Ellison Lewis is a senior honors college fellow from Overland Park, Kansas pursuing a double major in finance and marketing. Her passion for sports sparked her interest in the industry of sports betting. Her thesis investigates the growth of the low-key form of gambling and its increasing accessibility. Her research involves interviewing adults who suffer addictions and families of adults with addiction to gain an in-depth perspective of their journey, as well as surveying college students to look at the current status, touchpoints and thresholds they find acceptable or risky, the mediums they use, and more.
Where did your interest in the topic of sports betting come from and what’s your thesis focus?
I’ve always had a love for sports, specifically football, and grew up going to a lot of Kansas City Chiefs games with my family. Recently, I began noticing sports betting advertisements on screens at their games. Then I became more aware of sports betting activity on the U of A campus, including ads at football games and friends who are engaging in it. Finally, my mom told me about someone she knows whose son had become addicted to sports betting when he was in college, and my decision to focus on it as my thesis came together.
In order to make this research work with my major program, I am focused on the advertisements people see at sporting events and how professional sports leagues are making money off the hobby and people’s addiction. The American Gaming Association reported $13.7 billion in revenue in 2024, up from a record breaking $11.04 billion in 2023.
With the help of my advisor, Molly Rapert, I’ve been looking at the impact of sports celebrities and athletes being involved in the marketing. Professional athletes are legally restricted from encouraging anyone to bet but there are ways to get around it. For example, Jason and Travis Kelce have a podcast, and every week they bring their intern in and he does a prize pick. The Kelces step out of the room while he’s recording, but they’re still promoting it. High profile former athletes also share their sports betting insights during pre-game events, post-game, during the game… many sports announcers do it as well.
What are some things that you are seeing here on campus? Who is a typical person who participates in sports betting?
There’s definitely a type of personality who enjoys it for the way it encourages analytical thinking. Some people are also just type-A, driven to win, but also just being around other people who do it encourages participation. I think a lot of sports fans and people who played sports in their youth are also raised with the messaging that persistence will help them win. That dedication to stick with it helps them think that if they’ve been losing they just need to keep betting and their efforts will pay off and luck will turn.
It really appeals to everyone, regardless of age. A lot of my peers picked up the hobby in their freshman year, in part because they have some freedom being away from home and they are making their own money with jobs and internships. Within the last year-and-a-half I’ve seen a dramatic increase in sports betting activity within my group of friends. It might have been 20% previously, and now it’s more like 90%.
At the same time that I’ve noticed an increase in betting activity I’m also seeing increasing numbers of advertisements. I compare it to how cigarettes used to be advertised everywhere but you don’t see tobacco advertisements anymore because it was determined that it was encouraging people to do something unhealthy. Sports betting advertising hasn’t faced that scrutiny yet but I think that it will in the future.
How is sports betting different or worse than other forms, like going to a casino or horse racetrack?
Wherever you are, it’s accessible 24/7 so that’s a huge difference. Also, because it’s not called “gambling”, there is a perception that it’s different from those other types, so you don’t have to hide it from your family or friends. There can be a negative connotation with the word gambling, but not with the phrase “sports betting.” It’s normalized as just a part of being a sports fan.
It’s also available on the phone in your pocket, so there’s no long drive to go to the casino or the track. Just pull your phone out and place a bet, wherever you are. I interviewed a mother whose son became addicted to gambling in college. At that time, he had to drive to the casino so he would only go about once a week. According to her, it ruined a lot of his college experience as well as his post-grad experience. Even though he had to deal with that barrier – distance – when he was in college, he still became addicted. Sports betting has no such barrier.
Are there any programs or tools set up to help people who find themselves addicted to sports betting?
Not many, if any, in the U.S. There are more in the U.K., where it’s been recognized as a problem for many years and getting help for the addiction seems to carry less stigma. The U.K. has legislation on the books going back to 2005 to help regulate the industry, which has been around there for decades. In the U.S., sports betting was only legal in Nevada until 2018. That’s when the Supreme Court gave control to individual states to regulate and the current industry exploded.
In the U.S., a parent can pull their child out of college, and I think removing them from the situation where it began probably helps, but it’s not a forever fix. The problem with a gambling addiction is that it’s not really a tangible thing that can be taken away. You can take away a phone, but the casino is always open.
What has your research looked like?
I’m reading a lot of peer reviewed research papers, many published within the last few years. I’ve also been referred to a couple of podcasts that have been really interesting. I’ve been keeping my eye on industry changes in the news, changes in sports games, and then also changes in my peers.
I also have a survey I’ve been asking people to take, and as I’ve been developing it it’s been interesting to have people come up to me and say they heard what my thesis topic is and want to take the survey. I wonder if, once they open the survey, they don’t feel as excited to take it. But I did get a couple people who told me that taking it made them look at their own actions and motivations and that’s awesome.