Legal sports betting has transformed the sports and entertainment landscape across the United States, offering millions of Americans a safe and regulated way to engage with the sports they love. Since the Supreme Court overturned the federal ban in 2018, legal sports betting has expanded to 38 states and the District of Columbia, creating a vibrant and responsible industry that prioritizes consumer protections and generates significant economic benefits.

Far from being a compulsory burden or tax as some critics lazily posit, sports betting is a voluntary entertainment option, comparable to attending a concert, dining out, or going to the movies. According to our research, it’s so widely accepted that 9 in 10 Americans believe legal gaming, like other discretionary activities, enhances enjoyment and connection for themselves and other “of age” family members and friends.

As well, legal gaming is one of the most regulated industries in the U.S., and the industry itself invests heavily in responsible gaming initiatives to ensure that participants can engage in this activity positively. Tools like deposit limits, time limits, and exclusion options are standard offerings by licensed operators. These resources allow consumers to control their engagement and set boundaries. In contrast, illegal operators—who thrived unregulated for decades thanks to the previous federal ban—intentionally offered no such safeguards.

The notion that sports betting leads to widespread financial hardship is unsupported by evidence. Decades of research have consistently shown no significant correlation between gambling and financial distress. Americans face far greater financial challenges from unavoidable expenses such as medical bills and housing costs than from discretionary spending on entertainment.

Sports betting also represents a small fraction of Americans’ discretionary spending. The average sports bettor spends less than $100 per month—a far cry from financial ruin. For perspective, Americans spend $141 per month on cell phone bills, $300 on dining out, and $734 on car payments. Sports betting is a fraction of what many spend on other forms of entertainment or daily conveniences. For someone to single out sports betting as uniquely damaging is disingenuous and ignores the broader context of how Americans allocate discretionary income. Finally, it hardly squares with the reality today that a record number of Americans are participating in employee 401K programs and mutual funds ownership rates across all U.S. households achieved record highs a year ago.

Of course, as with any form of entertainment, there is a small number of bettors whose activity can become disordered. To that end, according to our research, legal operators collectively invest nearly half a billion dollars annually in studying, education, and promotion of responsible gambling services. They also prominently feature responsibility resources in their advertising and in-app platforms where they’re visible and easy for users to access.

The expansion of legal gaming has delivered other benefits to jurisdictions throughout the U.S., including billions in state tax revenue to fund initiatives such as public education in Maryland, shoring up pandemic-related losses in Detroit, and water conservation projects in Colorado. The industry today works with more than 5,000 state and tribal regulators nationwide to bring integrity to a market previously dominated by offshore criminal enterprises, and partners with those states to prevent those crime rings from reaching Americans in legal markets.

At its core, legal sports betting reflects a trust in the ability of American adults to make informed choices about how they engage with entertainment. The vast majority of sports bettors participate responsibly, enjoying the excitement and camaraderie that come with rooting for their favorite teams. Demonizing this industry or its consumers based on worst-case scenarios only undermines the progress made in creating a safe and regulated marketplace.

Rather than imposing misguided restrictions, the focus should remain on advancing education, expanding responsible gaming tools, and ensuring that regulators and operators continue to prioritize consumer protection. Legalized sports betting is not a societal ill or a threat to the fabric of America. It’s a success story—one that demonstrates how regulation, innovation, and responsibility can come together to benefit consumers and communities alike. The path forward lies in collaboration, transparency, and a commitment to enhancing consumer safeguards while embracing the economic and social benefits of this thriving industry.

Bill Miller is the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.