Survey Tracks Rising Online Sports Betting Account Ownership in the United States

The Siena Research Institute released findings from its American Sport Fanship Survey in partnership with St. Bonaventure University’s Jandoli School of Communication, and those numbers detail a consistent climb in online sports betting activity. Data collected through the survey places active account ownership at 27 percent of Americans, an increase from the 22 percent recorded in 2025 and the 19 percent mark from 2024. Thirty-three percent of respondents indicated they had opened an account on platforms such as DraftKings, FanDuel, or BetMGM at least once, while 22 percent described themselves as current active bettors. Researchers structured the questions to capture both lifetime engagement and ongoing use, which allowed the team to separate those who experimented with an account from those who maintain regular activity. The partnership between the Siena Research Institute and the Jandoli School provided the methodological framework for reaching a nationally representative sample, and the resulting dataset offers a clear timeline of growth across three consecutive years.

Participation Metrics and Platform Usage

Observers note that the jump to 27 percent active accounts reflects broader access to mobile applications and state-level legalization patterns that have unfolded since 2018. Respondents who reported opening an account at least once reached 33 percent, suggesting that a segment of the population tries the platforms without remaining consistent users. The 22 percent figure for active bettors sits within the group that maintains ongoing accounts, which points to a core segment driving repeated transactions on the major apps.

Survey administrators asked participants to identify specific platforms they had used, and the responses clustered around DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM. These three services appeared most frequently among those who listed an active account, which aligns with their market presence in states where online sports wagering operates legally. The data does not break down usage by individual state, yet the national totals already illustrate steady expansion year over year.

Indicators Related to Betting Behavior

Alongside the participation numbers, the survey recorded behavioral patterns that warrant attention from public health researchers. Sixty percent of those who identified as bettors reported chasing losses at some point, meaning they placed additional wagers in an attempt to recover earlier deficits. Fifteen percent of bettors stated they had sought assistance for problem gambling, either through counseling services, helplines, or support groups.

The Siena Research Institute included these questions to track potential risk indicators within the same sample that provided the account-ownership data. Because the survey uses consistent wording across annual iterations, future releases can compare these percentages directly and determine whether the rates shift alongside overall participation growth. The current figures stand as baseline measurements collected in the spring of 2026.

Survey Methodology and Timing

Administrators fielded the American Sport Fanship Survey during the first quarter of 2026, and the Siena Research Institute published the sports-betting module results in April. The partnership with the Jandoli School of Communication supplied communications expertise for questionnaire design and respondent outreach, which helped maintain response quality across demographic groups. Sample weighting procedures aligned the respondent pool with U.S. Census distributions for age, gender, region, and education, allowing national projections from the collected answers.

Questions on online sports betting appeared alongside items about general sports fandom and media consumption, which reduced the chance that respondents would focus exclusively on wagering behavior. This broader context also enabled analysts to examine whether higher sports interest correlated with account ownership, though the released figures concentrate on the aggregate national percentages.

Longitudinal Comparison and Data Context

Placing the 2026 numbers against prior years shows an unbroken upward line: 19 percent active accounts in 2024, 22 percent in 2025, and 27 percent in 2026. The parallel rise in lifetime account openings, now at 33 percent, indicates that cumulative exposure continues to expand even as the active-user base grows more slowly. The 22 percent active-bettor rate sits between the two headline figures, which suggests that a portion of account holders remain occasional rather than frequent users.

Those who have followed the Siena Research Institute releases note that the same core questions have been retained, which supports direct year-over-year comparisons. The institute’s public release includes the full question text and response options, allowing independent researchers to replicate or extend the analysis. The April 2026 report therefore functions as both a snapshot and a reference point for subsequent studies.

Conclusion

The Siena Research Institute survey, conducted with St. Bonaventure University’s Jandoli School of Communication, supplies a factual record of increasing online sports betting account ownership through 2026. The reported percentages, behavioral indicators, and methodological details together describe a market that has expanded steadily while also surfacing measurable signs of risk among participants. Future releases from the same series will show whether these trends continue or level off as state regulatory environments and platform offerings evolve.