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Bet on German Train Delays

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Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#41

Post by trigvi »

asddubs wrote: post #13

everything in this world will be turned into gambling. this stuff is a cancer on society

Every single thing one does in life is a gamble that carries a probability of success.

Getting a degree. Investing in a business. Investing in a relationship. Having kids. Smoking. Booking a flight cheaper but with no possibility of cancellation. Moving town. Not moving town.

I could go on forever.

Everything is a gamble. Some forms of gambling are more socially acceptable than others.

The difference, in everyhthing, is emotional control and knowing how much you stand to lose if it goes wrong.

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#43

Post by irthomasthomas »

cowsandmilk wrote: post #16
irthomasthomas wrote: post #4

People used to bet on ships sinking and sailors drowning. Till they learned better. Edit: This was common until Parliament passed the Marine Insurance Act of 1745. Before that, speculators could take out "wagering policies" on vessels they had no connection to. This created "coffin ships" - unseaworthy vessels sent to sea because the insurance payout for a wreck was worth more than the ship itself. The law introduced…

They still do, they just call it insurance.

No they don't, the practice was banned some time ago. You now require a "insurable interest". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Insurance_Act_1745#:~:t...

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#45

Post by fnordian_slip »

croisillon wrote: post #14

for the people who wouldn't have inadvertently clicked on the website: it's not real money, it's a campaign to nudge the German provider to care about their infamous delays

It's incredible that about 80% of people in this thread seem to be commenting without having looked at the website.

In defense of Deutsche Bahn, countries with comparable infrastructure but more reliable transport have put in about twice as much money per capita for the last 30 years at least.

Also, it went through a pseudo-privatisation back then, which hasn't helped (just private enough to focus on quarterly profits by letting bridges decay so that they have to be rebuilt or repaired in a few years, just public enough that they have to serve a lot of non-lucrative areas by law).

I have to admit I'm rather biased as I work there, but I would say most employees do the best they can with the hand they're dealt. It's just that politicians dealt them a really bad hand. And if Germany were to properly invest in infrastructure from now on, there's so much stuff that has to be repaired that reliability would go down even more in the next decade or so (seriously, this is not something you could fix in a year or two, even with hundreds of billions).

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#46

Post by whazor »

ekjhgkejhgk wrote: post #24
eigenspace wrote: post #11

The proliferation of online gambling is IMO one of the bigger under-reported trends in modern society, and has a real potential for massive externalities throughout society.

Agree on under-reported. But what externalities?

There are (illegal) ways to delay trains as a person

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#47

Post by okanat »

tw-20260303-001 wrote: post #28
croisillon wrote: post #14

for the people who wouldn't have inadvertently clicked on the website: it's not real money, it's a campaign to nudge the German provider to care about their infamous delays

DB is a job program. Nobody at DB cares.

Surprising but train drivers and operators also like to go home on time.

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#48

Post by Vinnl »

eigenspace wrote: post #11

The proliferation of online gambling is IMO one of the bigger under-reported trends in modern society, and has a real potential for massive externalities throughout society.

At least one regulator has been taking note at least: https://nltimes.nl/2026/02/20/dutch-regulators-block-access-...

Re: Bet on German Train Delays

#49

Post by bulbar »

raincole wrote: post #38
eigenspace wrote: post #11

The proliferation of online gambling is IMO one of the bigger under-reported trends in modern society, and has a real potential for massive externalities throughout society.

It's all sliding slope when the only way an average citizen can reap the economic growth of their own country is stock market and saving only makes them poorer.

Contrary to what crypto currency enthusiasts believe, having inflation (most of the time) is the only feasible and sane way for an economy.

Why ever do anything at all with your money, ever, otherwise? Except for basic needs.

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