The Surprising Effects of Bet Size on Enjoyment of Sports Wagering

Session Title

Sports Betting: Behavior & Decision Making

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation

Start Date

28-5-2026 12:00 AM

Abstract

Many people engage in sports gambling for the fun of it. In a series of studies, we find that people tend to overestimate the impact of bet size on the fun they have. They believe that betting on the winner of a sports event is more enjoyable than simply predicting the winner, and that higher-stakes bets make the experience more enjoyable than smaller bets. This belief leads them to prefer larger bets over smaller bets. In reality, the enjoyment derived from gambling is relatively stakes-independent: at least within a certain range, lower-stakes gamblers derive as much enjoyment from watching a sports event as their higher-stakes counterparts. Simply predicting the outcome improves the watching experience to a similar extent as placing relatively large bets.

Author Bios

Nathan Novemsky is Professor of Marketing in the Yale School of Management He is an expert in the psychology of judgment and decision-making. He examines the determinants of satisfying experiences, among other topics. He actively partners with practitioners (including Pepsico, Kellogg’s, Google, Optum Health, Doordash, Snapchat, Visa, American Express, TIAA, Metlife, and many others) to develop new insights into customer behavior that help them do their marketing and marketing research better.

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May 28th, 12:00 AM

The Surprising Effects of Bet Size on Enjoyment of Sports Wagering

Many people engage in sports gambling for the fun of it. In a series of studies, we find that people tend to overestimate the impact of bet size on the fun they have. They believe that betting on the winner of a sports event is more enjoyable than simply predicting the winner, and that higher-stakes bets make the experience more enjoyable than smaller bets. This belief leads them to prefer larger bets over smaller bets. In reality, the enjoyment derived from gambling is relatively stakes-independent: at least within a certain range, lower-stakes gamblers derive as much enjoyment from watching a sports event as their higher-stakes counterparts. Simply predicting the outcome improves the watching experience to a similar extent as placing relatively large bets.