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A new survey shows prediction contracts are now a real part of the US sports betting picture. Sportsbooks still lead, but prediction apps are pulling closer while concern around betting behavior keeps rising.
Good to Know
Prediction markets are getting harder for sportsbooks to ignore. The new American Sports Fanship Survey found that 15% of Americans have bought sports event contracts through Polymarket, Kalshi, Robinhood, or another prediction app. Sportsbooks still sit ahead, with 27% of Americans saying they held an active account, but the gap is no longer huge.
Among men aged 18 to 49, the core online betting group, 52% said they had an active sportsbook account. In that same group, 33% said they had used prediction contracts. Usage also hit 42% among avid sports fans. Sports event contracts let users buy “Yes” and “No” positions on outcomes, so the product lands very close to a standard sportsbook bet.
The yearly survey came from the Siena Research Institute and St. Bonaventure University Jandoli School of Communication. It arrives as legal sportsbooks deal with more competition than they faced a year ago. Financial Times previously reported that Kalshi generated an estimated $1.3 billion in annualized revenue from sports contracts after strong uptake early in the NFL season. That total was close to 20% of DraftKings estimated 2026 revenue of $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion. The same report said about 90% of Kalshi estimated annualized revenue came from sports contracts.
The survey also pointed to more troubling behavior around online sports betting. Sixty three percent of respondents said they bet at least $100 in a single 24 hour period. Another 60% said they chased losses by betting more money or placing more bets than planned after losing.
That pattern showed up in other answers too. Forty two percent said they wagered more than they responsibly should have. Forty three percent said they felt bad or ashamed after losing a bet. Both figures stood at 37% in 2025. Another 22% said they knew someone dealing with a sports betting related problem, up from 15% a year earlier.
Don Levy, SRI Director, said:
“The results show that online sports betting remains an active part of life for a significant portion of Americans. Since we began asking respondents about online sports betting in 2024, there has been a steady rise in those who say they have an active account – from about one-in-five to now one-in-four – and the share of respondents who bet on these platforms has grown just as much – from seventeen percent of Americans in 2024 to twenty-two percent in 2026. ”
About half of respondents still said sports betting is a fun form of entertainment and should be legal in all 50 states. Even so, a majority said sportsbook operators should not be allowed to advertise during games. Two thirds also agreed that college player prop betting puts student athletes in potentially harmful situations, while 52% viewed NFL limits on certain prop bets through betting partners as positive.
State officials keep arguing that sports event contracts are unlicensed sports betting. Prediction platforms keep saying compliance with Commodity Futures Trading Commission rules is enough and that state licenses are not required. Survey participants leaned strongly toward the state view, with a vast majority saying prediction platforms should be held to the same standards as sportsbooks. Support reached 73% among men aged 18 to 49.