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Opening the article by talking about match-throwing by a pro athlete seems like a misstep--the real problem with legalized gambling, as the article eventually g

Opening the article by talking about match-throwing by a pro athlete seems like a misstep--the real problem with legalized gambling, as the article eventually gets to, is the fact that modern sports gambling is a seriously regressive wealth transfer from low-income people with gambling addictions to tech-savvy software companies. DraftKings ads on busses, billboards, and podcasts should be just as unacceptable as Marlboro ads.

legitster 2y ago
> modern sports gambling is a seriously regressive wealth transfer from low-income people with gambling addictions to tech-savvy software companies Eh. This is almost certainly overblown. The thing about being poor is that you don't have much to lose, and the distribution has a long upwards tail. Just like Vegas, it's the "whales" that keep the lights on. You'd have a stronger inequality argument on things like alcohol or marijuana legalization where the majority of revenue does correlate with lower incomes.
- jrflowers 2y ago
  > it's the "whales" that keep the lights on. This is a good point. You can see this in the design of casinos — very little square footage spent on low-cost gambling like slot machines and the vast majority of space spent on high-stakes poker and craps tables.
  - legitster 2y ago
    I know you are trying to be flip to make a point, but people absolutely do come to casinos to drop thousands of dollars into slot machines, and the fraction of the floor devoted to penny slots (now 25c or even 50c) is only a small share of the overall machines. But places like Wynn and Caesars don't put all of their marketing efforts behind promos to get people into their building who only have $50 to their name.
    - jrflowers 2y ago
      >places like Wynn and Caesars don't put all of their marketing efforts behind promos to get people into their building who only have $50 to their name. Exactly! Caesar’s current $10 no-deposit bonus is meant to attract whales, obviously https://www.sportsbookreview.com/casino/bonuses/caesars-palace-casino-promo-code/ https://www.sportsbookreview.com/casino/bonuses/caesars-pala...
- doug_durham 2y ago
  Vegas is an entirely different business model. They cater the "whales" with comps and special treatment. Sports betting is just another app on your phone. They make their money at scale through millions of micro transactions. Sports betting has virtually no infrastructure cost. You don't need to build restaurants or fancy casinos to attract people. It's money extraction stripped to its bare essentials.
kvonhorn 2y ago
> low-income people with gambling addictions Not to mention the fact that they're now outright _creating_ gambling addicts that wouldn't have been addicts before the legalization of online betting.

legitster 2y ago

> modern sports gambling is a seriously regressive wealth transfer from low-income people with gambling addictions to tech-savvy software companies Eh. This is almost certainly overblown. The thing about being poor is that you don't have much to lose, and the distribution has a long upwards tail. Just like Vegas, it's the "whales" that keep the lights on. You'd have a stronger inequality argument on things like alcohol or marijuana legalization where the majority of revenue does correlate with lower incomes.

jrflowers 2y ago
> it's the "whales" that keep the lights on. This is a good point. You can see this in the design of casinos — very little square footage spent on low-cost gambling like slot machines and the vast majority of space spent on high-stakes poker and craps tables.
- legitster 2y ago
  I know you are trying to be flip to make a point, but people absolutely do come to casinos to drop thousands of dollars into slot machines, and the fraction of the floor devoted to penny slots (now 25c or even 50c) is only a small share of the overall machines. But places like Wynn and Caesars don't put all of their marketing efforts behind promos to get people into their building who only have $50 to their name.
  - jrflowers 2y ago
    >places like Wynn and Caesars don't put all of their marketing efforts behind promos to get people into their building who only have $50 to their name. Exactly! Caesar’s current $10 no-deposit bonus is meant to attract whales, obviously https://www.sportsbookreview.com/casino/bonuses/caesars-palace-casino-promo-code/ https://www.sportsbookreview.com/casino/bonuses/caesars-pala...
doug_durham 2y ago
Vegas is an entirely different business model. They cater the "whales" with comps and special treatment. Sports betting is just another app on your phone. They make their money at scale through millions of micro transactions. Sports betting has virtually no infrastructure cost. You don't need to build restaurants or fancy casinos to attract people. It's money extraction stripped to its bare essentials.

kvonhorn 2y ago

> low-income people with gambling addictions Not to mention the fact that they're now outright _creating_ gambling addicts that wouldn't have been addicts before the legalization of online betting.