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A new YouGov survey has revealed a deep crisis of confidence in U.S. sports integrity, with more than 80% of sports bettors saying they believe athletes deliberately alter their performance to influence gambling outcomes. The findings come amid growing scrutiny of sports betting’s impact on fair play and the reputation of major U.S. betting brands.
Survey Conducted Amid FBI Match-Fixing Scandal
The research, conducted shortly after the FBI’s October arrests of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, NBA coach Chauncey Billups, and more than 30 others — including members of the New York Mafia — underscores public anxiety over corruption in professional sports. The arrests, linked to an illegal poker and match-fixing investigation, reignited global debate over the effects of legalized betting on the integrity of competition.
YouGov surveyed 19,000 Americans in the days following the arrests. While public skepticism was widespread across all demographics, sports bettors were markedly more distrustful of athletes’ conduct than non-bettors.
Widespread Mistrust in Athletes’ Integrity
The survey found that 65% of Americans overall believe professional athletes sometimes or often adjust their play to benefit gamblers. Only 6% said they believe players never alter their performance for betting purposes, while 29% were unsure.
Breaking it down further:
- 13% said athletes “often” change their play,
- 32% said it happens “sometimes,” and
- 19% believe it occurs “rarely.”
Among sports bettors, distrust was even higher. Eighteen percent said it happens often, compared with 13% of the general population. When combining all categories of suspicion (“often,” “sometimes,” or “rarely”), more than 80% of bettors said they believe athletes alter performance due to betting influences.
YouGov analysts described the findings as a “significant perception gap,” noting that sports bettors — the group most engaged with the industry — appear least confident in its fairness.
Betting Brands See Reputational Fallout
While most leading U.S. sportsbooks retained broadly positive public images, the scandals and integrity concerns have taken a toll on brand reputation. YouGov’s brand sentiment index, which measures how many people would be proud versus embarrassed to work for a company, showed an average 1.1% year-on-year decline across the top 10 betting brands.
DraftKings and FanDuel, the market leaders, saw the steepest drops — both recording over 3% declines and slipping into net negative reputation territory. More respondents said they would be embarrassed than proud to work for either company.
Conversely, Betway was the only U.S. betting operator to record a modest 0.1% improvement in reputation scores.
Legalized Betting’s Image Problem
The survey also measured perceptions of legalized gambling’s broader impact. Among sports bettors, 24% said betting had a positive effect on sports, but only 9% of the general population agreed. Nearly half of non-bettors (44%) said legal betting harms sports, compared to 31% of bettors.
The report highlights the challenge for regulators, sportsbooks, and leagues as they seek to balance commercial growth with public trust. Despite strong participation rates, skepticism around integrity and ethics could become the industry’s biggest long-term risk.
Still, YouGov suggested the reputational damage is not irreversible — particularly if major brands take the lead in promoting integrity, transparency, and responsible betting standards across U.S. sports.
Source: iGaming Future
