Poll: 70% of Americans Fear Sports Betting Hurts Integrity

Poll: 70% of Americans Fear Sports Betting Threatens Game Integrity

A new NBC DecisionDesk poll highlights growing public concern that the rapid expansion of sports betting in the United States is undermining the integrity of games.

With scandals already emerging in major leagues and suspicions rising among fans, the findings underscore how legalization and monetization of wagering are reshaping perceptions of fair play.

Growing Concerns as Sports Betting Spreads

As sports betting continues to spread in America, concerns continue to grow regarding the potential, if not inevitable, impact of wagering on the integrity of the games.

Poll Results on Integrity and Game Fixing

Via NBCNews.com, a new NBC DecisionDesk Poll found that 70 percent of those responding at least "somewhat agree" that sports gambling lessens the integrity of the game. In all, 36 percent "somewhat agree" and 34 percent "strongly agree."

Also, 63 percent are at least "somewhat concerned" that sports betting "will lead to games being fixed or rigged." More specifically, 34 percent were "somewhat concerned" and 29 percent were "very concerned."

The poll covered 20,252 adults, with responses harvested from November 20 to December 8. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.

Legalization, Normalization and Recent Scandals

The results underscore the growing sense that the ongoing legalization (40 states and D.C.), normalization, and monetization of sports betting will create problems. It already has, as evidenced by recent scandals in the NBA and MLB.

NFL Suspicion and League Contradictions

The NFL has yet to endure a major controversy. However, pro football fans have become increasingly suspicious about the fix being in. It's the precise concern the NFL articulated, in the days when it hated sports betting. (You know, before it realized how much money could be made from it.)

Comments Fueling Conspiracy Theories

Here's a good point Simms made during Thursday's discussion on PFT Live regarding the Puka Nacua livestream comments about officials. Even though his claim that NFL officials call penalties simply to get air time seemed to be a joke, the two hosts reacted as if he meant it. Comments like that legitimize tinfoil-hat conspiracies, potentially converting them into mainstream thought.

That's the real problem with what Nacua said. His specific criticisms of officials were hyperbolic, if not cartoonish. But with so many people now subjectively believing the fix is in, anything a player says to support this thinking — no matter how preposterous it may be — becomes ammunition to confirm the fanciful notion that something fishy is going on.

Integrity Risks in a Betting-Driven Era

And who knows what's really going on? I refuse to entertain the notion that the NFL rigs games. However, it's impossible to rule out the possibility that specific individuals have, for whatever reason, become compromised. By gambling debt. Or by the lure of easy money.

Regardless, the proliferation of sports betting has consequences. And they may have been unintended, but no one can credibly claim they were unforeseen.