5 ms·

It's just entertainment. Is blowing $100 on sports betting really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag? Which isn't to say it's not an issue--both are. Bu

It's just entertainment. Is blowing $100 on sports betting really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag? Which isn't to say it's not an issue--both are. But despair driving people to spend increasingly on short-term endorphin hits is universal. The most meaningful metric would be the proportion of income that's saved and invested.

alphabettsy 3y ago
In practical terms I would say it is. Designer handbags are still handbags and can be resold and used potentially forever. You cannot recover gambling losses or store your things in them. Despair is certainly an issue.
- scarmig 3y ago
  You could also end up winning $100 from gambling $100. Or, on the other end, you could buy a $50 handbag instead of a $500 one. Both are tossing money into a fire.
  - meepmorp 3y ago
    > You could also end up winning $100 from gambling $100. Or you could lose it all, whereas buying a designer hand bag has a 100% chance of you ending up with a designer handbag afterwards.
    - scarmig 3y ago
      With a designer handbag, you get something that's worth $50 for a cost of $500. That's a 100% chance of a $450 loss. But, you say, it gives me pleasure! Well, so does gambling. And spending money for pleasure is fine, so long as you can afford it. And if you can't, it's equally bad.
      - alphabettsy 3y ago
        They actually can hold their value quite well or go up in value. The value of something is what someone else would pay for it. The relatively utility of a $500 bag is no more than a $50 one, that’s for sure. The effect on pleasure between gambling and a handbag are immeasurable and maybe equal so in some sense you’re right. I’ll never buy one, but it seems like you’re distorting reality to make your point.
TheFreim 3y ago
>Is blowing $100 on sports betting really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag? Is burning $100 in a fire really any worse than spending $500 on a real, usable item?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- high_na_euv 3y ago
  Fun has no value?
  - jononomo 3y ago
    You think it is "fun" but actually it is "despair"
- charlieyu1 3y ago
  The usable part worths maybe $50 so how about burning the remaining $450?
- kjkjadksj 3y ago
  Good luck getting $500 back out of that used pleather bag
chzblck 3y ago
the handbag could be resold..
- charlieyu1 3y ago
  For how much? Certainly much less than original
D13Fd 3y ago
> It's just entertainment. Is blowing $100 on sports betting really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag? Probably. A bag is an item with utility that can be resold. Typically the person buying the handbag also gets entertainment value out of the time spent shopping for the handbag and also enjoys using the handbag for some period of time. Sports betting is pure entertainment. I don't know how far $100 goes in sports betting. If that's what you spend in a night, I'd say the handbag is easily a better value for a person who likes handbags. If $100 is what you'd lose in the aggregate over a month, with several hours a day spent enjoying sports betting, maybe the sports betting is the better value. I guess it depends on how good of a gambler you are.
- scarmig 3y ago
  People get endorphin hits from both. The fact that you can consider a handbag a speculative investment that you can resell is gambling every bit as much as actual gambling: the expected value is still negative. With resale, taxes alone immediately burn through almost 20% of the list price. For both, I say if you can afford it and it gives you enjoyment, go for it: that's the reason to have money. If you can't, don't do either.
prmoustache 3y ago
> It's just entertainment. No it is not. If it was, people wouldn't have those sad face and wouldn't look like zombies when gambling.
- kjkjadksj 3y ago
  You must not have seen a sports fan base with a consistent losing record. Talk about sunk cost, imagine being a browns or a bears fan.
  - prmoustache 3y ago
    Probably the teason I enjoy watching some sports, but I don't consider myself a fan of a specific athlete/team. Usually fans aren't really into the sport itself if they can't enjoy a good game/race and be happy for the winner whoever it is. It is usually more dubious and akin to nationalism or religion.
paxys 3y ago
Is blowing $5000 on sports betting any better than spending $100 on a designer handbag? You can argue anything with made up numbers.
- scarmig 3y ago
  Sure. Is more money in the US spent on gambling, or on prestige goods?
  - faet 3y ago
    > In 2024, the revenue in the Luxury Goods market in the United States amounts to US$75.6Bn (Watches, Eyewear, Jewlery, fashion, cosmetics/fragrance, leather goods) > Americans wagered a record $119.84 billion on sports betting in 2023 > Slots and table games across the U.S. generated $43.79 billion
rsynnott 3y ago
Well, I mean, neither are ideal. It's somewhat more common for the sports betting habit to turn into an addiction than the handbags, though (though both do happen). You're rather unlikely to advance to buying 10 handbags a week; but spending half your salary on gambling... that does, unfortunately, happen, quite a bit.
AlexandrB 3y ago
> It's just entertainment. Is blowing $100 on sports betting really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag? Yes, simply because the risk of addiction is higher with sport betting than handbags. You could easily rephrase this as "It's just entertainment. Is blowing $100 on heroin really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag?" to illustrate the absurd case where this is obviously true.

alphabettsy 3y ago

In practical terms I would say it is. Designer handbags are still handbags and can be resold and used potentially forever. You cannot recover gambling losses or store your things in them. Despair is certainly an issue.

scarmig 3y ago
You could also end up winning $100 from gambling $100. Or, on the other end, you could buy a $50 handbag instead of a $500 one. Both are tossing money into a fire.
- meepmorp 3y ago
  > You could also end up winning $100 from gambling $100. Or you could lose it all, whereas buying a designer hand bag has a 100% chance of you ending up with a designer handbag afterwards.
  - scarmig 3y ago
    With a designer handbag, you get something that's worth $50 for a cost of $500. That's a 100% chance of a $450 loss. But, you say, it gives me pleasure! Well, so does gambling. And spending money for pleasure is fine, so long as you can afford it. And if you can't, it's equally bad.
    - alphabettsy 3y ago
      They actually can hold their value quite well or go up in value. The value of something is what someone else would pay for it. The relatively utility of a $500 bag is no more than a $50 one, that’s for sure. The effect on pleasure between gambling and a handbag are immeasurable and maybe equal so in some sense you’re right. I’ll never buy one, but it seems like you’re distorting reality to make your point.

TheFreim 3y ago

>Is blowing $100 on sports betting really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag? Is burning $100 in a fire really any worse than spending $500 on a real, usable item?

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
high_na_euv 3y ago
Fun has no value?
- jononomo 3y ago
  You think it is "fun" but actually it is "despair"
charlieyu1 3y ago
The usable part worths maybe $50 so how about burning the remaining $450?
kjkjadksj 3y ago
Good luck getting $500 back out of that used pleather bag

chzblck 3y ago

the handbag could be resold..

charlieyu1 3y ago
For how much? Certainly much less than original

D13Fd 3y ago

> It's just entertainment. Is blowing $100 on sports betting really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag? Probably. A bag is an item with utility that can be resold. Typically the person buying the handbag also gets entertainment value out of the time spent shopping for the handbag and also enjoys using the handbag for some period of time. Sports betting is pure entertainment. I don't know how far $100 goes in sports betting. If that's what you spend in a night, I'd say the handbag is easily a better value for a person who likes handbags. If $100 is what you'd lose in the aggregate over a month, with several hours a day spent enjoying sports betting, maybe the sports betting is the better value. I guess it depends on how good of a gambler you are.

scarmig 3y ago
People get endorphin hits from both. The fact that you can consider a handbag a speculative investment that you can resell is gambling every bit as much as actual gambling: the expected value is still negative. With resale, taxes alone immediately burn through almost 20% of the list price. For both, I say if you can afford it and it gives you enjoyment, go for it: that's the reason to have money. If you can't, don't do either.

prmoustache 3y ago

> It's just entertainment. No it is not. If it was, people wouldn't have those sad face and wouldn't look like zombies when gambling.

kjkjadksj 3y ago
You must not have seen a sports fan base with a consistent losing record. Talk about sunk cost, imagine being a browns or a bears fan.
- prmoustache 3y ago
  Probably the teason I enjoy watching some sports, but I don't consider myself a fan of a specific athlete/team. Usually fans aren't really into the sport itself if they can't enjoy a good game/race and be happy for the winner whoever it is. It is usually more dubious and akin to nationalism or religion.

paxys 3y ago

Is blowing $5000 on sports betting any better than spending $100 on a designer handbag? You can argue anything with made up numbers.

scarmig 3y ago
Sure. Is more money in the US spent on gambling, or on prestige goods?
- faet 3y ago
  > In 2024, the revenue in the Luxury Goods market in the United States amounts to US$75.6Bn (Watches, Eyewear, Jewlery, fashion, cosmetics/fragrance, leather goods) > Americans wagered a record $119.84 billion on sports betting in 2023 > Slots and table games across the U.S. generated $43.79 billion

rsynnott 3y ago

Well, I mean, neither are ideal. It's somewhat more common for the sports betting habit to turn into an addiction than the handbags, though (though both do happen). You're rather unlikely to advance to buying 10 handbags a week; but spending half your salary on gambling... that does, unfortunately, happen, quite a bit.

AlexandrB 3y ago

> It's just entertainment. Is blowing $100 on sports betting really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag? Yes, simply because the risk of addiction is higher with sport betting than handbags. You could easily rephrase this as "It's just entertainment. Is blowing $100 on heroin really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag?" to illustrate the absurd case where this is obviously true.