A new study published in the Journal of Sports Economics finds that the legalization of sports betting in the United States is associated with significant increases in violent and impulsive crime during and immediately after major professional sporting events. Analyzing incident-level crime data from 2017 to 2021, researchers examined crime patterns from the start of a game through four hours after its conclusion across the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

The study finds that states that legalized sports betting following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Murphy v. NCAA experienced increases in assaults, larceny and vehicle theft on game days, with crime rising by roughly 30–70% depending on game context. The largest spikes occurred after home games and when outcomes defied betting expectations, such as when underdogs won.

Importantly, the researchers also identify spillover effects: increases in crime were observed in neighboring states even when those states had not legalized sports betting, suggesting bettors may cross state lines to place wagers and bring associated stress back home.

The findings further suggest a shift in the mechanisms driving betting-related aggression following the COVID-19 pandemic. While earlier increases in crime were primarily linked to financial losses, more recent evidence points to non-financial factors, including heightened emotional stress during close, unpredictable or overtime games.

The study highlights potential social costs associated with the rapid expansion of legal sports betting and underscores the importance of considering public safety and consumer protections alongside revenue generation as more states weigh legalization.

Legalized sports betting comes with a hidden public safety cost: a measurable rise in violent and impulsive crime on game days––even in states without gambling, according to new research led by the University of Michigan.

By linking decades of weather and income data, University of Arizona economist Derek Lemoine shows how routine temperature shifts have already become an economic force.

The largest-ever study testing the effectiveness of an evidence-based approach to increasing physical activity using smartphone fitness trackers gamification to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease will launch at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Ascension, one of the nation’s leading non-profit health systems , thanks to a $25 million award. The six-year study, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), will build on the highly successful BE ACTIVE trial, published in 2024, which demonstrated sustained increases in daily step counts using a behavioral economics based approach to gamification to enhance ongoing engagement, where participants were awarded points for meeting daily step goals and progress through levels based on accumulated points.

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A study in Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal examines how the labor environment in states with “right-to-work” (RTW) laws compared with that in neighboring states with stronger union bargaining power.