4 ms·

The NBA Wants You to Bet on Games That Never Happened

17 points by danso 7y ago

basicplus2 7y ago
What great opportunity to rig the outcome depending on bets as they come in
- chowells 7y ago
  Sure, but why would they want to? Even the slightest hint of that would sink the product and end a line of revenue. If it's successful enough to be worth cheating, it's also successful enough to be worth not cheating and just taking the fees. Of course, the incentives would be different for individual employees, and possibly sufficiently so that the product would forever be tainted with cheating. Unrelated to all those considerations, I think the whole thing is kind of disgusting. It smells like a play to exploit compulsive gamblers by producing an always-available product, even at hours (or months) when there is no game going on. Who does this appeal to, other than compulsive gamblers? All the other reasons I can think of to wager on a sporting event vanish when it's a fake event dressing up a virtual coin flip.
keiru 7y ago
>splice random highlights from real NBA games and combine them This is the future of sports, cattering to the internet age and going for the short attention span markey. I'm not even complaining, I wouldn't sit through a whole game either.
coralreef 7y ago
At first I thought it was stupid. But then I realized there is a market for people playing games of random chance, like slots. It can be an entertaining and addictive experience. The last minute of a 1 possession game really is the most exciting moment in basketball. You drop the bettor into a situation (defined roster, game time, team possession, fouls), show them betting odds and game/player statistics. Place bets, and then run the simulation.
Steko 7y ago
2021: NBA shuts down fake game betting after being taken to the cleaners by algorithms.
i_am_nomad 7y ago
It’s a clever way to maintain the integrity of the game while still making money off gambling. Once you make gambling an official part of the sport, the sport quickly becomes corrupt. But synthetic games like this aren’t actually basketball. Still, it’s evil, and separately, the NBA has shown interest in monetizing actual sports betting.
cylinder 7y ago
Alternatively, I invite a few degenerates into my home and run simulation games on NBA 2k19 and take bets.

17 points by danso 7y ago

basicplus2 7y ago

What great opportunity to rig the outcome depending on bets as they come in

chowells 7y ago
Sure, but why would they want to? Even the slightest hint of that would sink the product and end a line of revenue. If it's successful enough to be worth cheating, it's also successful enough to be worth not cheating and just taking the fees. Of course, the incentives would be different for individual employees, and possibly sufficiently so that the product would forever be tainted with cheating. Unrelated to all those considerations, I think the whole thing is kind of disgusting. It smells like a play to exploit compulsive gamblers by producing an always-available product, even at hours (or months) when there is no game going on. Who does this appeal to, other than compulsive gamblers? All the other reasons I can think of to wager on a sporting event vanish when it's a fake event dressing up a virtual coin flip.

keiru 7y ago

>splice random highlights from real NBA games and combine them This is the future of sports, cattering to the internet age and going for the short attention span markey. I'm not even complaining, I wouldn't sit through a whole game either.

coralreef 7y ago

At first I thought it was stupid. But then I realized there is a market for people playing games of random chance, like slots. It can be an entertaining and addictive experience. The last minute of a 1 possession game really is the most exciting moment in basketball. You drop the bettor into a situation (defined roster, game time, team possession, fouls), show them betting odds and game/player statistics. Place bets, and then run the simulation.

Steko 7y ago

2021: NBA shuts down fake game betting after being taken to the cleaners by algorithms.

i_am_nomad 7y ago

It’s a clever way to maintain the integrity of the game while still making money off gambling. Once you make gambling an official part of the sport, the sport quickly becomes corrupt. But synthetic games like this aren’t actually basketball. Still, it’s evil, and separately, the NBA has shown interest in monetizing actual sports betting.

cylinder 7y ago

Alternatively, I invite a few degenerates into my home and run simulation games on NBA 2k19 and take bets.