Gen Z Embraces High-Risk Gambling As Economic Future Darkens, Survey Finds
More members of Generation Z than any other age group are turning to gambling to help achieve financial goals, including saving for retirement, a recent study found.
Notably, 26% of Zoomers, the group of people — also referred to as “Generation Z” — born between 1997 and 2012, identified gambling on sports bets as being part of their long-term investment strategy, according to a study Betterment published Tuesday. Additionally, 60% of Gen Z reported getting their financial advice from social media in 2026, compared to 21% who reported seeking such input from financial advisers.
Betterment surveyed 1,000 retail investors across four generations from March 27 to April 3, 2026. The financial technology company did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
“When a prediction market or sportsbook starts to feel like a retirement strategy, we have a problem,” Betterment CEO Sarah Levy stated in a Wednesday press release.
Americans reportedly bet at least $166 billion on sporting events in 2025. Since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a federal ban on sports betting in 2018, states that legalized it reported higher rates of credit card delinquencies among Zoomers and Millennials, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released in February 2026. Likewise, 96% of sports bettors lose money, according to a five-year study by the University of California, San Diego, published in 2024.
“These products are designed to keep people seeking the next quick score, not to help them build toward the next decade,” Levy stated. “Younger investors deserve access to the tools and information that meet them where they are, but the industry also has a responsibility to be clear about the difference between participating in a trend and building lasting wealth.”
Gen Z’s apparent distrust of traditional financial institutions may come from certain “economic nihilism” in reaction to their perceptions — and worries — of the American economy, Yahoo News reported Friday. Likewise, Northwestern Mutual reported Aug. 3, that 71% of Zoomers surveyed in January 2026 said they don’t believe they’ll ever achieve at least one of life’s major milestones, like marriage or homeownership.
While the unemployment rate for Gen Z rests at 8.5% at the time of publication, the availability of entry-level jobs has dropped 35% since 2023 as artificial intelligence penetrates the workforce, Revelio Labs reported in August 2024. In addition, 34% of hiring managers admitted to creating fake job listings, Staffing Industry Analysts reported in June 2024.
The distrust expressed by Gen Z may also come from feeling as if other institutions they were told to trust have failed them. Over half of surveyed Zoomers (55%) felt pressured by their parents to enroll in college, according to a Gallup poll published in September 2023. Likewise, student loan debt incurred by American students reached a record high of $1.863 trillion, according to a July report by the Education Data Initiative.
“When every conventional path narrows, people start to look for alternatives. And in practice, that has meant turning toward the few places where a real upside still appears possible, even if the risks are high,” financial educator Kyla Scanlon wrote for The Wall Street Journal in December 2025.
“When people start treating the economy like a game, it’s a sign that the traditional ways of winning no longer feel real,” she wrote.
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