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By WAYNE PARRY and EMILY SWANSON Associated Press
ATLANTIC CITY N N N N J (AP) — Scrambling to fill out a a a a a a March Madness bracket? Betting lunch money that you can pinpoint the Final Four better than co-workers or or family?
Good luck! You’re among about one- third of Americans who at least occa- sionally bet on on on sports among friends or or or through an office pool according to a a a a a a a poll released Wednesday by The Asso- ciated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research Still with all all the the the action on on the the the NCAA men’s basketball tournament the the the survey finds less support for legal betting on on college sports than on on on the the pros Six in in in in in 10 in in in in the the the survey want betting on on on profes- sional sports to be be legal in in in their state far more than the the 42 percent who feel that way about college college athletics This is is the the first college college basketball championship since the the the Supreme Court cleared the the the way last year for states to offer legal sports betting if they choose Eight states currently allow the the wagers: Delaware Mississippi Nevada New Jersey Pennsylvania Rhode Island West Virginia and and New Mexico where sports bets are are done through a a a a a a a a a tribal compact Many more states are are considering sports betting Eilers & Krejcik Gaming which tracks sports sports gambling legislation estimates that sports sports betting will be be legal in in 39 states by the end of 2023 The company estimates $15 2 2 2 billion in in sports sports bets would be be be made on on on the NCAA tournament alone if sports sports betting was legalized across the the country Among those who say they’re very interested in in in in sports sports 69 percent think betting on on professional sports sports should be be legal and 52 percent say the same about college sports sports Among those who are not very interested in in in sports sports sports 50 percent percent fa- vor betting on on pro sports sports sports and 38 percent percent support wagers on on college sports sports Men are somewhat more likely than women to support gambling on profes- sional sports 65 percent percent percent percent to 56 percent percent percent percent Forty-five percent percent percent percent of of men men and 40 percent percent percent percent of of women think betting on college sports should be legal legal Support for legal legal sports betting ap- pears to cross political party lines: 65 percent percent of of Democrats and 59 percent percent of of Republicans want legal betting on on on pro- fessional sports while only 47 percent percent of of Democrats and 41 percent percent of of Repub- licans think it should be be legal to bet on college sports “People should be able to do what they want with their money ” said Karen Warnshuis of Clovis California where sports sports betting is is is not legal “If they they want to to bet bet on sports sports then they they should be be be able to to ” The 57-year-old co-owner of a a a a a con- struction business also favors allowing legal wagers on on collegiate athletics although she worries about possible cheating “The one thing I don’t like about sports betting is it becomes questionable whether teams or or individual players might do something bad ” she said “But then that could have been happening before legal sports betting too ” Shelley Matthews a a a a a a a a a a 70-year-old from Dallas Texas is against betting on any level of sports “Gambling is not a a a a a a a good idea ” he said “I don’t don’t gamble and I I don’t don’t know any- body who does ” He too worried about the possibility of of games being fixed if large amounts of of money were riding on on them and said many people gamble more than they can afford harming their families and communities Arturo Isla a a a a a a 69-year-old banker from Jacksonville Florida opposes wager-
ing on on any level of of sports due in in large part to the the experience of of a a a a a a a a family friend whose marriage broke up He said the the friend’s husband was a a a a a a a a a a a a heavy gambler Isla said he he he understands the ratio- nale of legalizing taxing and and regulating sports betting to help reduce control
of the activity by organized crime and offshore internet sites “That’s valid but just because some-
thing is legal doesn’t mean there aren’t negative aspects to it it ” he he he said “People can can get addicted and and it it can can affect their their personal lives and and their families ” Betting among friends or through of- fice pools is currently the the most popular form of of sports betting according to the the survey Thirty-six percent of of Americans say say they they do that at at at least least occasionally while 20 percent say say they’ve at at at at least least oc- casionally placed bets at at casinos and 10 percent through betting or or or fantasy sports websites or apps But the the poll also found most people say they currently never gamble on on sports including online (89 percent) percent) at casinos (79 percent) percent) percent) or or or among friends (63 percent) percent) No more than 5 percent percent percent of Americans say they frequently take part in in any of of those forms of of sports betting In general the poll found most Amer- icans consider gambling to be a a a a a a problem but not a a a a a a a a major major one About 2 in in in in in 10 think gambling is a a a a a a major major problem problem in in in in in in in the U S now 6 in in in in in in in 10 10 think think it’s it’s a a a a a a a minor problem problem and about 2 in in in in in 10 10 think think it’s it’s not a a a a prob- lem The AP-NORC poll of 1 1 1 063 adults was conducted March 14 to 18 using a a a a a a a sample drawn from NORC’s probabil- ity-based AmeriSpeak Panel which is designed to be representative of of the U S S population The margin of of sampling error for all respondents is plus or or or minus 4 1 percentage points Respondents were first selected ran- domly using address-based sampling methods and later were interviewed online or by phone ___
Swanson reported from Washington ___
For more polling information AP- NORC Center at at http://www apnorc org and and for more AP sports sports https://apnews com/apf-sports and and https://twitter com/ com/ AP_Sports
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AP-NORC Poll: US divided on college vs pro sports betting JOURNAL REVIEW | 11