Americans don’t think sports betting is immoral, but they want it to stay illegal

Nearly two-thirds of Americans don’t believe that sports betting is immoral, yet half of them want to keep the activity illegal.

With the NFL conference championships set to kick off on Sunday, Nashville-based evangelical Christian polling group LifeWay Research decided to survey Americans on whether it was morally acceptable to wager on the outcomes.

The research found that 64% of those polled disagreed with the statement: “it is morally wrong to bet on sports.” A prudish 31% agreed with the statement, while 5% were on the fence.

But the belief that sports betting isn’t immoral didn’t translate into a push for legalization outside of its existing Nevada confines. Nearly half (49%) disagreed with the statement: “Sports betting should be legalized nationwide,” while 40% were in agreement and 11% weren’t sure.