Survey and market data point to the same conclusion from different directions: 18-to-24-year-olds are not gambling at dramatically higher overall rates than other adults, but they are gambling through different products. A 2026 investor survey found that
more than half (52%) of Gen Z investors said they have redirected money originally intended for investing into sports betting in the past year — a share that drops to 31% for millennials and 4% for boomers
. Esports betting and micro-betting — wagers on single pitches, points, or plays — are the two product categories growing fastest among this cohort, and the research base on both is large enough to separate real signal from marketing hype.
Key takeaways
- The esports betting market was valued by one major research firm at
$12.59 billion in 2025, rising to $14.17 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5%
, though estimates vary widely by firm depending on scope. - Gen Z (ages 16-24) makes up roughly a quarter of the global esports audience, while
Millennials (25-41 years old) make up half of the esports viewing audience, while Gen Z (16-24 years old) constitutes 26%
. - Live and in-play wagering — the category micro-bets sit inside —
accounted for 62.35% of the betting-type share in 2025
, and one investment bank estimated microbetting specifically at
6% to 7% of total sports betting revenue, or 15% of in-play
. - More than half of Gen Z investors surveyed by Betterment
redirected money originally intended for investing into sports betting in the past year
, and
about 26% of Gen Z investors treat sports betting as a deliberate part of their long-term financial strategy
. - Academic research links early and high-frequency betting formats to elevated harm: one study found esports bettors were
more likely than sports bettors to meet the criteria for problem gambling (64.8% vs 17.3%)
.
Table of contents
The size of the Gen Z betting wallet
The clearest data on Gen Z’s relationship with betting comes not from gambling regulators but from financial-services research. Betterment’s 2026 Retail Investor Survey, conducted among 1,000 U.S. retail investors split evenly across four generations, found that
more than half (52%) of Gen Z investors said they have redirected money originally intended for investing into sports betting in the past year — a share that drops to 31% for millennials and 4% for boomers
. For context on Gen X, a separate write-up of the same survey put the figure at
10% of Gen Xers
. The pattern holds on a second metric:
about 26% of Gen Z investors — born between 1997 and 2007 — treat sports betting as a deliberate part of their long-term financial strategy
, compared with
14% of millennials, 6% of Gen Xers, and 1% of boomers
.
Bank of America Institute data, which tracks actual payment flows rather than self-reported attitudes, reinforces the point:
one in five Americans view sports betting as an investment; among Gen Z, that figure doubles to two in five
. The behavior is occurring against a backdrop of rapid legal market growth —
Americans legally wagered a record $166.9 billion on sports in 2025 — up from $13 billion in 2019, according to the American Gaming Association
. The outcomes are not favorable to bettors of any age: a widely cited University of California, San Diego analysis found that
96% of the 717,724 bettors included in researchers’ sample appeared to lose money to online gambling over the five-year study period; just 4% turned a profit
. This context matters for the rest of this article — esports betting and micro-betting are growing inside a market where the house edge is already compounding against nearly everyone, regardless of generation. For a broader look at how age cohorts split across the wider player base, see our analysis of why 70% of online gamblers are now between 18 and 39.
Esports betting: an audience built for wagering
Esports betting is the product category most directly associated with Gen Z, largely because it inherits its audience from competitive gaming rather than from traditional sports fandom. Global esports viewership reached
640.8 million in 2025, a 5% increase from the previous year
, and within that audience,
Millennials (25-41 years old) make up half of the esports viewing audience, while Gen Z (16-24 years old) constitutes 26%
. On the participation side rather than the spectating side, industry tracking of esports players themselves found that
players aged 16–24 represent the largest group, at 47%
— a reminder that esports betting sits at the intersection of two young populations: the people competing and the people watching.
The betting market built on top of that audience has grown quickly, though sizing it precisely is difficult because research firms scope it differently. One major estimate put the market at
$12.59 billion in 2025, rising to $14.17 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5%
, with a longer-term forecast of
$21.61 billion by 2030, growing at a 11.1% CAGR
. Academic research on the esports-betting audience specifically — rather than the broader esports-viewing audience — has found a much narrower participation rate. A UK study using the Emerging Adults Gambling panel found that
among young adults aged 16–24, 2.9% had bet on esports in the past year, making it as prevalent within the sample as playing table games in a casino, betting on sports in bookmakers or betting on Fixed Odd Betting Terminals in bookmakers
. That same study found
young adults who were esports bettors were more likely to be men, to be from nonwhite ethnic groups, to be heavily engaged in gaming and also heavily engaged in gambling
— a profile that lines up with the gender skew documented in our analysis of the iGaming gender gap.
| Generation | Age range | Share of global esports audience |
|---|---|---|
| Gen Z | 16–24 | 26% |
| Millennials | 25–41 | 50% |
| Gen X | 42–56 | 20% |
| Baby Boomers | 57+ | 4% |
Generation X (42-56 years old) represents 20%, and Baby Boomers (57+) comprise a smaller 4% share
of the global esports audience, underscoring how heavily the category still skews toward Gen Z and Millennials combined.
Micro-betting: gambling at the speed of a feed
Micro-betting — wagers resolved in seconds, on outcomes like the next pitch, serve, or play — has grown inside the broader shift toward live, in-play wagering. Mordor Intelligence’s 2025 market data found that
live or in-play betting represented 62.35% of the betting market share in 2025, a growth driven by advancements in low-latency streaming infrastructure and the increasing popularity of micro-betting products, which allow wagers on highly specific outcomes, such as the next pitch, serve, or possession
. That share is forecast to keep climbing: the same research projects
a robust 13.62% CAGR through 2031
for live and in-play wagering as a category. We cover the operator side of this shift — which sportsbook apps actually build the deepest micro-markets — in our review of micro-betting leaders among sportsbook apps.
How big is microbetting, specifically
Micro-betting is a subset of in-play wagering, and sizing it precisely requires operator-level or analyst estimates rather than regulator totals. One Wall Street analysis reported that
micro betting penetration is further along in the U.S., accounting for an estimated 6% to 7% of total sports betting revenue, or 15% of in-play, with the vast majority generated from DraftKings
. A separate investment-bank survey focused on in-play wagering found that
36% of respondents had tried microbetting, and 5% said it was their No. 1 method of betting, above pre-game bets, same-game or multi-game parlays, or even in-play bets on the outcome of the game
. Longer-range forecasts from that same analysis put microbetting-specific revenue at
roughly $3.5 billion by 2030, or more than 10% of sports betting receipts
. Product rollouts illustrate how granular these markets have become: when DraftKings extended micro-betting to college football,
the opening weekend allowed users to bet on an “unprecedented 100,000 plays” across the 85 games
— a volume of distinct betting events that would have been unthinkable in a pre-match-only sportsbook. This format mirrors the mechanic-driven design changes covered in our piece on how rising mobile gaming habits are reshaping slot mechanics, where shorter feedback loops and constant micro-rewards are also the design philosophy of choice.
The risk signals researchers are flagging
The research literature is more cautious than market-growth headlines suggest. A 2025 study on young adult sports bettors noted that
young people aged 18–24 years have the highest participation in sports betting of any age group, particularly among men
, and cited earlier work finding that
among US adults aged 18–25 years (N = 540), the likelihood of having a gambling problem was 2.4 times higher in sports bettors compared to those who did not bet on sports
. A systematic review covering the transition from childhood to early adulthood concluded that
new forms of sports gambling, including online sports betting, esports betting and fantasy sport betting, are associated with increased risk of problem gambling
.
Esports betting specifically carries its own elevated risk profile in the academic literature. One comparative study found that
esports bettors were indeed more likely than sports bettors to meet the criteria for problem gambling (64.8% vs 17.3%) and were more likely to experience at least one gambling-related harm (81.9% vs 45.3%)
. Underage exposure compounds the concern: a study of Australian adolescents found that
6.2% of adolescents under the legal gambling age of 18 years reported esports skin betting in the past year, which was 2.5 times higher than for esports cash betting
. Advertising exposure appears to play a measurable role too — a study of 18-24-year-old active bettors recruited specifically because they already held betting accounts found that
although young people represent only 22.5% of the total population, they account for 34.3% of problem sports bettors
in the underlying Australian dataset it drew on.
U.S. survey data from the National Council on Problem Gambling adds a generational-exposure dimension. Its most recent national survey found
nearly two thirds of adults aged 21 and older (65%) report participating in at least one form of gambling before age 21
, and among the youngest respondents that figure was higher still:
among respondents aged 21 to 29, the figure rose to 71 percent
. On sports betting specifically,
33% of 21–44-year-olds placed a sports bet before 21, versus 11% of 55+
. These generational exposure gaps echo patterns we’ve documented in our analysis of how household income shapes betting frequency and risk, where early exposure and lower disposable income combine to produce different risk curves across age groups.
How operators are chasing the 18-24 cohort
Commercially, the incentives are straightforward: a younger, digitally native audience that already spends on in-game purchases and streaming subscriptions is a natural extension for betting products built around short-form attention spans. The same NCPG national survey found
33 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 24 played fantasy sports in 2018, a figure that grew to 44 percent in 2021
— evidence that even adjacent, lower-stakes betting-like products have gained ground fastest among the youngest adult cohort. Operators have responded by building micro-market infrastructure deep enough to generate tens of thousands of distinct bettable events per match weekend, as the DraftKings college football rollout illustrated, and by integrating esports titles directly into mainstream sportsbook apps rather than treating them as a niche vertical.
The result is a betting environment where product design, rather than headline participation rates, is doing most of the work to pull in younger users. Our analysis of the 80/20 rule in casino revenue distribution found similar dynamics at play across casino verticals, where a small share of highly engaged users drives disproportionate revenue — a pattern that micro-betting’s high-frequency, low-stake structure seems purpose-built to replicate among younger bettors. GamblScout’s algorithm treats the depth and design of an operator’s in-play and esports markets as a measurable product signal, not a marketing claim, which is covered in more detail in our scoring system and algorithmic weights methodology and our broader look at future trends shaping iGaming through 2030.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly counts as micro-betting?
Micro-betting refers to wagers on single, short-duration events within a live game — the next pitch, serve, or play — rather than the outcome of the full match. It sits inside the broader live/in-play betting category, which
represented 62.35% of the betting-type share in 2025
according to Mordor Intelligence, with microbetting itself estimated by one analyst at
6% to 7% of total U.S. sports betting revenue
.
Is esports betting riskier than traditional sports betting?
Peer-reviewed comparisons suggest yes, at least in terms of problem-gambling prevalence among people who already bet. One study found esports bettors were
more likely than sports bettors to meet the criteria for problem gambling (64.8% vs 17.3%)
. However, actual participation in cash esports betting remains modest — around
2.9% of 16-24-year-olds in one UK sample
— so the elevated risk applies to a smaller, more engaged subgroup rather than the age cohort broadly.
How big is the esports betting market in 2026?
Estimates vary by research firm and scope. One widely cited figure puts the market at
$12.59 billion in 2025, rising to $14.17 billion in 2026 at a 12.5% CAGR
, with longer-range forecasts reaching
$21.61 billion by 2030
. Other firms publish both lower and higher figures depending on whether they include skin betting, fantasy esports, or operator revenue versus handle.
Why are Gen Z investors redirecting money into sports betting?
Survey data points to financial anxiety as much as entertainment.
One in five Americans view sports betting as an investment; among Gen Z, that figure doubles to two in five
, and
about 26% of Gen Z investors treat sports betting as a deliberate part of their long-term financial strategy
— far higher than older generations surveyed in the same study.
Does underage exposure to esports or micro-betting matter?
Yes. Research on adolescents found that
6.2% of those under the legal gambling age of 18 reported esports skin betting in the past year, 2.5 times higher than cash esports betting
, and national survey data shows
71% of adults aged 21 to 29 report gambling in some form before turning 21
, suggesting exposure well before legal betting age is common among the cohort now entering the 18-24 bracket.
How GamblScout tracks this trend
For demographic trend pieces like this one, our algorithm cross-references scraped operator data — the number and type of micro-markets offered per sport, esports title coverage, and in-app bet-slip speed — against third-party audience and market-size research rather than operator self-reporting. Sentiment signals from player forums and review text, processed through our natural language processing and sentiment analysis pipeline, are weighted against the scraped technical data on responsible-gambling tool placement, since harm indicators in the academic literature are concentrated in high-frequency betting formats. None of this output constitutes a recommendation to use any named product.
Gambling involves risk. Only play with money you can afford to lose and use the deposit limits and self-exclusion tools available in your jurisdiction.
