WHAT'S THE LINE? THE INFLUENCE OF NUMERICAL LITERACY ON THE PERCEPTIONS AND EVALUATIONS OF SPORT ODDS

Abstract

In 2018, the United States Supreme Court overturned PASPA, a law which had previously deemed sports betting illegal. Following this ruling, states have already or have begun passing legislation which legalizes sport betting. As legalization continues to sweep the nation, an untapped domain of research has emerged. From a sport management perspective, there is a new, highly lucrative sport industry with which there is minimal research. The main purpose of this research project is to examine how bet presentation influences consumer behavior related to sports gambling. Specifically, the role that bet format presentation has on consumers’ willingness to bet and the amount they are willing to bet. Additionally, the potentially mediating effects of numeracy and team identification were examined. Participants (N=703) were recruited from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, as these locations natively use different forms of bet presentation (American, fractional, and decimal). This study utilized a Latin square experimental design that examined whether participants were willing to bet more money when shown American odds first compared to fractional odds first. Further, evidence was provided demonstrating the positive mediating influence of team identification, and the influence of subjective numeracy. Practically, the results from this study can inform sports betting organizations, sports betting consumers, as well as government and industry regulators. Theoretically, knowledge is contributed to the domains of sport management, behavioral pricing, and appraisal theory literature.