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America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

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Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

#21

Post by humanrebar »

GlacierFox wrote: post #19

In the UK its a real problem. I've just watched a TV show on a national TV catchup streaming service (UKTV Play). I've just had to sit through 4 minutes of ads and every single one of them was for a different gambling company. It's plastered all over billboards too. Even major daytime TV shows are sponsored by gambling organisations to get those grannies in too (Foxy Bingo). It's sickening and I feel most people are…

> I've just had to sit through 4 minutes of ads and every single one of them was for a different gambling company.

Crypto? Online card games? Mobile gacha games? Sports betting? A mix?

It makes all the commercials for bad beer, fast food, and sugary drinks seem kind of quaint in retrospect. Like the old surveys of teachers from the mid 20th century claiming gum chewing as one of the biggest concerns for their classrooms.

Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

#22

Post by alanlammiman »

jcranmer wrote: post #14
agentwiggles wrote: post #2

Meanwhile, states and cities are trying to illegalize vaping while leaving cigarettes on shelves, not to mention continuing the criminally stupid "war on drugs" in ways too myriad to count while retaining one's sanity. _sigh_

In all seriousness: where are e-cigarettes more restricted than cigarettes?

Brazil. Sale of ecigs is not permitted, cigarettes have the usual restrictions (but not taxed as heavily as some other places). Still - I have to give it to them. I get the feeling it was the right call. No vaping ads and vape shops everywhere like I see in Europe

Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

#23

Post by lumb63 »

Legalizing mobile gambling (sports is a common form of this) is a terrible idea. I used to be heavily in favor of legalized sports gambling; like the article says, I’m not harming anyone, and it’s my choice.

Then one of my close friends with a gambling problem lost a substantial chunk of his life savings on gambling on his phone. He didn’t even have to leave his house to do it. After that, I had to reconsider my position.

While I disapprove of governments babysitting their constituents rather than treating them as independent and responsible adults, I think addictive habits are a worthwhile exception. A person who is addicted to gambling is not in their right mind or acting rationally. It is the same as any other psychoactive drug or habit. Nobody should have their life outcome determined by something that hijacks their biology for exploitative purposes (and I do see it as exploitative inherently; the business model of gambling is such that on average the user must lose).

Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

#24

Post by bluSCALE4 »

lumb63 wrote: post #23

Legalizing mobile gambling (sports is a common form of this) is a terrible idea. I used to be heavily in favor of legalized sports gambling; like the article says, I’m not harming anyone, and it’s my choice. Then one of my close friends with a gambling problem lost a substantial chunk of his life savings on gambling on his phone. He didn’t even have to leave his house to do it. After that, I had to reconsider my posi…

I hate all forms of gambling outside of a casino. At least at a casino, it's isolated but when it's on your phone or in your neighborhood, it's just gross. At first I wanted to boycott any establishment that allowed machines in their businesses but it seems its too lucrative a draw as I see them everywhere in cities where they're allowed.

Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

#25

Post by TecoAndJix »

denkmoon wrote: post #7

Look at Australia for a cautionary tale on letting gaming companies do as they please. I've worked in the industry and I'm very much on the side of letting people gamble if they choose to do so, but _everywhere_ in our society is just plastered with ads for it. The volume of ads for gambling during a sports events can sometimes exceed the actual commentary on the event. I'd ban gambling ads, and I'd ban pokies (tange…

I live in Pennsylvania and there are “pokies” at every gas station and bar around me. One gas station 15 minutes from me even set up a mini casino looking place (glass enclosure) where you can smoke and drink the tall boys you buy on the premises. All sorts of fun characters at night there. You never see anyone happy sitting on these machines, and despite the name “Pennsylvania Skill” you never hear any positive stories about them. Purely predatory and should be banned or better regulated IMO. This is coming from someone who supports state lotto/sports betting/etc.

Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

#26

Post by bluSCALE4 »

vorpalhex wrote: post #18
jcranmer wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In all seriousness: where are e-cigarettes more restricted than cigarettes?

I'm going to give you the official reasons, because I do believe that is the "why" for most people who want to ban them: They are more attractive to kids. Tobacco is an acquired taste. I enjoy a yearly cigar but even it can be a bit strong for me. Vaping has flavors and is smooth and gentle. The problem here is not just that cigs are worse for you than vaping. Kids smoke because smoking is rebellious behavior. Making…

God, I can't stand vaping. I went to a concert and the guy next to me literally vaped for 3 hours straight. That's like 2 boxes in one sitting. I don't mind those that take small swigs here and there but just puffing it non-stop is like, dude, you're going to die.

Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

#27

Post by agentwiggles »

jcranmer wrote: post #20
vorpalhex wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to give you the official reasons, because I do believe that is the "why" for most people who want to ban them: They are more attractive to kids. Tobacco is an acquired taste. I enjoy a yearly cigar but even it can be a bit strong for me. Vaping has flavors and is smooth and gentle. The problem here is not just that cigs are worse for you than vaping. Kids smoke because smoking is rebellious behavior. Making…

I didn't ask why people want to ban e-cigarettes; I asked where are they controlled more severely than cigarettes (and I don't consider flavor bans to be more severe than controls on cigarettes, since cigarettes themselves have rules on their composition which include flavor!)

The city I live in recently passed a ban on "flavored tobacco," which includes (for some reason) vape products. While this ban has not taken effect yet, after it does, the net effect will be that full strength cigarettes like Marlboro Reds remain accessible at every gas station and corner store, while any vape product with a "flavor" is no longer legally saleable in the city limits.

I guess if flavor bans don't count for you, this wouldn't bother you. For me, this is a major "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" move that will remove access to a class of product with great effectiveness for smoking cessation and harm reduction. The reasoning, to my eye, seem to be largely moral panic bullshit, largely caused by the popularity of vaping among teenagers. (Why not impose harsher penalties for stores selling to underage kids? Seems to work fairly well for liquor in my experience.)

I'm also generally opposed to prohibition and think adults should be able to decide what goes into their bodies, so I'm opposed in principle.

Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

#28

Post by the_only_law »

agentwiggles wrote: post #27
jcranmer wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't ask why people want to ban e-cigarettes; I asked where are they controlled more severely than cigarettes (and I don't consider flavor bans to be more severe than controls on cigarettes, since cigarettes themselves have rules on their composition which include flavor!)

The city I live in recently passed a ban on "flavored tobacco," which includes (for some reason) vape products. While this ban has not taken effect yet, after it does, the net effect will be that full strength cigarettes like Marlboro Reds remain accessible at every gas station and corner store, while any vape product with a "flavor" is no longer legally saleable in the city limits. I guess if flavor bans don't count…

It’s gotten so ridiculous I’ve started to see jobs… fully remote… that say will refuse to hire you if you use any nicotine products, explicitly including quitting aids like gums and patches.

Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

#29

Post by bluSCALE4 »

TecoAndJix wrote: post #25
denkmoon wrote: post #7

Look at Australia for a cautionary tale on letting gaming companies do as they please. I've worked in the industry and I'm very much on the side of letting people gamble if they choose to do so, but _everywhere_ in our society is just plastered with ads for it. The volume of ads for gambling during a sports events can sometimes exceed the actual commentary on the event. I'd ban gambling ads, and I'd ban pokies (tange…

I live in Pennsylvania and there are “pokies” at every gas station and bar around me. One gas station 15 minutes from me even set up a mini casino looking place (glass enclosure) where you can smoke and drink the tall boys you buy on the premises. All sorts of fun characters at night there. You never see anyone happy sitting on these machines, and despite the name “Pennsylvania Skill” you never hear any positive stor…

A buddy of mine works for Pepsi maintaining outside equipment and says how people go from place to place throughout the day just spending everything they have on slots. Harder to feel sorry for someone that eats and leaves a few minutes a day, every day than someone that sits at one place all day wasting everything they have.

Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling

#30

Post by api »

lumb63 wrote: post #23

Legalizing mobile gambling (sports is a common form of this) is a terrible idea. I used to be heavily in favor of legalized sports gambling; like the article says, I’m not harming anyone, and it’s my choice. Then one of my close friends with a gambling problem lost a substantial chunk of his life savings on gambling on his phone. He didn’t even have to leave his house to do it. After that, I had to reconsider my posi…

I used to be very much the same and have started to reconsider too. I think I’m shocked at just how prevalent it becomes when it’s legal and advertising is permitted. It’s like gambling becomes a double digit percentage of the economy.

In the future I think the ability to resist addiction is going to become a massive factor affecting life outcome, possibly even larger than intelligence or education or appearance.

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