A growing share of young Americans is folding sports gambling into their long-term financial plans, according to new research from the investment platform Betterment.
In an online survey of 1,000 U.S. retail investors conducted in late March and early April and released this week, 52% of Gen Z investors said they had shifted money originally set aside for stocks or other investments into sports wagers over the past year. Only about one-third of Gen Z participants reported no involvement in sports betting at all, compared with 63% across all age groups in the survey.
26% of Gen Z respondents - those born between 1997 and 2007 - said they view sports betting as a deliberate, ongoing part of their wealth strategy. That figure drops sharply with age: 14% of millennials, 6% of Gen X, and just 1% of baby boomers reported the same outlook.
Of those Gen Z respondents, roughly 11% described betting as an investment strategy aimed at high returns, while 15% treated it as a short-term way to raise cash.
The betting numbers sit inside a broader shift in where young investors get their information. Social media is now Gen Z's most commonly cited source for financial news, rising from 45% in 2024 to 60% this year - nearly three times the 21% who cite a financial advisor.
The findings highlight how the rapid growth of legal sports gambling and prediction markets is competing for the same discretionary dollars that once flowed into retirement accounts and brokerage portfolios. The state-regulated sports betting industry in t
