Authored by Eren Ucer
Professors Reis and McBride
My Survey/Interview
To get a better grasp of how my peers interact with fantasy sports games and whether it has impacted their sports betting behaviors, I disseminated a survey to managers in my fantasy leagues to collect some data and insights. I primarily aimed to gather information on whether fantasy sports participation preceded sports betting amongst my peers, and various sentiments they may share about fantasy’s relationship to sports betting. Amongst my respondents, 55% engage in online sports betting, with 100% stating that they started playing fantasy sports first. In response to the prompt gauging the impact of fantasy in motivating sports betting practices, which was rated on a scale 1-5, with 5 being extremely motivating, over 54% gave scores between 3-5. Over 60% of respondents replied with scores of 4 or 5 regarding how much fantasy sports affected one’s knowledge when sports betting. In a response to an optional prompt on how both activities have enhanced one another, one respondent stated, “There is significant overlap in the news and analysis of both. It applies to both if you believe a player will likely score a touchdown this week.” Another response to the same prompt stated, “As fun as fantasy is, the excitement of sports betting is far higher. I’d describe fantasy sports as a gateway drug to online betting.”
This idea that fantasy sports could serve as a “gateway drug” is alarming yet entirely plausible. As previously mentioned, access to fantasy sports games is generally unregulated, free, and open to all ages. I remember my first fantasy football league, joining via ESPN’s service in 8th grade, which blossomed into a hobby I’ve carried throughout high school and college with my friends. In the early days, our main motivating force to play fantasy sports was our pure sports fandom; we loved playing and watching football, nor did we have any money nor interest in sports betting at the time. However, as we’ve gotten older, not only have we gained more experience with the game and its various trends, but we’ve also had more capital to spend on “entertainment” such as sports betting.
To gain a more intimate analysis of this trend, I interviewed a survey respondent, Jonathan Min Htut, with whom I’ve played fantasy over the past years. Jonathan is an NYU student majoring in sports journalism and multimedia, so I was fortunate to connect with him to discuss his experience with fantasy sports and how online betting has impacted his behavior and the sports industry at large. Over a phone call, Jonathan stated, “I’ve been playing fantasy for a few years now, and I’ve credited it as being the activity that made me truly fall in love with sports. Without it, I don’t know if I would be pursuing my current career. It allowed me to learn the nuances of the game and how much the league can change on a season-to-season basis.” As a die-hard Giants fan since elementary school, Jonathan has played fantasy since 6th grade, across various sports, including football, basketball, and baseball. “Fantasy has allowed me to learn about all the different players, what they’re good at, where they rank compared to others at their position, you know, those types of things…it’s also a great way to learn about a new sport, like baseball for me, which I only got into during college.”
When I asked what motivates him to keep playing, Jon touched on a point that I believe is central to why people engage in fantasy besides their sports fandom: “While it’s great to win a league, or see a player you root for perform well, I equally feel that fantasy is a social thing. It helps keep everyone together and engaged in a common activity. A lot of my friends moved for college, but fantasy allows us to keep in touch on a weekly basis, a consistent conversation topic that’s easy and we all like.” This is a sentiment I personally relate to, as I, too, have seen many friends move to other states whom I am unable to visit, but have maintained consistent communication through fantasy group chats and active engagement within our league. Sports are a great agent of socialization, from watching them with loved ones around a TV to going to a game. While hard to quantify, I believe fantasy sports has become another instrument for this type of socialization, even if it is only a latent function of its overall purpose.
When I asked Jonathan about his opinions on the sports betting industry and how he views its integration into the larger sports market, he told me, “It’s impossible to ignore it at this point. Every other ad during the game is for some other sportsbook company with a new sign-up deal or offer… They use public figures and athletes to help appeal to fans, too, but I try to look past that.” When I asked him whether he has engaged in any sports betting, he told me, “ I definitely have, it’s kind of hard not to. Those promo deals make it seem like they’re just giving away free money, and they basically are…I feel I am on average more educated about sports than the average fan because of my years playing fantasy, so when I won one of my first free bets, I was stoked and kept playing…Now it’s something I do here and there if I’m feeling lucky or in the mood, but I wouldn’t say I am a gambler.” While Jonathan was one of the solo managers who reached out to me for an interview, I believe many people who are engaged in fantasy share the same sentiments. Even non-sports fans have seen the inundation of advertisements for sports betting content within TV broadcasts, ranging from the Super Bowl to an average regular-season baseball game.
From my own research and what industry academics report, it is clear that there is a connection between fantasy and sports betting. Whether correlational or causal, people who engage in fantasy sports tend to be engaged in or familiar with sports betting. However, to understand the overall impacts of his connection not only on sports fans but on society at large, it is important to first gain some context and information about the current state of the sports betting industry.
