4 ms·

It has taken over the lexicon of most major sports to the point I can barely stand watching most of them now… NFL broadcasts lean so heavily into betting odds,

It has taken over the lexicon of most major sports to the point I can barely stand watching most of them now… NFL broadcasts lean so heavily into betting odds, parlays, prop bets, everything… it’s so obnoxious hearing about X player hitting the over, only to go to a commercial offering some free money if you place a certain sized bet. I really hope (but am not holding my breath given how much money is involved at this point) they ban sports betting advertising in the future.

gffrd 1y ago
I’ll go further: I hope they ban sports betting altogether. It was a mistake, and we should accept that.
- lenerdenator 1y ago
  You can't ever truly ban it; there's always a guy who's willing to operate a racket. The question is, can you reduce the harms? We went wayyyyy too permissive with sports betting by allowing it online. It should be something that you can do at a casino, but on your phone, at home, alone? That's just begging for serious harm to the addicted.
  - triceratops 1y ago
    They were talking about banning gambling advertisements, not gambling itself. Banning gambling is a terrible idea.
    - const_cast 1y ago
      Banning online gambling is a great idea and we should do that. There's far too little barriers so addiction gets created way too easily. And then it's too difficult to avoid, because smartphones are like arms at this point.
    - gffrd 1y ago
      why is it a terrible idea?
      - triceratops 1y ago
        Because if gambling is outlawed, outlaws run gambling. And then the outlaws get rich and powerful. History shows us this to be true.
  - gffrd 1y ago
    Agree. There will always be operators … the goal would be to get numbers as low as possible while also forcing/keeping illegitimate operators out. I acknowledge this means funneling those left to a small number who will make lots of money … hey look, now I’m describing Vegas. Agree on permissiveness. I think reducing ease of access would cut users down to 1/5 … though not sure if that’s realistic with the cat out of the bag.
parpfish 1y ago
It feels like gambling talk has largely replaced fantasy team talk on most broadcasts, and I wonder what role fantasy sports* played in all of this. Did fantasy sports have a causal role as a gateway that slowly normalized gambling, or were they just reflecting that there has always been a latent thirst for gambling and fantasy sports were the only socially acceptable way to scratch that itch? * not talking about “daily fantasy” stuff which was just blatant gambling pretending to be fantasy sports to exploit a loophole

gffrd 1y ago

I’ll go further: I hope they ban sports betting altogether. It was a mistake, and we should accept that.

lenerdenator 1y ago
You can't ever truly ban it; there's always a guy who's willing to operate a racket. The question is, can you reduce the harms? We went wayyyyy too permissive with sports betting by allowing it online. It should be something that you can do at a casino, but on your phone, at home, alone? That's just begging for serious harm to the addicted.
- triceratops 1y ago
  They were talking about banning gambling advertisements, not gambling itself. Banning gambling is a terrible idea.
  - const_cast 1y ago
    Banning online gambling is a great idea and we should do that. There's far too little barriers so addiction gets created way too easily. And then it's too difficult to avoid, because smartphones are like arms at this point.
  - gffrd 1y ago
    why is it a terrible idea?
    - triceratops 1y ago
      Because if gambling is outlawed, outlaws run gambling. And then the outlaws get rich and powerful. History shows us this to be true.
- gffrd 1y ago
  Agree. There will always be operators … the goal would be to get numbers as low as possible while also forcing/keeping illegitimate operators out. I acknowledge this means funneling those left to a small number who will make lots of money … hey look, now I’m describing Vegas. Agree on permissiveness. I think reducing ease of access would cut users down to 1/5 … though not sure if that’s realistic with the cat out of the bag.

parpfish 1y ago

It feels like gambling talk has largely replaced fantasy team talk on most broadcasts, and I wonder what role fantasy sports* played in all of this. Did fantasy sports have a causal role as a gateway that slowly normalized gambling, or were they just reflecting that there has always been a latent thirst for gambling and fantasy sports were the only socially acceptable way to scratch that itch? * not talking about “daily fantasy” stuff which was just blatant gambling pretending to be fantasy sports to exploit a loophole