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Survey: Gen Zers Use Investment Money for Sports Gambling

THE WASHINGTON STAND—A recent survey of American retail investors reveals concerning trends in how the youngest generation of American adults treats its money. More than half (52%) of Generation Z investors said they had redirected investment money into sports betting over the past year, and 26% of Gen Z investors treat sports betting as an ongoing component of their financial plans.

“So many young people [are] investing and really losing enormous sums of money on what is ultimately a con,” lamented Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling on “Washington Watch.” “Danny Funt, a Washington Post reporter, published a book earlier this year called ‘Everybody Loses.’ And he had a point in there that 99 out of 100 people participating in sports gambling lose money over the long term. … Over the course of their lifetime, it’s going to cause them, you know, irreparable financial harm.”

The survey found that Gen Zers were far more likely than other generations to engage in sports betting and to place it on par with investments. By comparison, 31% of millennials redirected investment money to sports betting, 10% of Gen Xers, and only 4% of baby boomers. Only 14% of millennials treated sports betting as part of their ongoing financial plan, 6% of Gen Xers, and 1% of boomers.

The online poll surveyed 1,000 U.S. retail investors across four generations, and the results were published last Wednesday by Betterment, a financial advisory company. Online surveys provide less rigorous results than surveys with randomly generated samples, since the sample is self-selected (but online surveys are also much cheaper to conduct).

Additionally, the limited population, “retail investors” instead of “adults,” means the results can........

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