Survey Finds More Americans Hold Online Sports Betting Accounts

Online sports betting has grown fast in the United States. A poll released in April 2026 gives one of the clearest measures of how far it has come. More than a quarter of Americans now have an active account with an online sportsbook. Two years earlier, fewer than one in five did.

Similar seasonal interest around major tournaments shows up in other markets too, on platforms including 1xbet cambodia and many other sportsbooks. Almost everywhere, a new customer starts the same way. There is an account, a deposit and usually some kind of welcome offer. Understanding those offers is now part of understanding the market.

What the Siena Poll Measured

This study was conducted by the Siena Research Institute in collaboration with St. Bonaventure University. The field period was between 16 and 27 February 2026. Results were released on 13 April. The number of participants who completed the survey online was 3,084. It was an online panel survey, and according to the authors, the credibility interval is ±1.9 percentage points.

The main questions were simple. They asked whether people have an online sportsbook account and whether they have ever opened one. They also asked whether people actually bet. The answers have been tracked for several years. That makes the trend more useful than any single number.

Accounts Versus Active Bettors

According to the poll, 27% of Americans have an active online sportsbook account. In 2025 the figure was 22%, and in 2024 it was 19%. So the share has grown by about eight points in two years. A wider group, 33%, have opened an account at least once. Some of them no longer use it.

Having an account and betting are not quite the same thing. Overall, 22% of Americans called themselves bettors. Among account holders, 83% said they had placed a bet. In other words, a small part of the people who sign up never place a first bet. Others open an account mainly to look at the odds.

That gap explains why operators put so much effort into the first days of a new account. An account that is opened but never used brings nothing. The welcome offer is the bridge between registration and a first bet.

Why Promo Codes Matter at Sign-Up

A promo code is a short word or string of letters. It is entered during registration or at the first deposit. It tells the sportsbook which offer to apply to the account. Sometimes it also shows which partner or promotion the customer came from. Some offers apply on their own. Others only work if the code is typed in before the deposit.

Because the code is usually entered only once, the order of steps matters. Someone who looks for a 1xBet promo code after already depositing may find it is too late to add the offer. Reading the offer page before registration avoids that problem. It also shows what the code actually gives.

Codes change often, too. Many are tied to a certain sport, payment method or device. Sportsbooks run different offers for big tournaments, new markets or particular sports. An old code found on a forum may well have expired. The operator's official promotions page is the safest place to check what is valid right now.

Common Types of Offers

There are a few typical types of welcome offers. The terminology may vary between different platforms, but the reasoning behind each offer is something like this:

• Deposit match: In this bonus system, the betting platform matches a specified percentage of your first deposit in terms of bonus money up to a maximum limit.
• Free bet: This is a specified stake amount that can be wagered for free, meaning that only the winnings will be credited into your account.
• Odds boost: This is when the odds for the particular market are boosted, usually up to a specific stake limit.
• Bet and get: This bonus system offers a player a bonus after placing a qualifying bet.

Each type suits a different style of betting. A free bet is simple, and its value is clear. A large deposit match can look more generous. However, it often comes with stricter conditions.

The way winnings are paid also differs. With a normal bet, a stake of 10 at odds of 3.00 returns 30, including the original 10. With a free bet of 10 at the same odds, the return is usually 20. The free stake itself is not paid back. So what happens with a free bet at very short odds? It gives back very little. That is why many people use free bets on prices of 2.00 or higher.

Deposit matches work on a percentage. A 100% match on a deposit of 50 adds another 50 in bonus funds. A 50% match on the same deposit adds 25. The maximum is often lower than it looks. The bonus part usually cannot be withdrawn until the conditions are met.

Reading the Terms

An offer's real value lives in its terms, not in its headline number. The most important term is the wagering requirement, also called rollover. It says how many times the bonus, or the bonus plus deposit, has to be bet before any of it can be withdrawn. Other common conditions include minimum odds for qualifying bets and a time limit. There is often a cap on how much can be withdrawn from bonus winnings as well.

The example below is not taken from any real offer. It only shows how the terms change what a bonus means in practice.

Two offers with the same headline can look very different once these numbers are compared. In the example, a bonus of 100 means 500 in bets. Each bet needs odds of at least 1.40. Everything has to happen within 30 days, possibly only through accumulators. If one were to bet 20 per week, then he/she would not come close to the deadline. A smaller bonus that has a low qualification and long time period is more usable than the big one. The latter could be compared to the cake that is kept behind glass.

What the Trend Suggests

Offers for existing customers have become more common too. Odds boosts on big matches are one example. Small free bets for trying a new market are another. Reload bonuses on later deposits are a third. These now help sportsbooks keep customers active, not just attract them. The same point about terms applies to all of them.

The Siena figures show a market that is still growing. The share of account holders rose faster between 2025 and 2026 than in the year before. As more people open accounts, sportsbooks compete harder. They compete on offers for new customers and on features for existing ones.

For bettors, that makes the terms of each offer more important than its size. The account numbers will likely keep rising for a while. And the welcome offer will stay the first thing most new customers see.