Buy Or Sell?

Poll after poll indicates that while there is increasing usage of mobile sports betting options, there is also increasing concern about the activity.

Aug 10, 2026

The Bulletin Board

THE LEDE: A new batch of sports betting and prediction market polling.
ROUNDUP: A look at the stories you may have missed.
NEWS: CFTC wants prediction markets to look less like sportsbooks.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: It’s all about sports.
STRAY THOUGHTS: Good man of the newsletter.

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The Lede: The Public’s Changing View of Online Betting

I have a stockpile of polls in my bookmarks that I’ve wanted to weave into a single cohesive story for quite some time… and today’s the day!

The increasingly negative public perception of gambling is a trend Straight to the Point has followed closely:

What Recent Polling Really Tells Us [February 2026]
Siena Sports Betting and Prediction Market Polling [April 2026]

North Carolinians and Sports Betting

A poll of more than 1,000 North Carolinians conducted by Meredith College found the public largely accepts legalization of sports betting, but supports stronger safeguards to limit social harms.

Per the press release: The “poll conducted in July 2026 provides one of the first comprehensive statewide assessments of public opinion regarding legalized mobile sports betting in North Carolina.”

Among the concerns were the consequences of sports betting for vulnerable populations, underage gambling, athlete abuse, and game integrity. Respondents also favored stricter consumer protections and better funding for treatment and research.

“Concerns were substantially greater when questions focused on underage gambling, young adults, or college athletes than when respondents evaluated sports betting in general,” said Meredith Poll Director David McLennan. “This pattern suggests that residents do not simply evaluate sports betting as an entertainment activity; they also consider its broader implications for families, communities, and higher education.”

New Yorkers’ Thoughts on Sports Betting

A Siena poll from July found that opinions of legalized sports betting are underwater, and trending down from 2025, although the questions were not identical between the two polls: In 2026, 39% said online sports gambling is bad for New York (a 2% increase), 22% (a 17% decline) said it’s good, and 31% are in the middle (7% increase).

Politico Polls Americans on Prediction Markets

An earlier poll conducted in May by Public First for Politico that asked more than 2,000 Americans about prediction markets resulted in 44% of respondents saying betting on election outcomes should be illegal, with similar levels of concern over mention markets.

On sports contracts specifically (among respondents who showed some understanding of prediction markets):

53% said sports event contracts should be legal.
23% said it should be illegal.
24% had no opinion/were unsure.

For comparison within the same poll:

Only ~40% believe weather contracts should be legal.
30% said election contracts should be legal.
Only 27% believe “mention markets” should be legal.

Urban Institute Survey on Betting Habits

An even earlier survey, conducted in January 2026 by the Urban Institute puts sports betting into a broader cultural perspective.

The survey found that 11% of U.S. adults bet on sports in the past 12 months, with most bettors wagering infrequently and modestly: 48% bet only once or twice in the past year, and 55% spent less than $100 total.

The top reasons listed by respondents was to win money (67%) and for fun or excitement (52%).

the polling also found that mobile bettors wager more frequently, spend more, place riskier bets, and report greater financial challenges. Among the negative findings were mobile bettors being 15 times more likely to miss a bill payment (3% of respondents), while 3% borrowed money from family or friends to gamble, and 12% saved less money than they would have without betting — 65% of bettors said sports betting had no impact on their personal finances.

Industry Polling Produces Unsurprising Results

A May 2026 poll commissioned by the Coalition for Prediction Markets found bipartisan support for federal regulation of prediction markets. Per Semafor, “48% of Republicans favor federal oversight versus 27% who prefer state oversight… while 45% of Democrats favor federal oversight and 35% prefer state oversight, according to the Democratic firm Global Strategy Group.”

Meanwhile, a Morning Consult poll conducted on behalf of the anti-prediction market group Gambling is Not Investing in March found 81% of respondents think sports betting on prediction markets counts as gambling.

These divergent results are unsurprising given the group that commissioned the polls.

Roundup: So Much News; So Little Newsletter Space

Clarity Act vote postponed [Complete iGaming]: “The US Senate has postponed a procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, delaying progress on legislation that would establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and digital assets. According to The Block, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the vote will take place after lawmakers return from their August recess in September.” STTP Thoughts: As Victor Rocha has been saying for weeks, the Clarity Act is dead.

Chris Sieroty named Managing Editor at CDC Gaming [CDC Gaming Reports]: One of the best in the business has found a new home: “CDC Gaming is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Sieroty as Managing Editor, effective August 10, 2026…Sieroty brings extensive experience as both a reporter and editor covering the gaming industry. Before joining CDC Gaming, he spent nearly a decade as US Editor for Vixio Regulatory Intelligence, based in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for editing and reporting daily news and analysis for the subscription-based regulatory intelligence service.”

Quote of the Week [STTP Thoughts: Friction, it’s always about friction]: “If you and I had wanted to gamble when we were growing up, we would have had to have known who the bookie was. These kids have to do none of that. It literally is coming to the palm of their hand.” ~ US Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL)

Yankees name Polymarket official prediction market partner [Press Release]: “Polymarket… announced it has become an Official Prediction Market Partner of the New York Yankees.” The partnership will see: “LED branding throughout Yankee Stadium before and during games, in addition to rotating home plate signage during locally televised Yankees games on YES Network and Prime Video, Premium hospitality, including Ford Field MVP Club tickets and single-game luxury suites, Exclusive fan experiences, including an outfield catch for children, Kids Run the Bases and lineup card delivery experiences.” The New York Mets were the first team to announce an official prediction market partner, partnering with Novig earlier this month.

New consumer-focused PM consumer advocacy group [Sportico]: “A new consumer advocacy group called the Sports Traders Union is launching with hopes of adding a voice to the prediction market discourse that won’t be dismissed as a lobbying puppet. The group… is primarily made up of professional bettors with prominent social media presences who actively use many of the top prediction market exchanges, including Kalshi. The Sports Traders Union will push for reforms such as setting the prediction market participant age minimum at 21 (it is currently 18 on most apps).” The advisory board includes several prominent voices in the bettor community: Isaac Rose-Berman, Jack Andrews, Antonino De Rosa, Rufus Peabody, and Shane Sigsbee, as well as Jacob Fortinsky and Alex Kane, the CEOs of Novig and Sporttrade, “who have agreed to abide by the Sports Traders Union’s code,” per Sportico.

WI lawsuit says new sports betting law violates constitution [Covers]: “A lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty argues that Wisconsin’s new tribe-led online sports betting law violates the state constitution… The lawsuit was filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), which is representing two taxpayer associations in the case. And, according to WILL, the passage of a tribe-led online sports betting bill earlier this year cut some constitutional corners…. The lawsuit filed on Wednesday now alleges the changes made by A.B. 601 ‘violate the Wisconsin Constitution’s unequivocal restriction on the Legislature’s ability to authorize gambling,’ and seeks a declaration the bill violates that constitution.” Previous STTP coverage of Wisconsin’s mobile sports betting law.

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News: CFTC Warns PMs to Avoid “Misleading Consumers”

On August 7, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reminded prediction markets not to mislead consumers by looking too much like a sportsbook — the news was first reported by Bloomberg.

The CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight and the Market Participants Division “recently issued a letter to remind Commission-regulated entities involved in the listing, soliciting, or acceptance of event contracts of their responsibility not to mislead consumers, including the obligation to display clear and accurate pricing information for derivatives products.”

Among the warnings to prediction markets (which Better Markets called “a desperate attempt to dupe people into thinking event contracts on sporting events are not the gambling devices they so clearly are”), the CFTC pointed to the use of “American odds,” the preferred format of US sportsbooks:

“Market participants should display information, including pricing information, that indicates to consumers when a product is an event contract on a CFTC-regulated exchange, rather than a higher-margin, non-market-priced bookmaking product.”

As Better Markets put it:

“Now, the CFTC is telling prediction markets to use a similar sleight of hand, so it appears that event contracts on sporting events do not involve gambling. It is hard to believe that the CFTC would be helping prediction markets disguise the true nature of their event contracts and deceive American consumers. Regardless, the way in which the odds appear cannot change the fact that event contracts on sporting events involve gambling any more than saying event contracts on sporting events involve ‘trading’ rather than ‘betting’ on sports.
“Anyone who goes on prediction market platforms can see for themselves that their event contracts on sporting events involve sports betting. That is because betting on the Super Bowl, the Masters, or the World Cup is not trading a financial derivative but gambling. The CFTC must stop cheerleading for the prediction markets and recognize this reality.”

I also very much agree with this take: