4 ms·

I'm not sure if you've ever spent any time in an American casino, but the sports book is not where you find 'really old people', except perhaps the handful of o

I'm not sure if you've ever spent any time in an American casino, but the sports book is not where you find 'really old people', except perhaps the handful of older guys betting on horse races. And at the sports book area, chances are that you aren't going to encounter the sort of obvious problem gamblers that you see glued to the video poker and slots.

opportune 9y ago
Right but you can modify sports games to become more like regular games. For example I claim you're making a sports bet but structure the game so that it's identical to slots. That's what they do in Kentucky to basically make legalized slot machines
- sithadmin 9y ago
  The phenomenon you're describing is a real conundrum (and it's an emerging issue in my home state of Texas), but at the end of the day can be settled by a more stringent state or federally-enforced definition of what qualifies as a slot machine, especially when it's fairly obvious that using replays of old sport events to determine payout is not at all the same thing as letting the outcome be settled by a random number generator.
  - CamperBob2 9y ago
    Or, the government could just butt out and let consenting adults gamble if that's what they want to do with their time and money.
    - ggg9990 9y ago
      What's your definition of consenting adult? A person with a gambling problem is about as able to give informed consent as a mentally retarded person.
      - CamperBob2 9y ago
        That's a bit patronizing, don't you think? Have you thought about all of the other freedoms you could restrict based on identical reasoning? It's a very long list.
        mrguyorama 9y ago
        What do you consider addiction to be then? How rationally impaired do you have to be before society throws up their hands and stops you from being taken advantage of?
        CamperBob2 9y ago
        How rationally impaired do you have to be before society throws up their hands and stops you from being taken advantage of? OK, you've convinced me. When do we make our move on the gambling halls? Before we shutter the taverns and the churches, or afterward?
hug 9y ago
We're definitely just trading anecdotes here, but I assume you've never spent any time inside the local TAB in a rural Australian town; It's not exactly filled to the brim with young professional up-and-comers. My experience in Australia doesn't generalise perfectly to the US, of course. I wonder how much it does at all. That lack of certainty doesn't stop me from worrying what things would look like if it translates well across our societies.
- sithadmin 9y ago
  Sports gambling in the US is definitely quite different from what one encounters in the Commonwealths, but it also isn't that the sports books are filled with 'young professional up-and-comers'. It's a range of men, generally between 25-65, that have an interest in sports that borders on unhealthy, but take great pride in making 'smart' and generally conservative bets.

opportune 9y ago

Right but you can modify sports games to become more like regular games. For example I claim you're making a sports bet but structure the game so that it's identical to slots. That's what they do in Kentucky to basically make legalized slot machines

sithadmin 9y ago
The phenomenon you're describing is a real conundrum (and it's an emerging issue in my home state of Texas), but at the end of the day can be settled by a more stringent state or federally-enforced definition of what qualifies as a slot machine, especially when it's fairly obvious that using replays of old sport events to determine payout is not at all the same thing as letting the outcome be settled by a random number generator.
- CamperBob2 9y ago
  Or, the government could just butt out and let consenting adults gamble if that's what they want to do with their time and money.
  - ggg9990 9y ago
    What's your definition of consenting adult? A person with a gambling problem is about as able to give informed consent as a mentally retarded person.
    - CamperBob2 9y ago
      That's a bit patronizing, don't you think? Have you thought about all of the other freedoms you could restrict based on identical reasoning? It's a very long list.
      - mrguyorama 9y ago
        What do you consider addiction to be then? How rationally impaired do you have to be before society throws up their hands and stops you from being taken advantage of?
        CamperBob2 9y ago
        How rationally impaired do you have to be before society throws up their hands and stops you from being taken advantage of? OK, you've convinced me. When do we make our move on the gambling halls? Before we shutter the taverns and the churches, or afterward?

hug 9y ago

We're definitely just trading anecdotes here, but I assume you've never spent any time inside the local TAB in a rural Australian town; It's not exactly filled to the brim with young professional up-and-comers. My experience in Australia doesn't generalise perfectly to the US, of course. I wonder how much it does at all. That lack of certainty doesn't stop me from worrying what things would look like if it translates well across our societies.

sithadmin 9y ago
Sports gambling in the US is definitely quite different from what one encounters in the Commonwealths, but it also isn't that the sports books are filled with 'young professional up-and-comers'. It's a range of men, generally between 25-65, that have an interest in sports that borders on unhealthy, but take great pride in making 'smart' and generally conservative bets.