Crime Hits 70% Spike During Sports Games, New Study Argues

Sports betting may be having an unintended consequence on people’s behavior – crime, but not for the reasons you might think. 

While most onlookers have worried that destitute gamblers would resort to thievery, robbery and violence to settle debts or fuel their gambling habits, there has been another reason tied to the rise in gambling-related crime.

Sports Gambling Tied to Higher Instances of Violence 

Sports betting, according to a study by the University of Michigan and Rice University, and published in the Journal of Sports Economics, might be proving too overwhelming emotionally for people who then tend to act out on violent impulses.

It is also worth noting that aggression may not stem solely from financial stress, as often observed in other forms of betting,” argues Wenche Wang, an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Michigan, and a co-author of the study.

The study dug into data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System covering the period between 2017 and 2021, and found that there was a 70% increase in criminal behavior from the start of a sports contest through several hours after a game has ended.

Assaults were the largest contributor of violent behavior – with a 93% uptick. While players feel distraught, whatever the outcome, as there is always someone’s side losing, the effect is even greater when an upset outcome presents itself, for example, a heavily underdog or player winning. 

“We find recent evidence of increased crime associated with stressful games, such as those with close or tied scores throughout, as well as games that extend into overtime,” Wang added. 

What this means is that places where sports betting behavior has been legalized are likely to also experience these negative social knock-on effects, as people tend to lash out because of a game’s outcome or a player’s performance. 

Because people can gamble, say the authors, they are overwhelmed by emotions, and there is someone who feels a little on edge after a big game wraps up. 

Claims That Sports Betting Drives Anti-Social Behavior Documented

The claim, while it may seem purposefully anti-gambling, is borne out by another independent study by the University of Oregon, which has tied upsets at home games specifically with increased instances of domestic violence.

Sports and sports betting specifically may be translating into heightened irritability for fans. This is not entirely because of the financial stake, but rather speaks to something deeper – a desire for validation, the authors seem to suggest, as losing money on a sports game is beyond the point – the social implications seem to be far more important.

What a wager does is not necessarily only add “excitement” as sportsbooks would have you believe – it adds an emotional shackle that is unable to contain the emotions that come after an abrupt loss.

This is exemplified in the fact that the violence is not limited to states that legalize sports gambling but has a “spillover” effect, the authors argue, whereby the criminal behavior may be exhibited in neighboring jurisdictions.