The US historically has oscillated between allowing gambling and restricting gambling. We might be at the high mark of this current swing. When most people know someone whose life was ruined by gambling we will see widespread bans and likely go back to just Nevada having legal gambling (as it is allowed in their state constitution).
America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling
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Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling
#72I've long looked askance at the rise of legal sports betting, back to the draft kings ads. It just feels so utterly insidious. The machine that is capital is running out of ways to extract money from us little folk, and wider spread gambling is the last gasp? I dunno, hard to express. It just gives me a bad feeling.
They do remind you to call a counselling number if you're addicted to gambling after the FanDuel commercial that tries to convince you to gamble though... So there's that... sigh
Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling
#73Look 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 Western Australia. We don’t allow pokies outside the casino (well, actually, they aren’t technically pokies, due to some completely immaterial detail, but they look, smell, and quack like the duck). Going to the Eastern States is always such a shock. In fact I am writing this from a plane from Melbourne to Sydney, two capital cities that are utterly gripped by pokies everywhere in a way that I’m just not us…
> Remember people: supply reduction DOES work, sometimes. Certainly here.
Thank you for this reminder.
Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Why is that ridiculous? Health insurance costs more for smokers. Hiring non-smokers just makes economic sense.
Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling
#75Look 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…
Australia is the gambling king of the world, and they're heavy exporters.
Stake, the largest crypto casino in the world, was founded and built in Australia and the new Twitch competitor Kick with looser gambling rules is also built in Australia by the same founders.
Ironically, it's legal to operate an online casino in Australia, but you can't accept Australian customers :)
Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling
#76Look 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 Australia too and I think the government letting pretty much any company that wants a wagering license have one is problematic. I'm sure there were problem gamblers 30 years ago when TAB was the only player but it feels like these days there's a new player entering the market every month, and they're getting increasingly desperate to make a profit in what is already a flooded market.
So your solution is to grant a monopoly to TAB and Sportsbet, preventing any competition?
Gatekeeping licenses leads to predatory monopolies.
That's why every single physical casino in Australia, which generally receive monopoly licenses, are cesspits of money laundering and gang activity.
Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling
#77Legalizing 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…
Alcohol is an addictive habit and is behind over 50% of domestic violence but prohibitionist takes like yours never seem to recommend bans on the actual harmful substances in society like alcohol. Why is that?
Voluntary gambling should be banned, but alcohol and Big Macs are fine despite the terrible societal consequences?
It's why I can't take arguments for prohibition seriously, it's always reactionary and ignores the major elephants in the room.
140,000 dead every year from alcohol. 280,000 from obesity.
Gambling is less than 20,000.
Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling
#78[deleted]
Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling
#79I've long looked askance at the rise of legal sports betting, back to the draft kings ads. It just feels so utterly insidious. The machine that is capital is running out of ways to extract money from us little folk, and wider spread gambling is the last gasp? I dunno, hard to express. It just gives me a bad feeling.
The blanket prohibition didn't have a good explanation so people got tired of being coddled.
We can regulate advertisement spots though.
Re: America’s bad bet on expanding legal sports gambling
#80The US historically has oscillated between allowing gambling and restricting gambling. We might be at the high mark of this current swing. When most people know someone whose life was ruined by gambling we will see widespread bans and likely go back to just Nevada having legal gambling (as it is allowed in their state constitution).
Zero chance. Casinos generate taxes and jobs. Online gambling & sports betting generates more taxes and a few more jobs. Lotteries and horse racing too. States simply can't afford to give it up now.