A growing number of young Americans now view sports betting not as entertainment, but as a legitimate path to building long-term financial wealth.
More than a quarter of Gen Z investors say they treat sports betting as a deliberate, ongoing part of their long-term financial strategy, according to a survey by Betterment.
Betterment’s 2026 Retail Investor Survey found that 26% of Gen Z investors, those born between 1997 and 2007, incorporate sports gambling into their financial planning.
That figure dwarfs the 14% of millennials, 6% of Gen X, and just 1% of baby boomers who said the same, revealing a stark generational divide in financial attitudes.
More than half of young investors said they had redirected money originally earmarked for investing into sports betting over the past year.
Among those who diverted investment funds toward betting, 14% said they do so multiple times a month, suggesting the behavior is habitual rather than occasional.
A Northwestern Mutual Planning and Progress study from March found that housing unaffordability and rising living costs are pushing people toward high-risk, speculative vehicles to reach financial goals faster.
Those speculative vehicles increasingly include prediction markets, sports betting, and cryptocurrencies, all of which have seen surging interest among younger retail participants in recent years.
State-regulated sports gambling in the U.S. has expanded into an almost $17 billion industry, while prediction markets have also experienced explosive growth alongside it.
Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) launched prediction markets inside its app in 2025 and said the business has become the firm’s fastest-growing unit in the company’s history.
Not every young bettor views the practice as reckless, with some describing disciplined approaches that mirror traditional investing principles like research, strict unit sizing, and emotional detachment from losses.
Financial experts warn, however, that sports betting and traditional investing operate under fundamentally different structural principles that make direct comparisons dangerous.
Betterment CEO Sarah Levy offered a stark warning about the shifting mindset among younger investors entering the financial system today.
Levy said, “When a prediction market or sportsbook starts to feel like a retirement strategy, we have a problem.”
The broader trend reflects a financial landscape where conventional milestones like homeownership feel increasingly out of reach for millions of younger Americans navigating elevated costs.
