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Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society

pewresearch.org

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Re: Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society

#21

Post by Terr_ »

bruce511 wrote: post #13

Is it bad for society? It's certainly bad for individuals, and by extension their families. I guess if it scales up such that a serious chunk of society is affected, then yes its bad for society. Let's start with the obvious- in all forms of gambling the gamblers make a net loss. The games are hosted by very sophisticated companies, that have better mathematicians, and make money. $x is pumped into the system by the…

I'm imagining mandatory disclosures like on cigarette packs, except it's some distribution chart or percentile figure for bankruptcy.

Re: Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society

#22

Post by kriops »

angarg12 wrote: post #16

I left my home country over 10 years ago, and ever since I've travelled back once every 1 or 2 years. Since 4-5 years ago I started to notice these betting houses cropping up where my family and friends live. They are impossible to miss, with big pictures of different sports and no windows. The most important thing to notice is where these place are and are not. They proliferate in working class and less well off nei…

Guilt by association: If, e.g., violence is a problem, then one needs to deal with the violence. In general, law-abiding citizens are—and should—be free to congregate and partake in their bad habits wherever they please. And even though gambling is generally immoral, it does not infringe on anyone else's God-given rights and has no business being made illegal.

Gambling is emphasized above to emphasize we are talking about individuals who are not sufficiently skilled to argue they are not essentially partaking in pure games of chance.

Re: Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society

#23

Post by Terr_ »

jacquesm wrote: post #15

That's always an interesting thing. Where does autonomy end and the right of the government to intrude into your private life begin. The bottom line, that something is bad for you seems to be so logical. But when you think about it a bit longer you see that there are so many things that are bad for you that it would be next to impossible to regulate all of them. Ok, so you only do it for the things that are really ha…

> Where does autonomy end and the right of the government to intrude into your private life begin

I think there are really three questions bundled in there:

1. At what point is it not really free-will anymore, and more like your brain being hacked?

2. At what point can the government step in to rescue you from #1?

3. At what point can the government step in to defend others from what you do, voluntarily or otherwise?

Re: Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society

#25

Post by eggsandbeer »

Gunax wrote: post #24

I happen to enjoy sports gambling and would be sad to see it disappear. I'm writing this because I want you to know what you're depriving me of. Because _other_ people make poor decisions, we need to take that decision away from everyone.

What an incredibly selfish attitude.

Re: Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society

#27

Post by jpk »

charcircuit wrote: post #14
fullshark wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stocks have positive expected returns: the risk premium. Sports bets have negative expected returns in aggregate and if you are good enough to only bet the ones you can spot with positive expected returns they ban you from the platform.

>they ban you from the platform Use a respectable platform that doesn't do that then.

There's no such thing. The house always wins or the business collapses.

Re: Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society

#28

Post by Retric »

kriops wrote: post #22
angarg12 wrote: post #16

I left my home country over 10 years ago, and ever since I've travelled back once every 1 or 2 years. Since 4-5 years ago I started to notice these betting houses cropping up where my family and friends live. They are impossible to miss, with big pictures of different sports and no windows. The most important thing to notice is where these place are and are not. They proliferate in working class and less well off nei…

Guilt by association: If, e.g., violence is a problem, then one needs to deal with the violence. In general, law-abiding citizens are—and should—be free to congregate and partake in their bad habits wherever they please. And even though gambling is generally immoral, it does not infringe on anyone else's God-given rights and has no business being made illegal. Gambling is emphasized above to emphasize we are talking…

It’s not about the Gambling, it’s the fact these businesses are collecting a large number of easy victims in once place.

Imagine you’re a loan shark. Which of the following seems like a good place to look for customers: upscale restaurant, movie theater, random bar, theme park, baseball stadium, city park, or a sports betting venue.

Re: Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society

#29

Post by smt88 »

Gunax wrote: post #24

I happen to enjoy sports gambling and would be sad to see it disappear. I'm writing this because I want you to know what you're depriving me of. Because _other_ people make poor decisions, we need to take that decision away from everyone.

This is just the same social contract you agree to in every part of your life.

Why can't you legally drive over 100 mph when you know you'd do it safely?

Why can't you own certain kinds of weapons when you know you don't want to kill anyone or yourself?

Gamblers going bankrupt is bad for all of us because they often have families and creditors who are harmed by the loss of the money, and the rest of us pay the price in the form of welfare, loss wages, etc.

Re: Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society

#30

Post by technion »

Gunax wrote: post #24

I happen to enjoy sports gambling and would be sad to see it disappear. I'm writing this because I want you to know what you're depriving me of. Because _other_ people make poor decisions, we need to take that decision away from everyone.

How would you feel if we just banned advertising it?

Im all for people like you having the right to make a choice, but the way its advertised rubs me the wrong way.

Kids are encouraged to watch the games which is a bit of a family event. Then during those games, ads are just everywhere for betting. Then theres a "18+ only" fine print.

We banned cigarette advertisements during sports and I would say we are better for it, but I wouldn't call to ban smoking.

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