5 ms·

Sports betting is one of those things that sounds kind of harmless in the abstract, and like something that consenting adults should be allowed to do. But in pr

Sports betting is one of those things that sounds kind of harmless in the abstract, and like something that consenting adults should be allowed to do. But in practice, it causes enormous harm, both by draining the meagre resources of the people who get addicted to it, and by changing the nature of the sports in ways that make them less enjoyable for everyone who isn't betting.

LocalH 1y ago
The problem isn't so much sports betting in and of itself, I don't think, but the ease of being able to do sports betting from your pocket, at any time.
rayiner 1y ago
The idea of “consenting adults” is a libertarian fantasy unsupported by evidence. Between low IQ, impulsivity, addictive personalities, etc., a large fraction of the population needs guardrails imposed by society for the sake of both themselves and the people around them. Sports betting has significant negative impacts. For every $1 a household spent on betting, it reduced savings by $2. https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/online-sports-betting-is-draining-household-savings https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/online-spor.... This impacts not just individuals, but spouses and children who don’t “consent” to the negative impacts this has on their lives.
- Cornbilly 1y ago
  I'm generally a libertarian-leaning person and I completely agree. Some things are just too destructive/addictive/etc to allow easy and free access to them. And it really saddens me to see American children being introduced to gambling at a younger and younger age via things like loot boxes, blind boxes, and trading card game speculation.
  - scotty79 1y ago
    > And it really saddens me to see American children being introduced to gambling at a younger and younger age via things like loot boxes, blind boxes, and trading card game speculation. I wonder if that makes them more or less vulnerable later in life. Are lootboxes a vaccine or a devastating childhood infection?
    - LocalH 1y ago
      As normalized as it's become, I think it's more an issue of desensitization than potential "vaccination"
      - scotty79 1y ago
        But people being sensitive to gambling mechanics is exactly what puts them in trouble.
  - yndoendo 1y ago
    I live were gambling machines can be in restaurants and bars. Saddest thing I saw was the 10 year daughter of a nice restaurant taking part. It was one of the owner's daughter play pull-tabs. She didn't even discourage it or try to teach her daughter how you loose in the long run.
- int_19h 1y ago
  The society is not separate from "those people". Indeed, given the results of referendums, it would seem that the society is in fact mostly those people. So, who should be imposing guardrails on them, exactly, and how do they justify it in a democracy?
  - rayiner 1y ago
    Most people know that they could use a little help from society. After all, people voted for gambling bans in the first places. What changed is we went through a libertarian phase as a country where we promoted individual choice as an end in itself and demonized any attempts at social regulation of choices. As we see the effects of that, I don’t think it’s impossible to imagine getting the pendulum to swing back at least partially so people might decide gambling bans were a good idea after all.
- jacquesm 1y ago
  > Between low IQ, impulsivity, addictive personalities, etc., a large fraction of the population needs guardrails imposed by society for the sake of both themselves and the people around them. I find it telling the the people that have this opinion always seem to believe that they are going to be the arbiters of how other people should live, and that they themselves are without the vices that they would regulate. And I even agree on the betting bit: it's bad. But then again, so is voting for criminals and yet, we allow it and arguably that causes a lot more damage than betting.
  - Dylan16807 1y ago
    > and that they themselves are without the vices that they would regulate Did you ask OP if they think that, or are you just assuming that?
  - nandomrumber 1y ago
    And this is why I don’t believe secular democracies have any enduring qualities.
    - amanaplanacanal 1y ago
      Other than being better than the alternatives.
      - deleted 1y ago
        [deleted]
  - rayiner 1y ago
    > I find it telling the the people that have this opinion always seem to believe that they are going to be the arbiters of how other people should live, and that they themselves are without the vices that they would regulate I’ve been blessed not to have addictions to substances or gambling. But I’m a snacker and could afford to lose 25 pounds. (Cardiovascular issues present in south asians at a lower BMI than for others, apparently.) I’d love social reinforcement to help with weight management, e.g. portion sizes when eating out.
beloch 1y ago
Tobacco style anti-advertising laws for sports betting would reduce harm done to addicts and provide immense relief to everyone else.
- bill_joy_fanboy 1y ago
  Or, just make it illegal.
  - decimalenough 1y ago
    Australia is trying to make tobacco illegal by taxing it to death (a legal single pack is on the order of $40). It's not going very well. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-04/illegal-tobacco-is-a-deadly-10-billion-industry/105607186 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-04/illegal-tobacco-is-a-... On the other hand, sports betting and advertising for it are absolutely rampant.
    - bill_joy_fanboy 1y ago
      The article is about gambling in the U.S., not cigarettes in Australia. Also, these policies usually fail in getting existing users to quit, but they succeed in deterring prospective users. The idea that these policies are "not going very well" is an incredibly narrow-minded and short-sighted perspective.
      - decimalenough 1y ago
        Did you read the article? By effectively banning legal vape sales to all (including consenting adults), there's now an explosion of completely unregulated vapes in the illegal market catering to all and sundry including children.
    - dangus 1y ago
      In terms of rates of smoking, it is going well. Australia has the second lowest smoking rate of any country where women smoking isn’t taboo. (I.e., the only countries with lower smoking rates are New Zealand and a short list of countries where it’s culturally unacceptable for women to smoke. While the article you linked points out that illicit tobacco sales make up a large percentage of the market, it’s a much smaller market. You might as well tell us that most guns sold in Japan are illegal, and therefore Japan has a bigger problem with guns than America.
slg 1y ago
I think this is more a function of the internet than purely the legality. Legal gambling wouldn't be nearly as damaging if it was limited to sportsbooks that only allowed gambling on-site similar to how some places have handled gambling on horse racing for decades. The dangerous part is not simply the ability to bet on a sport, it's having a device in your pocket that allows you to gamble instantaneously at any time and (almost) any place. I think the same thing applies to most vices. Any friction in engaging in the vice is a moderating influence. Someone is more likely to get dangerously drunk while drinking at home than at a bar in which you have to order every drink from a bartender. It was likely more difficult to fall into a porn addiction if you needed to look another human in the eyes when you rented that dirty VHS tape. It's easier to overeat if you're having the food delivered to your home than if you order every item from a waiter in a restaurant. When we all know an activity should be done in moderation, making it as easy to engage in that behavior as possible is probably a bad idea.
- hattmall 1y ago
  That's interesting, but it's almost the opposite for me. I get way drunker in a bar because the environment is inviting and it's easier to order another drink at the bar than to get up and get it myself. The bartender typically sees when you are getting low and offers another drink. I would also spend way more money on gambling when at a location to do so. The desire to bet on sports on my phone is really low because it's boring so I won't do more than enough to make a game interesting. When I used to have to make an effort to get things that are now legal but previously illegal I would be much more compelled to make that effort to avoid having to do it in the future when I wanted the thing. Which inevitably would lead to more doing of the thing. Now that I know I can get it anytime I don't actually care about it.
  - ElevenLathe 1y ago
    I've actually never seen a physical sportsbook where employees walk around asking for bets like a cocktail waitress. I assume there's some good reason because you're right that you would expect doing it that way would encourage more betting.
VWWHFSfQ 1y ago
Sports betting is nothing compared to the massive, state-sponsored gambling enterprise in scratch tickets and lotto. Biggest scam of all time.
- bill_joy_fanboy 1y ago
  Not a lotto fan, but, in theory, the money collected by state lotteries goes to some sort of public good (scholarships, etc.). Don't get me wrong, I still see them as destructive, but they don't operate with the same intent. These new sports books are operating purely to enrich the owners of the platform. Ban 'em.
  - VWWHFSfQ 1y ago
    Only poor people buy lottery tickets. These are the people getting their money from government welfare anyway. It's a terrible cycle.
    - LocalH 1y ago
      There's also a difference between people who buy lottery tickets religiously, and who buy them once in a while. I like to play once in a while when the jackpots are high, just in case. Unfortunately, the answer to it is really hard, like most issues society faces today.
      - OptionOfT 1y ago
        Yet statistically speaking you're better off buying a ticket when the amounts are low.
        LocalH 1y ago
        Probably. But, it's more enticing when the amounts are high, and the amount I (and my partner) spend on it is minimal.
        toast0 1y ago
dwd 1y ago
India very recently banned sports betting due to the affect it is having on society - particularly due to gambling on cricket which has been a problem for years. Here's a list of cricketers that have been banned over the years. Many were even the captain of their respective team: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cricketers_banned_for_corruption https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cricketers_banned_for_... The list also doesn't include players like Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh and Shane Warne who got away with a fine from the ACB.

LocalH 1y ago

The problem isn't so much sports betting in and of itself, I don't think, but the ease of being able to do sports betting from your pocket, at any time.

rayiner 1y ago

The idea of “consenting adults” is a libertarian fantasy unsupported by evidence. Between low IQ, impulsivity, addictive personalities, etc., a large fraction of the population needs guardrails imposed by society for the sake of both themselves and the people around them. Sports betting has significant negative impacts. For every $1 a household spent on betting, it reduced savings by $2. https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/online-sports-betting-is-draining-household-savings https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/online-spor.... This impacts not just individuals, but spouses and children who don’t “consent” to the negative impacts this has on their lives.

Cornbilly 1y ago
I'm generally a libertarian-leaning person and I completely agree. Some things are just too destructive/addictive/etc to allow easy and free access to them. And it really saddens me to see American children being introduced to gambling at a younger and younger age via things like loot boxes, blind boxes, and trading card game speculation.
- scotty79 1y ago
  > And it really saddens me to see American children being introduced to gambling at a younger and younger age via things like loot boxes, blind boxes, and trading card game speculation. I wonder if that makes them more or less vulnerable later in life. Are lootboxes a vaccine or a devastating childhood infection?
  - LocalH 1y ago
    As normalized as it's become, I think it's more an issue of desensitization than potential "vaccination"
    - scotty79 1y ago
      But people being sensitive to gambling mechanics is exactly what puts them in trouble.
- yndoendo 1y ago
  I live were gambling machines can be in restaurants and bars. Saddest thing I saw was the 10 year daughter of a nice restaurant taking part. It was one of the owner's daughter play pull-tabs. She didn't even discourage it or try to teach her daughter how you loose in the long run.
int_19h 1y ago
The society is not separate from "those people". Indeed, given the results of referendums, it would seem that the society is in fact mostly those people. So, who should be imposing guardrails on them, exactly, and how do they justify it in a democracy?
- rayiner 1y ago
  Most people know that they could use a little help from society. After all, people voted for gambling bans in the first places. What changed is we went through a libertarian phase as a country where we promoted individual choice as an end in itself and demonized any attempts at social regulation of choices. As we see the effects of that, I don’t think it’s impossible to imagine getting the pendulum to swing back at least partially so people might decide gambling bans were a good idea after all.
jacquesm 1y ago
> Between low IQ, impulsivity, addictive personalities, etc., a large fraction of the population needs guardrails imposed by society for the sake of both themselves and the people around them. I find it telling the the people that have this opinion always seem to believe that they are going to be the arbiters of how other people should live, and that they themselves are without the vices that they would regulate. And I even agree on the betting bit: it's bad. But then again, so is voting for criminals and yet, we allow it and arguably that causes a lot more damage than betting.
- Dylan16807 1y ago
  > and that they themselves are without the vices that they would regulate Did you ask OP if they think that, or are you just assuming that?
- nandomrumber 1y ago
  And this is why I don’t believe secular democracies have any enduring qualities.
  - amanaplanacanal 1y ago
    Other than being better than the alternatives.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
- rayiner 1y ago
  > I find it telling the the people that have this opinion always seem to believe that they are going to be the arbiters of how other people should live, and that they themselves are without the vices that they would regulate I’ve been blessed not to have addictions to substances or gambling. But I’m a snacker and could afford to lose 25 pounds. (Cardiovascular issues present in south asians at a lower BMI than for others, apparently.) I’d love social reinforcement to help with weight management, e.g. portion sizes when eating out.

beloch 1y ago

Tobacco style anti-advertising laws for sports betting would reduce harm done to addicts and provide immense relief to everyone else.

bill_joy_fanboy 1y ago
Or, just make it illegal.
- decimalenough 1y ago
  Australia is trying to make tobacco illegal by taxing it to death (a legal single pack is on the order of $40). It's not going very well. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-04/illegal-tobacco-is-a-deadly-10-billion-industry/105607186 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-04/illegal-tobacco-is-a-... On the other hand, sports betting and advertising for it are absolutely rampant.
  - bill_joy_fanboy 1y ago
    The article is about gambling in the U.S., not cigarettes in Australia. Also, these policies usually fail in getting existing users to quit, but they succeed in deterring prospective users. The idea that these policies are "not going very well" is an incredibly narrow-minded and short-sighted perspective.
    - decimalenough 1y ago
      Did you read the article? By effectively banning legal vape sales to all (including consenting adults), there's now an explosion of completely unregulated vapes in the illegal market catering to all and sundry including children.
  - dangus 1y ago
    In terms of rates of smoking, it is going well. Australia has the second lowest smoking rate of any country where women smoking isn’t taboo. (I.e., the only countries with lower smoking rates are New Zealand and a short list of countries where it’s culturally unacceptable for women to smoke. While the article you linked points out that illicit tobacco sales make up a large percentage of the market, it’s a much smaller market. You might as well tell us that most guns sold in Japan are illegal, and therefore Japan has a bigger problem with guns than America.

slg 1y ago

I think this is more a function of the internet than purely the legality. Legal gambling wouldn't be nearly as damaging if it was limited to sportsbooks that only allowed gambling on-site similar to how some places have handled gambling on horse racing for decades. The dangerous part is not simply the ability to bet on a sport, it's having a device in your pocket that allows you to gamble instantaneously at any time and (almost) any place. I think the same thing applies to most vices. Any friction in engaging in the vice is a moderating influence. Someone is more likely to get dangerously drunk while drinking at home than at a bar in which you have to order every drink from a bartender. It was likely more difficult to fall into a porn addiction if you needed to look another human in the eyes when you rented that dirty VHS tape. It's easier to overeat if you're having the food delivered to your home than if you order every item from a waiter in a restaurant. When we all know an activity should be done in moderation, making it as easy to engage in that behavior as possible is probably a bad idea.

hattmall 1y ago
That's interesting, but it's almost the opposite for me. I get way drunker in a bar because the environment is inviting and it's easier to order another drink at the bar than to get up and get it myself. The bartender typically sees when you are getting low and offers another drink. I would also spend way more money on gambling when at a location to do so. The desire to bet on sports on my phone is really low because it's boring so I won't do more than enough to make a game interesting. When I used to have to make an effort to get things that are now legal but previously illegal I would be much more compelled to make that effort to avoid having to do it in the future when I wanted the thing. Which inevitably would lead to more doing of the thing. Now that I know I can get it anytime I don't actually care about it.
- ElevenLathe 1y ago
  I've actually never seen a physical sportsbook where employees walk around asking for bets like a cocktail waitress. I assume there's some good reason because you're right that you would expect doing it that way would encourage more betting.

VWWHFSfQ 1y ago

Sports betting is nothing compared to the massive, state-sponsored gambling enterprise in scratch tickets and lotto. Biggest scam of all time.

bill_joy_fanboy 1y ago
Not a lotto fan, but, in theory, the money collected by state lotteries goes to some sort of public good (scholarships, etc.). Don't get me wrong, I still see them as destructive, but they don't operate with the same intent. These new sports books are operating purely to enrich the owners of the platform. Ban 'em.
- VWWHFSfQ 1y ago
  Only poor people buy lottery tickets. These are the people getting their money from government welfare anyway. It's a terrible cycle.
  - LocalH 1y ago
    There's also a difference between people who buy lottery tickets religiously, and who buy them once in a while. I like to play once in a while when the jackpots are high, just in case. Unfortunately, the answer to it is really hard, like most issues society faces today.
    - OptionOfT 1y ago
      Yet statistically speaking you're better off buying a ticket when the amounts are low.
      - LocalH 1y ago
        Probably. But, it's more enticing when the amounts are high, and the amount I (and my partner) spend on it is minimal.
      - toast0 1y ago

dwd 1y ago

India very recently banned sports betting due to the affect it is having on society - particularly due to gambling on cricket which has been a problem for years. Here's a list of cricketers that have been banned over the years. Many were even the captain of their respective team: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cricketers_banned_for_corruption https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cricketers_banned_for_... The list also doesn't include players like Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh and Shane Warne who got away with a fine from the ACB.