The Impact of Legalized Sports Betting on Divorce

Alvaro Muniz-Fernandez, Brad Humphreys and Jane Ruseski
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Alvaro Muniz-Fernandez: University of Oviedo
Brad Humphreys: West Virginia University
Jane Ruseski: West Virginia University

No 26-06, Working Papers from Department of Economics, West Virginia University

Abstract: This paper estimates the causal effect of legalization of sports betting on marital dissolution. We exploit the staggered legalization of sports betting in states following the Murphy v. NCAA (2018) Supreme Court as a source of exogenous variation, using a U.S. state-year panel from 2012 to 2023. Implementing a difference-in-differences design, we find that legalization increases both the flow and stock of divorces: the annual divorce rate and the share of divorced men rise by 0.107 and 0.276 percentage points, respectively. These effects accumulate gradually over the post-treatment period, consistent with a mechanism operating through the slow deterioration of household finances and marital relationships. Our findings suggest that the social costs of sports betting legalization extend beyond individual financial and mental harm to include measurable disruptions to family structure.

Keywords: Divorce; Sports Betting; difference-in-differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 K36 L83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2026-04
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