First-Time Online Bettors Jumped 22% During the 2025 Football Season

Key Highlights

The start of the 2026 NFL season could be a boom for the football betting industry, according to a recent Bank of America Institute (BOAI) study.

Football Season Brings in New Bettors

First-time online betting users grew 22% year-over-year during the 2025 football season, according to a comprehensive Bank of America study tracking the online betting activity of customers. In the report, the football season is defined as September through February, which includes college and NFL football.

For the study, the BOAI categorized first-time users as those who hadn’t sent payments to online betting platforms since before 2015, the latest its bank transaction records go back. It identified new users by flagging customers who deposited money into accounts on football betting sites and sportsbooks, horse racing sites, and prediction markets.

Sports Events Can Drive Betting Activity

The report also suggests that online betting activity often rises near the start of major sports seasons and big events. Growth in first-time users was also evident during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Comparing January to July, the number of first-time users increased threefold. Some estimates suggest more than $50 billion worldwide was wagered on matches during the World Cup.

That growth comes as more people, particularly Gen Z, begin to view sports betting as a form of investment. This shift in how younger bettors think about wagering may be encouraging more first-time users to enter the market, particularly during high-interest events. For bettors who see wagering as more than entertainment, major sporting events can offer a steady stream of opportunities to put that approach into practice. 

Overall Online Betting Use Rose in 2026

About 5% of Bank of America customers took part in online betting in July 2026. The number of online betting users was also 40% higher than it was at the start of the year. This trend is aligned with the broader sports betting growth in the US, with a recent American Sport Fanship Survey showing that 27% of Americans have active betting accounts, up from 22% in 2025.

The report also included data from a 2025 CivicScience survey involving 4,559 respondents to highlight the betting frequency among sports bettors in the US. About 34% of respondents said they bet weekly, while 23% said they bet every day. Another 24% and 19% said they bet monthly and several times a year, respectively.