The Big Number: 62.6%

By Sarah Rufca Nielsen

62.6%: That’s how much assaults increased during the time periods around professional sports events after sports betting was legalized across the U.S.

In the years since the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban in 2018, states across the country have legalized sports betting, transforming game day into a multibillion-dollar industry fueled by smartphone apps, real-time wagers and endless parlays. But new research suggests the rapid expansion of sports gambling may also carry social consequences that are only beginning to come into focus.

A new study co-authored by Hua Gong, assistant professor of sport analytics at Rice, and Wenche Wang, a former assistant professor of sport management at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, analyzed national crime incident data from 2017 to 2021. Looking at states that legalized sports betting after the Supreme Court ruling, the researchers tracked four types of crime reports during a key window of heightened fan and betting activity: from the start of a professional sports game to four hours after it ends.

The pattern that emerged was striking. In the time period when betting activity tends to peak, states with newly legalized sports betting experienced notable increases in several types of crime. Assaults rose the most, but larceny and vehicle theft also increased during that window, particularly on days when local teams were playing.

“Sports gambling is exciting for fans and financially attractive for states, but our findings show it can also lead to more crime,” says Gong. “When people lose their bets or go through very stressful game moments, that emotional volatility can translate into aggressive behavior.”

The pattern of violence becomes even more pronounced under two common scenarios. When teams were playing at home, the increase in assaults climbed to 77.23%, and when home games ended with outcomes that contradicted sportsbook predictions — the kind of upset that can wreck a carefully placed wager — the jump reached 93.42%.

Since 2018, 38 states (plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico) have opened legal betting markets, often emphasizing the potential tax revenue and economic growth associated with the industry. But Gong and Wang’s research suggests that those benefits may come with less visible trade-offs.

“Legal betting brings in revenue, but there are serious social consequences we cannot ignore,” Gong says.

From the Spring 2026 issue of Rice Magazine