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

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

#451

Post by Gunax »

technion wrote: post #30
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…

Well we could just limit the _amount_ people gamble instead (say $1000 per year).

I have no idea if this is feasible.

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

#452

Post by StopDisinfo910 »

throw0101d wrote: post #433
StopDisinfo910 wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gambling is addictive because it gives you a dopamine rush. That’s why people gamble because it’s actually enjoyable. I personally don’t see the argument for categorising it as immoral on the basis that’s it’s not useful. The same could be said about plenty of other enjoyable things. However exploitation is clearly immoral. That’s where I have issue with gambling. Gambling operators don’t get rich thanks to the avera…

> Gambling is addictive because it gives you a dopamine rush. That’s why people gamble because it’s actually enjoyable. Cocaine also gives one pleasure when taking it, but at some point the enjoyable part is surrounding by suffering.

I agree and think cocaine should be legal.

That would allow us to better regulate it, treat addicts as they should, and end the networks currently profiteering from the flourishing black market and their exploitation of the addicts.

Prohibition just doesn’t work. We have tried dozen of times with various addictive substance from alcohol to tobacco. It’s nearly always a terrible solution.

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

#454

Post by mns »

mrisoli wrote: post #363
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…

I also left my home country about a decade ago. I was already expecting a lot of gambling site ads, they took over the soccer tournament sponsorships almost completely anyway. But what I found out when I came back in the last 3-4 years 100% shocked me. It wasn't just TV and soccer teams, I saw gambling ads in napkin holders at some restaurants, bus stops. I went to get a haircut and the barbershop had TV with gamblin…

I also left my country years ago and come back once or twice a year. This year the city hall introduced a new parking app that can't be installed on a phone with an app store registered outside Romania, because the freaking parking app has a gambling section and they decided to go with gambling instead of supporting a universal parking app (like the previous one that they had) available also for tourists from outside the country. I called them out on that and said that they can't make it available outside the country because of legal issues with the gambling section....

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

#455

Post by Viliam1234 »

SoftTalker wrote: post #431
watwut wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a out zero chance it is done carefully or done to teach them "money disappears". Be serious. It does not even make sense as a lesson.

Give your kid $50. Place bets for him as he wants. When his balance hits zero, discuss.

My parents did something similar for me, and I still remember the lesson a few decades later.

I think the details matter here. If you give your child $10 every month to make one bet, sometimes they win, sometimes they lose; you are doing it wrong. If you give them $50 and let them make a series of bets not exceeding $10, they will learn that the curve sometimes goes up, sometimes goes down, but ultimately ends up at zero. Not because "you were not lucky today, but maybe the next time", but because this is how the system works.

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

#456

Post by Mr_Minderbinder »

ryandrake wrote: post #271
prewett wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many ways to use the financial markets that are not gambling. Buying an index fund or Coca-Cola isn’t gambling; it is not even very risky. Nor are individual stocks gambling, as you can get a reasonable idea of what a company’s price ought to be and how it is likely to perform in the future, at least for well-established companies. It’s also harder to get into debt, as long as you don’t short, because you c…

Buying a stock or mutual fund is the very definition of gambling: placing a monetary bet on an unknown future event. Just because this activity has historically had a +EV, doesn't make it any less gambling.

Purchasing a business or parts thereof is not “gambling” any more than purchasing a house is “gambling”. People purchase them (or are supposed to) for the value they provide either through income or asset appreciation in the case of businesses or shelter in the case of the house and not for the singular promise of some winning outcome unlike games of chance. The only expectation is that the asset purchased will continue to provide value throughout the period of ownership which is no more or less than what you would expect of many other assets or goods you might purchase and none of this is contingent on mere chance alone. Just because somebody quotes a ridiculously high or low price does not necessarily mean the intrinsic value of the asset has changed. Overpaying for an asset is not the same as losing money to a slot machine. Have I “lost money gambling” if I buy something in a store the day before it gets discounted? These are just risks that exist in any market. Do not confuse this issue just because some have decided to use them as mere vehicles for price speculation. People speculate on the price of eggs, oil and gold as well but that does not mean buying eggs for breakfast, fuel for your car or a gold necklace for your wife is “gambling”.

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

#458

Post by rkomorn »

deafpolygon wrote: post #457

Gambling, in general, has a net negative effect on society. In my mind, it's an obfuscated version of the MLM pyramid scheme.

How do you see it as a MLM type scheme?

It seems more direct to me: either you lose to the house, or you lose to someone else while the house gets a cut. Is that second part what you see as MLMish?

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

#460

Post by lotsofpulp »

HaZeust wrote: post #435
johnnyanmac wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hard job market drives more screen time. Less jobs, less money to spend at bars or any other third place that has become paid, less money to network. You aren't spending time honing your craft now, you spend times on hustles trying to launch your social media account or by doing gig work on deliveries and rides hating. You spend more energy than ever making less money than ever and probably under more stress than…

>"Anyone who can do that is extraordinary, but I hope that isn't how we expect our future generations to operate." Although I'm roughly half the age of the median HN user, and don't have a lot of life experience, one thing I've learned over the last few years - particularly during covid - is that people will accomplish success after a difficult circumstance, and will come out one of two ways (which often decides thei…

That is a pretty broad use of "it".

It could be having to accept working at a boba shop for a year during labor market fluctuations. It could even be having to choose a different career altogether if the demand in that market simply no longer exists.

It could also be losing one's home because their kid got sick and they had a job that didn't offer PTO. Or a mom not being able to breastfeed because their government doesn't offer paid parental leave.

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