Survey: 40% of Sports Reporters Bet on Games

By Zach Jevne

Gambling and sports have always gone hand-in-hand, but according to a recent survey, it also extends to the people reporting on the games.

In a poll conducted by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State University, 40 percent of sports reporters admitted they gamble on sports, with 5 percent saying they had bet on the games they were covering. The poll asked 285 reporters who cover sports for newspapers and their web sites. The survey is titled "Sports Coverage: Toy Department or Public-Service Journalism" and will appear in the September 2009 issue of the International Journal of Sport Communication.

The most telling aspect of the survey, according to Marie Harden, who conducted the research, was that those who do gamble on sports were more likely to admit that gambling hurts objectivity in coverage of the games. The report mentions that gambling on sports by reporters who cover them is banned by the ethics codes of some news organizations because of the potential conflict of interest.

Remaining objective after winning or losing money on the game would be nearly impossible. That is the reason these news organizations use an ethics code. Once a person has placed a bet on a game, they no longer view the game in the same light as someone who has no money invested in the outcome. I feel that objectivity is very important in sports reporting. I don't want to read an article by a die-hard, biased fan of the team, who would also have a hard time remaining objective, just as I wouldn't want to read someone who has just lost money on the game.

I know that it is wishful thinking to think that there is a way to eliminate gambling among reporters, but I feel that it jeopardizes the integrity of the profession. Placing a bet on a sport that you are not covering is bad, but wagering on a game you are reporting on is something that cannot be tolerated.