When sports fans enter a stadium or arena to take in a game, they accept that they’re about to make financial decisions they otherwise would immediately refuse. Like purchasing a $22 can of Miller Lite or plopping down a similar amount of cash for nachos smushed into a plastic batting helmet.
Fans are well aware that they are on the business end of these massive markups, but they spend the money anyway because doing so is an integral component of the live sports experience.
But the ways people spend their money at the game are constantly evolving — as seen when scanning the stands and spotting countless people with one eye on the field and the other on their phone. Many are glued to their phones because they are wagering on what is taking place in front of them.
To gauge how common this has become in the era of legalization, why it keeps gaining steam, and whether it tends to be a losing proposition, we talked to a number of bettors and industry observers about the ways in which fans now layer action on their apps on top of the action on the field.
‘That extra adrenaline’
When Adonis Hernandez-Solano attends Philadelphia Phillies games, he sees firsthand how popular it has become to bet on what is taking place on the Citizens Bank Park diamond. This is anecdotal rather than serving as some sort of formal survey, but he says he sees more people sitting near him using betting apps than ever before — including on his own phone, which he’s constantly checking to see how well his wagers are performing.
“I see others do it at games all the time,” said the Ventnor City, New Jersey native. “Whether it’s some random guys next to me talking about their bets or the friends I’m with. When I’m with them, we’re likely going to cook up a parlay on our way down to the Bank.”
The 21-year-old enjoys rooting for the Phillies and feels he brings the fun to another level by wagering on them.
“When I go to games live, I often have an itch to wager on them. I guess it’s just for that extra adrenaline to go along with the rush of being there.
“My mindset is, ‘All right, I’m here, so let me make some parlay that includes the Phillies moneyline and Zack Wheeler to get 6-plus strikeouts.’ I’m pumped up hoping to make some nice cash on top of experiencing the game in person.”
From the stands, many bettors are also compelled to make microbets that have proven to be long-term winners for the books — although at least they’re doing it without the lag that people watching on TV have to deal with.
What Hernandez-Solano has witnessed in Philly is equally popular in Boston, according to Julian Edlow, a senior sports betting analyst at DraftKings Network.
“Sure, you notice people betting at games,” said Edlow. “I often have conversations with people who talk about the games they’re going to and then mention their bets on it.”
Ken Thomson, a longtime sports radio host in Las Vegas, reports seeing much of the same in the more mature betting market where he resides.
“I’ve seen this type of betting activity at Golden Knights games and with UNLV hoops,” said Thomson of @SportsXradio. “You see it in between periods when people are relaxed and have some time or right after a score when they make in-game wagers.”
As a finance professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Dr. Justin Balthrop is not surprised to see wagering from the stands becoming so commonplace across the country.
“Sports are already an emotional and sometimes tribalistic hobby for many, and now access to wagering on them offers a chance to accelerate and leverage those feelings,“ remarked Balthrop, who both researches gambling and is a sports bettor himself.
Bettor beware
Fans, especially those holding an overpriced beer, will face plenty of betting landmines at a game.
Those same-game parlays Hernandez-Solano and his college buddies are fond of can bring an extra jolt of drama since every play carries significance — though they rarely help build a bankroll, as parlays consistently result in the best hold percentages for the sportsbooks.
And any type of wager that prioritizes one’s favorite team enters into the dreaded territory of betting with the heart and not the mind.
Thomson has other concerns about fans betting while attending games in person.
“It’s too impulsive,” said Thomson. “People are usually drinking and may tend to place bets they ordinarily wouldn’t and then may actually increase their unit size to show off in front of friends or dates.”
Even a novice such as Hernandez-Solano knows how easy it is to deviate from the best practices of sports betting when at a game.
“It can be a mistake,” he said. “If your team wins but your parlay didn’t, you’re going to be upset. I’ve learned that the hard way, seeing the Phillies win but my parlay didn’t win, and my mood was kind of fuzzy. I was sort of happy, but at the same time I know I lost money on top of spending a lot for concessions.”
He added that “constantly checking your phone during the game can be draining.”
From his vantage point on campus, Balthrop said, “The college age generation seems like they are adopting this behavior en masse” — meaning betting on games and then checking their phones almost non-stop throughout the game.
Still, Hernandez-Solano tends to wager from the stands and play low-percentage parlays because “maybe one day that parlay will hit.”
Contrarian play
Thomson contends there can be situations where a bettor can gain an advantage from being in the stands (aside from not having TV lag to deal with). Reading players’ emotions, noticing that a trainer is working on someone, and the general vibe of the teams can assist a bettor.
Edlow finds himself sometimes wagering from his Fenway Park seat. He and the others around him can find positive EV in ways that go beyond just adding money to the betting bankroll.
“Betting like this can be entertaining,” said Edlow, noting that he was speaking from his perspective as an avid bettor and not on his employer’s behalf. “I think in our sports betting landscape, all the different styles of betting often get mixed together, which creates issues. Some people want to treat sports betting 100% seriously and only look for sharp angles. Some people don’t bet at all unless they are in the mood to throw that $10 parlay in for fun, whether it’s a game they are attending or just watching at home. Some people do both. I think that’s important to acknowledge and know the purpose of your bet.”
Balthrop questions how long the fun can last when the losses, regardless of unit size, keep adding up: “Whether this is a net increase in ‘fun’ is something I often wonder about in the long term.”
Looking forward
All those we talked to felt the trend toward in-stadium betting will only build as more fans follow the lead of others around them.
“Of course it will grow — every time you go to the game, all the ads for [sportsbooks] are kind of shoved in your face,” said Hernandez-Solano.
Those books would certainly like to see this trend continue to take off. Small, entertainment-based bets, such as long-shot SGPs, rarely pay out, and sometimes when they do, they have marketing value to publicize that, yes, lottery tickets can win.
What the books don’t care for — and is behavior that can get a bettor flagged — is “courtsiding,” that practice of making live bets faster than the algorithm can update. Sportsbooks would generally prefer that customers make their live bets from home, where the latency favors the house.
But the majority of in-stadium and in-arena bettors are exactly the types the books like. Even if someone is sharp with their other bets, come game time, when they wager for entertainment, they become the softest of all squares.
Thomson feels that with so many people already with their guard down, spending-wise, the books are well positioned to cultivate a broader betting mindset that plays on fans’ passions.
“You may see a major marketing campaign offering bonus bets on site at the games,” said Thomson. “The books will pick up the $5-to-$50 bettors in big numbers.”
He thinks making a small and almost assuredly losing wager will increasingly become part of the experience of going to a game. The same fan currently conditioned to pay as much for a slice of pizza as they would normally pay for an entire pie is not likely to be price-sensitive about firing off some bets on their phone.
