The whole podcast was so well done. And wow, there could not be a less sympathetic group than sports bookmakers. I'm generally an anti-prohibitionist. But those guys are right cunts.
A lot of changes that have happened to our society over the last twenty-five years have me questioning my libertarian(ish) beliefs. This is certainly one of them. A classic case of "be careful what you wish for," I guess. Scott Alexander argues that sports gambling should remain legal, but should be harder to access, and I think I agree. A huge problem is that the casino, as it were, is now in your pocket, available to you 24/7.
I wonder what the drop is in illegal gambling now that legal gambling is available. If authorities again restrict legal gambling then people will move again to illegal. Illegal gambling has generated far more scandals than legal gambling. As long as there is gambling, legal or illegal, some players, coaches will cheat. It is far more transparent to bet on sports legally then bet with some Bookie or mob operated gambling operation.
I am more concerned with sports outcomes being controlled by legal gambling. I am remembering the 2024 playoffs between the Padres and Dodgers. All of a sudden the Padres went 24 innings without scoring a single run. At the beginning of this run you could see something bad was going on in the dugout. Also during the last game at Dodgers stadium the play by play announcer spoke of air travel for teams to LAX - at the beginning of the game??!!! Makes one wonder.....
I can’t help but notice that almost all the ads for sports gambling are aimed at blacks. Does anyone know why this is? Is gambling addiction a bigger problem in black communities?
Make it illegal for sports books to set different limits for each customer. Crush their predatory economics, and their ability to spend obscene amounts on marketing and promotions will also wane.
Alcohol and smoking are distinct from gambling because of their direct negative impact on others who are unconnected to the addict. MADD is a perfect example. It wasn't "we need to heavily police alcohol abuse because it is bad for you". Same with the focus on "second hand smoke". Many just see gambling as "a tax on stupid people" because it has little impact on unrelated people.
"because it has little impact on unrelated people"
That's why the addicts who are getting the most attention are fathers and husbands, who by definition have "related people'.
Nobody really wants to see their friends go broke, either, but I'd agree that that is of less concern to most people. But seeing a dad (or any parent) go broke because of addiction is truly tragic.
My point was merely that alcohol abuse and smoking are not good analogies and that there will not be a groundswell of activism against gambling unless unrelated people are impacted (or the almighty college football has a major scandal).
It does seem like secondhand smoke was the successful wedge on indoor smoking bans. I take your point that finding that wedge issue where the problem gambler hurts unrelated individuals might be necessary, not sure what it could look like though.
Listen to the Michael Lewis podcast on this. The sports betting companies are out to hook suckers.
The whole podcast was so well done. And wow, there could not be a less sympathetic group than sports bookmakers. I'm generally an anti-prohibitionist. But those guys are right cunts.
A lot of changes that have happened to our society over the last twenty-five years have me questioning my libertarian(ish) beliefs. This is certainly one of them. A classic case of "be careful what you wish for," I guess. Scott Alexander argues that sports gambling should remain legal, but should be harder to access, and I think I agree. A huge problem is that the casino, as it were, is now in your pocket, available to you 24/7.
I wonder what the drop is in illegal gambling now that legal gambling is available. If authorities again restrict legal gambling then people will move again to illegal. Illegal gambling has generated far more scandals than legal gambling. As long as there is gambling, legal or illegal, some players, coaches will cheat. It is far more transparent to bet on sports legally then bet with some Bookie or mob operated gambling operation.
this is the fourth time you've posted this comment. I have removed the first three, but please stop doing it.
I am more concerned with sports outcomes being controlled by legal gambling. I am remembering the 2024 playoffs between the Padres and Dodgers. All of a sudden the Padres went 24 innings without scoring a single run. At the beginning of this run you could see something bad was going on in the dugout. Also during the last game at Dodgers stadium the play by play announcer spoke of air travel for teams to LAX - at the beginning of the game??!!! Makes one wonder.....
I can’t help but notice that almost all the ads for sports gambling are aimed at blacks. Does anyone know why this is? Is gambling addiction a bigger problem in black communities?
Make it illegal for sports books to set different limits for each customer. Crush their predatory economics, and their ability to spend obscene amounts on marketing and promotions will also wane.
Alcohol and smoking are distinct from gambling because of their direct negative impact on others who are unconnected to the addict. MADD is a perfect example. It wasn't "we need to heavily police alcohol abuse because it is bad for you". Same with the focus on "second hand smoke". Many just see gambling as "a tax on stupid people" because it has little impact on unrelated people.
"because it has little impact on unrelated people"
That's why the addicts who are getting the most attention are fathers and husbands, who by definition have "related people'.
Nobody really wants to see their friends go broke, either, but I'd agree that that is of less concern to most people. But seeing a dad (or any parent) go broke because of addiction is truly tragic.
My point was merely that alcohol abuse and smoking are not good analogies and that there will not be a groundswell of activism against gambling unless unrelated people are impacted (or the almighty college football has a major scandal).
It does seem like secondhand smoke was the successful wedge on indoor smoking bans. I take your point that finding that wedge issue where the problem gambler hurts unrelated individuals might be necessary, not sure what it could look like though.