(USA TODAY Sports)`A new Seton Hall Sports Poll, as previously reported by Yahoo Finance, shows that support for Major League Baseball to lift its ban on Pete Rose has fallen despite the changes surrounding legalized sports betting in the U.S.
The most interesting revelation from the poll wasn’t about Rose, though. It was about the effect that legalized sports betting would have on baseball viewership.
MLB’s popularity declining
In 2018, a Gallup Poll showed that only 9 percent of Americans said baseball was their favorite sport to watch, the lowest number reported since Gallup began asking the question in 1937.
With baseball’s popularity down, MLB has explored ways to increase viewership, including discussions to shorten games and change rules. The league recently cited the potential for increased fan engagement as reason to re-examine their long-held opposition to legalized sports betting.
Will legalized sports betting help MLB?
The Seton Hall Sports Poll surveyed 676 people across the United States. Only 19 percent of those polled said they would follow baseball more closely if sports betting was legalized in their state.
Some may find that number disappointing, but survey director Rick Gentile told Yahoo News that it’s still not a bad number for leagues.
One way to look at this, according to a study conducted by the Center for Survey Research at East Carolina University, is that it’s only 7 percent less than the percentage of people who gambled on the Super Bowl in Mississippi and New Jersey.
- Use Code: GRINDERS1600
- Exciting Brand
- Beginner Friendly
- Use Promo Code RG2K
- Name Your Own Bets
- NJ-CO-MI-IN-IL-WV-IA-VA-NY
- Bet $50, Get $200
- Premium Mobile App
- NJ-CO-MI-VA-IN-TN-AZ-LA-NY
- Bet $20, Get $100
- Use Code "RotoGrinders"
- Great Moneyline Odds
- Risk-Free Bet Pays Cash
- Strong, Trusted Brand
- NJ-IN-IA-AZ-PA-VA
- 2nd Chance Bet up to $500!
- Great Promos
- NY-IN-MI-IL-PA-CO-IA-VA-AZ-LA-NJ
Mississippi and New Jersey are two of seven states that joined Nevada in legalizing sports betting after the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. ECU polled the two states because of their regional differences. The survey found that political and religious affiliations had little effect on stances towards sports betting.
In that same ECU poll, most active bettors were young adults, with over half of 21- to 24-year-olds wagering on the Super bowl. In contrast, only 11 percent of 55- to 64-year-olds, and 13 percent of those older than 65 bet on the game.
MLB needs to reach a younger audience
Of all the leagues, Major League Baseball should be most focused on reaching young adults.
Baseball has the the oldest viewers of the major sports. According to 2017 Nielsen ratings, the average age of baseball viewers was 53 compared to 47 for the NFL and 37 for the NBA. Reacting to that report, The Washington Post wrote, “Young people are not getting into baseball as fans as they once did: For the first time, the ESPN Sports Poll’s annual survey of young Americans’ 30 favorite sports figures finds no baseball players on the list.”
- Use Code: GRINDERS1600
- Exciting Brand
- Beginner Friendly
- Use Promo Code RG2K
- Name Your Own Bets
- NJ-CO-MI-IN-IL-WV-IA-VA-NY
- Bet $50, Get $200
- Premium Mobile App
- NJ-CO-MI-VA-IN-TN-AZ-LA-NY
- Bet $20, Get $100
- Use Code "RotoGrinders"
- Great Moneyline Odds
- Risk-Free Bet Pays Cash
- Strong, Trusted Brand
- NJ-IN-IA-AZ-PA-VA
- 2nd Chance Bet up to $500!
- Great Promos
- NY-IN-MI-IL-PA-CO-IA-VA-AZ-LA-NJ
So far, Major League baseball has made a gambling deal with MGM Resorts International and partnered with Sportsradar to allow the sports data provider to distribute real-time MLB statistics to sportsbooks in regulated states. Most controversially, the MLB cited integrity issues for requiring team lineups to go to the commissioner’s office rather than a team’s public relations department or the media as part of the league’s deal with MGM.
Sports betting can increase fan engagement for Major League Baseball, particularly among young people, but if what the league really cares about is fan engagement spurred by legalized sports betting, then they’ll need to help create a friendly ecosystem for the sports bettor. That means giving up the fight for “integrity fees” and monopolized data, which in effect will be a tax on the sports bettor and potential MLB fan.
Check this out: New York is expected to be one of the next states to offer legal sports betting as they wait a 60-day public period before regulations can be implemented. Our own Thomas Casale recently took a sneak peek of the forthcoming Rivers Casino Sportsbook in New York.