A new national poll finds a majority of US adults in favor of legal sports betting, while over one-fifth of sports fans have placed wagers in the past five years.

On Tuesday, the Washington Post published the results of a new survey in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts Lowell that showed 55% of US adults were in favor of legal sports betting versus just 33% who stated their opposition.

The results of the survey, which involved 1k adults contacted over the week of August 14-21, stand in stark contrast to a Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll conducted in 1993 – one year after the federal PASPA sports betting prohibition took effect – which found just 41% of respondents approved of legal betting versus 56% who stood opposed. Over the same period, those expressing a ‘neutral’ position on the issue rose from 3% to 12%.

The Post claimed this was the first poll that indicated majority support for legal wagering, although a 2014 Seton Hall University survey found similar levels of support (55%) for legal betting. However, a more recent Seton Hall Sports Poll showed support at just 46%, although this still outnumbered those who favored keeping betting illegal (42%).