Sports Betting

[GO-NAD!]

Anyone here bet on sports?
Who Loses as Online Betting Takes Over Sports? | The Walrus

Gambling of any kind has never held any appeal for me - even as a younger man ("the" gambling demographic). On very rare occasions (every couple of years, maybe?), I'll buy a lottery ticket. I've dropped a few quarters in slot machines in the local casino once or twice since it opened 30-odd years ago. That's about it.

Beer and car commercials used to dominate during the hockey games I watch. Now, it seems to be all gambling. There are even segments of the broadcast dedicated to it. I find it all so off-putting that it sucks the enjoyment out the match. Knowing that the odds are weighted in favour of the house doesn't help - the more you gamble, the less likely it is that you'll come out on top.

It's not so much a morality thing for me - I just wonder if we're creating another version of the opioid crisis.

Anyone else feel the same way?

 

[everettT]

Anyone here bet on sports?
Who Loses as Online Betting Takes Over Sports? | The Walrus

Gambling of any kind has never held any appeal for me - even as a younger man ("the" gambling demographic). On very rare occasions (every couple of years, maybe?), I'll buy a lottery ticket. I've dropped a few quarters in slot machines in the local casino once or twice since it opened 30-odd years ago. That's about it.

Beer and car commercials used to dominate during the hockey games I watch. Now, it seems to be all gambling. There are even segments of the broadcast dedicated to it. I find it all so off-putting that it sucks the enjoyment out the match. Knowing that the odds are weighted in favour of the house doesn't help - the more you gamble, the less likely it is that you'll come out on top.

It's not so much a morality thing for me - I just wonder if we're creating another version of the opioid crisis.

Anyone else feel the same way?

Just like anything, gambling can be an addiction. In fact you'll find that most addictive gamblers also have a second addiction. Pleasure center rewards don't care what the stimuli is.

 

[Alex2507]

I just wonder if we're creating another version of the opioid crisis.

Anyone else feel the same way?

No. I think there's a huge difference between physical and psychological addictions. Even though I dislike opiates, I've developed and dealt with a dependency which would have become an addiction if left unchecked.

There is literally no amount of losing money that would make me want to lose more money. I'm impervious to gambling compulsively (or at all really).

My bitch is that casinos tend to raise divorce rates and foreclosures in their vicinity. That's real nice for families. The people building 'em are just cocksuckers. Plain and simple.

 

[Eppie]

I'm too logical to waste any significant amount of money on gambling. A bunch of us get together on Fridays for lunch and during football season one of them brings cards from a bookie. We chip in $5 each on a 3-pick. We get to argue about what to pick and then laugh the next week after we loose. Last season we were 1 for 18. Some seasons we broke even. It was all in good fun. The government just sees it as another revenue stream and contributes a token amount to addiction prevention.

I'll be curious how all of the sports ads will affect viewership. I am so tired of them that I change channels and sometimes do not come back to the game. With paid streaming services being ad free it gets less and less tolerable to sit through commercials. A lot of the Friday lunch guys were also very disappointed in Gretzky deciding to advertise for the gambling industry. We thought he was classier than that.

 

[GO-NAD!]

I'm too logical to waste any significant amount of money on gambling. A bunch of us get together on Fridays for lunch and during football season one of them brings cards from a bookie. We chip in $5 each on a 3-pick. We get to argue about what to pick and then laugh the next week after we loose. Last season we were 1 for 18. Some seasons we broke even. It was all in good fun. The government just sees it as another revenue stream and contributes a token amount to addiction prevention.

I'll be curious how all of the sports ads will affect viewership. I am so tired of them that I change channels and sometimes do not come back to the game. With paid streaming services being ad free it gets less and less tolerable to sit through commercials. A lot of the Friday lunch guys were also very disappointed in Gretzky deciding to advertise for the gambling industry. We thought he was classier than that.

Groups of friends pooling a small amount is generally pretty harmless. Unfortunately for some people, it can be slippery slope. I sometimes wonder if the revenue collected by governments and the jobs generated are sufficient to justify the social problems caused by casinos and on-line gambling.

And yeah, Gretzky has been disappointing me too.

 

[GO-NAD!]

No. I think there's a huge difference between physical and psychological addictions. Even though I dislike opiates, I've developed and dealt with a dependency which would have become an addiction if left unchecked.

There is literally no amount of losing money that would make me want to lose more money. I'm impervious to gambling compulsively (or at all really).

My bitch is that casinos tend to raise divorce rates and foreclosures in their vicinity. That's real nice for families. The people building 'em are just cocksuckers. Plain and simple.

While the biological mechanisms that lead to addiction might not be exactly the same in gambling vs drug addicts, there appears to be significant overlap.
Reviewing Two Types of Addiction – Pathological Gambling and Substance Use - PMC (nih.gov)

 

[Alex2507]

We thought he was classier than that.

He was. People change.

While the biological mechanisms that lead to addiction might not be exactly the same in gambling vs drug addicts, there appears to be significant overlap.
Reviewing Two Types of Addiction – Pathological Gambling and Substance Use - PMC (nih.gov)

I tried ... but my attention span got in the way. The overlap is real. That f^%&ed 5% (me namely) ... I'm not just a drug addict and an alcoholic. My eating disorder is pretty well know also. Uhmmm ... I might be a little crazy too. There's an off chance. Yeah, big overlap.

I think Everett mentioned the reward center; I just hammer mine with other things now. Music, puppies and other people's babies ... although sky diving with strippers would work too. But I'm fresh out of planes and strippers.

 

[isolar8001]

Yeah....just pull out your phone and send your family and yourself into total disorder in just a few seconds....its fun, everyone's doing it !!

"Hey Dad? How come we live under the bridge now?"
" It was those damn Referees, Hon...they just don't care about us."

Jamie Foxx and other celebs who lent (sold out) their time and ethics to make a quick buck endorsing this newest form of self implosion sure aren't concerned about the grief they are promoting.

 

[Swerd]

Those Online Betting sites would get lots of action if they offered odds on Trump … indictments … trials … jury/witness/judge tampering … perjury charges … sentences … appeals … attempted insurrections … fleeing to Brazil … etc.

If that happened, you just might see Congress rush to ban Online Betting. Gambling on politics takes money away from their own political fund raising.

 

[lovinthehd]

I somewhat preferred when most legal gambling you had to go to Nevada to do. I don't think its particularly good for many people. Personally over the years when I can, I enjoy a good game of poker with friends, not very high stakes. I haven't casino gambled in something like 30 years. A few of my friends are into sports betting, but not many; can't think of anyone who had a really bad habit these days, altho I can think of a few guys who got obsessed/somewhat in over their heads a long time ago. I have seen that some NFL stadiums now have betting areas, but haven't been to a sports stadium in quite a while in any case....don't really even follow pro sports outside of cycling and some auto/motorcycle racing.

 

[lovinthehd]

Seems NFL still doesn't allow their own players to gamble, just everyone else.... https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/21/sport/nfl-players-gambling-suspension-spt-intl/index.html

 

[Speedskater]

My young nephew just got a job in the fraud department. Tracking down gamblers that try to get multiple newbie bonuses, from out of state or country and money laundering.

 

[cpp]

NO, never saw a need or desire to.

 

[Trell]

No. I think there's a huge difference between physical and psychological addictions. Even though I dislike opiates, I've developed and dealt with a dependency which would have become an addiction if left unchecked.

There is literally no amount of losing money that would make me want to lose more money. I'm impervious to gambling compulsively (or at all really).

My bitch is that casinos tend to raise divorce rates and foreclosures in their vicinity. That's real nice for families. The people building 'em are just cocksuckers. Plain and simple.

Imagine a slot machine with a payout similar to the stock market. Now you'll see some real "You'll pry my fingers from the lever from my dead cold hand", or something to that effect.