Wagering the Bread Money: Sports Betting Legalization and Food Sufficiency

This is the first study to estimate the impact of sports gambling legalization on food sufficiency using the staggered implementation of state laws between 2021-2023. By analyzing Google searches for online sportsbooks and legal wagers, we show that interest in sports gambling increases sharply following legalization. Applying an imputation-based difference-in-differences design to biweekly Household Pulse Survey (HPS) data, we find that legalized sports gambling reduces household food sufficiency by 2.1 percent among working-age adults without a college degree, which translates to a 10.5 percent decline among active bettors. This effect is cyclical, persisting for three-to-five months during NFL seasons. Additionally, the declines in food sufficiency are larger among households with adults aged 25-44 and racial/ethnic minorities. Using additional data from the HPS, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and Current Population Survey, our exploration of mechanisms suggests that the negative effects on food sufficiency operate through financial distress rather than changes in mental health or labor supply. A back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates that legalization of sports gambling in nine states resulted in an additional 284,000 food-insufficient households and $130.2 million in excess healthcare expenditures annually.