At the US Open, Sports Betting Has Become Part of the Fan Experience

The Grand Slam tournament in New York has become not only a celebration of tennis but also a showcase for the sports betting industry. Sportsbook mobile apps, prediction markets, promotions, and push notifications with match predictions surround spectators at every turn. The US Open reflects a trend that has spread far beyond the stadium: in the United States, it has never been easier to win or lose money on sports.

Tennis is ideally suited for this. The many intermediate outcomes within each match, a detailed scoring system, and a season that stretches across nearly the entire year make it one of the most “convenient” sports for betting. The market for mobile apps and betting ads is oversaturated, and the US Open represents the peak of activity on these platforms.

A Bet on Court 13 and an Attempt at a Fresh Start

On the second day of the tournament, Bryan Cevallos and Dev Ramautar sat among a sparse crowd on Court 13, watching Kimberly Birrell face Petra Marcinko. Ramautar wagered $20, Cevallos $28, on the Australian’s victory. Both admitted they had never heard of her opponent, ranked No. 77.

The day before, each had lost more than $200 betting on Novak Djokovic, who unexpectedly lost in the first round. “Because of Djokovic, everything went down the drain,” Ramautar said. “But today is a fresh start.” Birrell won in three sets, the friends collected their winnings, and headed to Court 5, where the next leg of their parlay awaited.

Kalshi Becomes an “Official Partner” of the Tournament

That same morning, the USTA announced the prediction markets platform Kalshi as the “official prediction market partner” of the US Open. The company’s branding appeared on courtside signage, and the tournament’s official mobile app began sending push notifications with predictions under the Kalshi logo to subscribers. According to data from the analytics site TickerTracker, trading volume on tennis outcomes during the first week of the Open significantly exceeded figures for other sports.

Kalshi declined to comment. USTA chief Craig Tiley stated that the partnership allows the organization to “be at the forefront of innovation in global sport and deepen fan engagement while ensuring the integrity of the sport.” Prediction market operators and sportsbooks are fighting in courts over the fundamental differences between their models, but for the average fan, it all blurs into a single environment of apps, odds, “predictions,” and advertising banners. Ramautar and Cevallos, for instance, use New York-licensed sportsbook FanDuel and are not well-versed in the finer legal distinctions.

A Generation for Whom Legal Betting Has Always Existed

Both friends are under thirty. Ramautar is 27 and repairs aircraft at JFK. Cevallos is 25, works in the IT department of two medical centers, and lives with his parents. Both grew up in Queens, a few miles from Arthur Ashe Stadium, with no expensive hobbies or taste for luxury. In 2018, the Supreme Court opened the door to widespread legalization of sports betting, and in 2022 New York launched mobile betting. Ramautar recalls that long before he came of age, he was already planning to start betting “because he thought he understood sports really well.”

They bet on everything, but love tennis most of all. They discuss parlays on Discord, watch low-level matches from Qatar late at night, and place live bets on individual sets. During peak periods, spending reached $1,000 a week; later, the friends cut their budget to around $100. But before the US Open, they set aside extra money in advance.

The popularity of sports betting grows year after year, largely because placing a wager on a match outcome can now be done online without leaving the stands. The ability to bet today exists not only at sportsbooks but also at most online casinos around the world, from the United States to Brazil and Australia. This became clear while reviewing australian sign up no deposit casino bonuses and industry directories from other countries where tennis is popular, including the United States. It emerged that the functionality of iGaming platforms almost universally includes sports betting alongside classic casino games. The global accessibility of such services explains why stories like those of Ramautar and Cevallos repeat themselves across different continents with the same regularity.

When Accessibility Becomes a Diagnosis

A study by Epic Research, covering more than 197 million American adults, found that the number of gambling disorder diagnoses in states with legal betting grew by more than 60% between the first quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2026. The authors note that the increase cannot be attributed to a single legislative event due to the phased nature of legalization. Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University and a gambling addiction counselor with more than a decade of personal recovery, puts it bluntly: “The product is not designed for entertainment. It is designed for rapid, continuous consumption.”

Ramautar admitted that he had sometimes considered calling a gambling helpline and closing all his accounts. “But I never did,” he added. Under state law, sportsbook advertising on TV and radio must include contact information for addiction support. FanDuel, for its part, claims to offer a “comprehensive set of tools”: deposit limits, time-outs, self-exclusion, and risk monitoring by trained specialists.

Monday and Tuesday at the Courts: Promos Pull Them Back In

On Monday, Ramautar lost $100 on a parlay after Arthur Fils was eliminated, but then ran his bankroll up to nearly $500 through a series of small $10 bets before putting it all on Frances Tiafoe. Tiafoe won only in the early hours of Tuesday, and the day ended with a gain of more than $900. Cevallos was less fortunate: down $265. Both acknowledge that FanDuel promotions, odds boosts, and deposit bonuses create a fear of missing out. “Even when you want to take a day off, it’s almost impossible when they give you three tennis boosts every day,” Cevallos said.

On Tuesday he tried to recover his losses, climbed to $140 in profit, then lost a bet on the tie-break of the first set of the Ruse–Zheng Qinwen match. Later, in the empty stands of Court 4, the friends debated the line between “having fun” and “degenerate gambling.” For them, the line is crossed when someone bets rent money or goes into debt. Both hide the size of their bets from their parents.

59% of “Serious Abuse” Directed at Female Tennis Players Is Linked to Betting

The accessibility of betting is hurting more than just fans’ wallets. A WTA and World Tennis study covering the 2025 season found that 59% of cases of “serious abuse” directed at players came from bettors who had lost money. World No. 3 Jessica Pegula noted at a press conference that tennis players cannot sign their own contracts with betting companies, yet they receive waves of hatred on social media while sportsbook logos hang right behind the court.

A Modest Win Against a Backdrop of Tens of Thousands in Losses

By the end of the tournament’s first week, Cevallos was up $177 and Ramautar had accumulated around $2,000. Asked whether he planned to withdraw the funds before the second week, Ramautar replied: “Absolutely not.” He explains that winnings feel “unreal”: having lost $500 that grew from an initial $10, he perceives it as losing ten dollars, not hundreds.

Both then revealed the overall statistics from their accounts. Since 2022, Ramautar has lost more than $50,000. Cevallos has lost more than $33,000. Neither plans to stop. Ramautar dreams of winning a million someday. Cevallos says he might quit if he ever recoups his $33,000. High up in the stands, looking out over the court, they talk about the future — and open the app for the next bet.