By Noah Jennings
Recent studies show that gambling rates have been steadily rising in the U.S. To some University of Louisville students, this isn’t a bad thing, but there needs to be moderation.
A consumer poll conducted by the American Gaming Association showed that more than half of American adults participated in some form of gambling in 2023, and 49% of Americans visited a casino between 2023 and 2024, a record level of casino visitation.
Additionally, the poll found that more than half of Americans view gambling as personally acceptable.
U of L student Logan Jones agrees with this sentiment.
“It’s your choice to spend your money, but I think there needs to be some restrictions where you can’t spend an insane amount of money in there,” said Jones.
Jones claimed that alcohol being sold in casinos leads to casino guests gambling more.
“You can get in there and get drunk, and your mind can get messed up, and you just gamble away so much money that you’ve pretty much destroyed yourself,” said Jones.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, alcohol can impact gambling behaviors, as it leads to impaired judgment and decision-making and increased risk-taking. It was also found that the consumption of alcohol leads to greater spending on gambling activities.
The legalization of sports betting has helped increase gambling rates. In 2018, the federal ban on sports betting was considered unconstitutional in the Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association case.
Thirty-eight states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have legalized sports betting in some way as of 2025.
U of L student Evan Devin doesn’t see sports betting as an inherent issue.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing, but you have to keep it in check,” said Devin. “I see friends do it a lot.”
In 2023, the total number of sports wagers was $121.1 billion, with 94% of wagers taking place online. 22% of Americans have an active online sports betting account, this including nearly half of men ages 18-49.
Devin believes that sports betting has effectively changed how sports fans and audiences view sports.
“I feel like people focus on the betting aspect and the money aspect of sports more so nowadays,” said Devin.
Devin added that sports fans will bet on teams that they personally don’t follow or care about so that they can win money.
“I feel like people will bet on things that they don’t even watch just because they can bet on it,” said Devin. “You might not even be a fan of this team, but you might watch it just because you have money on it.”
