenomenon:

Younger generations better at winning - but can't break even

"Younger consumers have generally been quicker to adopt emerging digital platforms, including crypto, buy now pay later (BNPL) products, and online marketplaces."

However, being young and tech-savvy did not mean you would win - with the average return set at less than 75 cents on the dollar. Notably, Gen Zers were the generation to win most often, but still could not break even.

Gen Zers generated about 82 cents on the dollar, followed by Millennials. Interestingly, high-income Gen Zers who gambled actually had higher returns than their middle- and low-income peers.

20% of Americans now actually view sports gambling as a form of investment, which is not the product’s intended use.

"Despite the lack of profitability, investing and betting appear increasingly blurred for some consumers," BofA said.

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