The Rise of Sports Betting in Asian America

Sports betting is an exploding mobile-first industry with Asian American users emerging as primary drivers of its explosive growth.

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized sports betting in 2018, the industry has exploded all across the country. There are 38 states that allow some form of sports betting and over the last few years, it has developed into a big part of mainstream American culture.

Millions of citizens are participating. Pew Research Center reports about 1 in 5 adults in the United States say they have placed a sports bet in the past year, but the data gets even more shocking for Asian Americans. Studies show that around 22% of Asian Americans engaged in sports betting and a survey from the same year suggested that they make up about 5.5 percent of all sports bettors in the U.S.

Much of this growth is being driven by younger betters because of the fact that sports betting today is almost entirely mobile. Instead of physically going somewhere to place your bets, you can now do it through mobile apps like FanDuel or DraftKings, which allow users to place bets instantly during live games and track odds in real time. This turns sports into something much more interactive.

Sports betting gives fans a way to constantly engage by placing bets on outcomes and player stats. For younger users, it feels less like gambling and more like an entertaining game of strategy. Sports betting is based on odds that represent the probability of an outcome. If a team is highly favored, the winnings will be lower because they are more likely to win. Betting on underdogs comes with higher risk, but higher reward.

Other behavioral factors at play include the fact that Asian American audiences tend to be the most engaged sports viewers in the country. Nielsen reported in 2025 that Asian Americans spend about 15% more time watching live sports than the average viewer and are 33% more likely to subscribe to a sports streaming platform.

Sports, technology, and real-time data are merging and it’s reshaping how people gamble completely. Today 94% of sports bets are placed online or through a mobile app, showing just how quick the industry has shifted.