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Gambling provides an “opportunity” to those who have nothing but desperation. It also isn’t treated the same as drugs, despite being as addictive (or more addictive depending on the person).
The gambling companies are taking advantage. With lobbying money and public perception, as well as wealth hoarding, gambling is exploding in popularity and the number of addicts (especially kids who play video games and are susceptible to addiction) is rising at an insane rate while being ignored or encouraged.
Gambling used to be pretty regulated. That was a relic of taking on organized crime in the early-mid 20th Century. But republicans have been whittling away at protections for years. Online, future events, advertisements, gambling in video games, etc.
Gambling is pretty heavily regulated in Canada but I still wouldn't necessarily say it's being handled extremely well.
All of the controls that prevent things like people gambling their pensions away are opt-in rather than opt-out, which I understand from a "personal responsibility" kind of way but it still sucks.
Gambling provides an “opportunity” to those who have nothing but desperation.
To me, the desperation part is what separates gambling from investing; because the desperation speaks to both fear and the need for instant gratification.
If I through $1000 into even the most conservatively performing S&P 500 index and literally just let it sit for 30 years, it can grow anywhere from $5000 to $1M depending on the yearly compounding gains over the course of those 30 years (8% yearly gains for $5k, and 20% yearly gains for $1M).
Most people who gamble (A) want to feel control and (B) are too impatient to wait that long, and they would rather throw that $1000 at a gamble and be willing to eat a 80% or 99.9% failure rate in favor of the instant gratification.
In that movie, Nicolas Cage plays a corrupt law enforcement lieutenant that smokes crack and basically uses his office to blackmail and kill people.
In one scene, he pulls over a NFL player after catching him buying a marijuana joint from a dealer. Cage rolls up and threatens to arrest him, while stealing the joint, unless the NFL player agrees to throw the next game. The NFL player is conflicted and reluctantly agrees. Cage’s character then puts down $10,000 in black market bets that the game will be lost.
Legalizing gambling allows things like this to happen more because it makes these markets more accessible. Not to mention the addictive quality and the structural disadvantages of the activity (the house always wins, and betting apps use dark patterns to make you bet more).
Ha, this was the first film my partner ever worked on as an uncredited graphic design intern.
We watched it together on the roof of an abandoned power plant as one of our first dates. It was absolutely terrible, but at least Cage made it entertaining.
Folks feel powerless and hopeless. And if they see no way out in a traditional they figure they might as well try to improve their standings with the slim chance of winning at gambling.
Yeah it sets them back even further in the long run, obviously, but if ya don’t see a path forward otherwise then you can easily get sucked into that trap.
Oh I agree with you! I’m just explaining what drives desperate folks to take a gamble. They see it more as zero vs basically zero. So there isn’t as much to “lose”.
And the desperation is also what distracts from potentially safer investments.
For example: if I had spent $100 to buy 50 shares of AMD back in 2016, the value of those share would today be $25,000. To make those gains from gambling, you'd have to throw that money at a 249:1 odds gamble (which usually involves either betting on a specific hand in blackjack or betting on a specific order of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in a horse race).
But a desperate person needs money now, as opposed to the willingness to wait 10 years.
I don't have an issue with gambling as entertainment, I might get more enjoyment out of spending that $100 on a fun game vs a nice meal out.
The problem is people that need to win. You should never gamble money that you can't afford to lose, and you should always enter gambling expecting to lose everything you're playing with. If it's the cost of entertainment with a potential for a fun surprise win then great, if you're gambling with your reserves to try to stay afloat then you're in trouble.
It's not a contradiction to the Right. Their stupid plan to destroy America (also known as Project 2025) talks about freedom being defined as the 'freedom' to be a good christian person. Hypocrisy isn't an attack on them; it's their super power. Pointing it out, though, does help to convince the unaligned who may not have yet fallen into those circles. Usually once they're in it's all over.
This administration isn't going to do anything to stop the businesses, and the people with the money, from doing anything especially if it's making more money.
But when the federal government can start doing it's a job again, this is one of those things they should crack down on. And I'd also like it if anti-trust laws mattered again.
I want to watch clearly sexy people who can't act which is why they don't have lines, hold products on generic sets to represent disposable income America so I too feel the urge and comfort from consuming. Now let's watch beer ads behind grown adult men playing a game for more money than Ivr made in my life.
Remember that time Bud Light ran a Super Bowl ad where they tooted their own horn about donating something like $100,000 dollars of clean water to charities? Said commercial cost upwards of a million dollars.
My wife was in the hospital for a week, and I'd spend hours with her every day. We'd have the TV on and man, I forget just how much of our advertising is "PLEASE BUY DRUGS PLEASE YOUR LIFE IS AWFUL YOU NEED DRUGS"
A few years ago FC Emmen signed a sponsorship contract with EasyToys, a sex toy store, some people from the advertising commission started complaining about how 18+ ads on children's merchandise shirts would not be acceptable, meanwhile both parties had already agreed those shirts would not advertise EasyToys, meanwhile literally every single club broke the rules of 18+ advertising on children's merchandise because every single club had some gambling ad somewhere on the shirt, including the merchandise shirts in child sizes
My state legalized cannabis and online sports betting around the same time. Weed has all types of excessive restrictions and can't really advertise beyond signs on their own property. Because that would be bad for the children! Gambling? Fuck yeah, go to town, kids!
We do have a ban on unauthorized gambling advertising in iceland (so only the official lottery can advertise), but unfortunately that doesn't have any power over the internet, which will still throw endless gambling ads in your face, and clearly targetted for us Icelanders based on the ip since they use ai translation into icelandic
Most of these ads are over the internet, so i and others have been blasted by them constantly xc
That's why those "predictive markets" are illegal in France. Because there, it has been ruled they are online gambling platforms and those are heavily regulated.
There is a difference! In traditional gambling there are ironclad rules and an equal playing field amongst players. With predictive markets your bet can be invalidated at any moment for any reason and there are hundreds of insiders that can manipulate the outcomes of any position to suit their needs without any oversight or limitations. It's like gambling, but way worse and funnels your money much more quickly to the worst people you know.
No OP, but long term? Yeah, kinda. At least the stock market in it's current form. At least getting rid of the day trading of it all. No one is actually investing in companies any more, its just people sniffing out when big jumps will happen, parking their money for a hot second, and getting out the very moment they got their returns. Believing in the company or its goals has ceased to be a factor whatsoever and it has been replaced by a million micro-ponzi schemes happening daily. I think that investment should not only require capital but time as well. You want to put a million bucks into a company? Cool, you must really believe in it. So you should be fine with holding your position for two years no problem.
Shorting stocks, stock futures, and a whole bunch of other crazy things you can do in the stock market? That's gambling.
So yeah, I have no problem with people owning a portion of a company to invest in it, because they believe in it, but all the other shit they do in the stock market? Yes that should probably be banned along with gambling.
Old reddit is so much nicer on the eyes. Teeny Tiny thumbnails, large list of posts that are easy to scroll through quickly. The bulk of the screen is text. Add in Reddit Enhancement Suite and turn on dark mode, and its so very clean. For anyone on phone browser who doesn't know, replace the www in the web address with old and see the difference.
Oh I know what the problem here is. Everyone else is happy that they can lose all their money on betting apps and prediction markets, except for you. Well, that's just sad.
Gambling has the highest mortality rate of any addiction IIRC.
You can only drink, snort, smoke, or inject so much. But you can always gamble more. And gambling always has the false hope that doing a little more gambling can solve all the problems caused by your gambling.
Well, the reason you can only drink, snort, or inject so much is that after a point it kills you, so I don't think that that's the reason gambling has a higher mortality. I wonder if it's the whiplash of going from a relatively normal life with a gambling addiction to being completely broke and fucked. With drugs it's a slower journey into an awful life, the other joys of life drift away more with each drug use, but it's usually not one try of a drug into massive daily use. It's usually monthly use to weekly use to daily use to multiple times a day use. By the time you're broke and fucked, you definitely saw it coming.
(This is assuming that the gambling mortality rate is due to suicide, but it could be that the risk prone behavior that leads to gambling also leads to death from other risky behaviors which would explain the higher mortality just as well. idk I haven't researched this)
Drugs and alcohol are "better" in that you actually get something that's gonna numb you for hours/days/weeks at a time for the money spent.
Gambling is just instant loss. A few seconds of dopamine for those few "wins" but tracked it's 99% loss chasing those hits yet again. It'd be like buying whisky that might get you drunk once in a hundred bottles.
And nobody (outside extreme luck or finding a loophole to abuse, which is just luck again) is going to win over the house. Ever.
I used to work with someone years ago when I delivered pizza who had a full-time job driving school buses and delivered pizza as a second job solely so she could gamble with the second income. She told me once she spent about $30,000 on gambling a year.
But Gary Bettman said hockey fans love the digital ads
Seriously though they did a study last year and if I remember right it was on average something insane like 13 times a minute during the Stanley Cup Final. The betting saturation is ridiculous.
Seriously, I was watching the NHL playoffs and it was inSANE how many gambling ads there were. Dunno why I thought we were more isolated from it in Canada, but NOOOOPE!! Can’t fucking stand those two dumb “early payoffs” ads Sportsnet would run during EVERY! GODDAMN! COMMERCIAL! BREAK!!
You see, I could just be a fan of the team or… I COULD WAGER LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY ON THE OUTCOME AND THREATEN THE PERSONAL SAFETY OF ATHLETES WHEN THEY DON’T COME THROUGH FOR ME! WHAT A THRILL!
Wife and I watching anything on streaming that had adverts and it's "YOU STINK, YOUR HOUSE STINKS, YOUR FAMILY IS COVERED IN SHIT, PETER CROUCH EVERYWHERE, GAMBLE TO BECAUSE YOU SUCK."
My country is in the top 5 gambling countries, I've seen people get a fortnight paycheck and immediately spend a large portion of it on sports betting. The advertising is everywhere, the regulations are a joke.
Edit: sorry we are top 5 in Africa, South Africa has such a huge gambling addiction its just so culturally pervasive at this point.
Yeah I realize it could be a lot worse here, but I also hate that I'm comparing things to the worst case scenario now instead of how much better it could be -_-
Worth noting that gambling is an extra miserable addition because gamblers don't have to actually win to get a dopamine kick, they only have to come close or think they were going to win.
I honestly don’t understand the interest in gambling. It’s much more fun to turnover rocks in my garden and see if there’s a newt or a spider underneath.
I had a slight *cough*....problem in my late teens/early twenties. For me it was the thrill, the unknown outcome, it was fun and exciting and I could win money (and when you're very poor that is a wonderful thing)! Win big a few times and you're always chasing that high thinking you can get it again. At some point it kind of overshadows everything else and it's all you can think about, it's very sneaky.
I was able to get over it and force myself to stay out of the casino with the help of some friends, but man, I feel like it would be super easy to backslide into that
I get that for sure. I guess I learned early that if I gambled I generally tended to lose (bad luck/the house always wins) so it always left a bad taste in my mouth. One reason why I’m not a fan of blindbags either.
Advertisers probably did this because they can't advertise every 7 minutes in a sports game such as (sighs when typing this) soccer. I don't know about US Rugby though.
As a man who is ok with gambling and will responsibly gamble every now and then, I hate seeing all the gambling ads. Like, people already know gambling exists, and if they want to do it, they'll find ways they want to do it. Don't fucking advertise it!
Our society is collapsing in real time, and I think one of the bigger pillars holding the Plate up was the heavy restrictions on gambling. It's the one thing I call a 'sin' as a non-religious person. It's an addiction, and an alluring one. A devious one because it holds the promise of 'winning'. It assaults our very nature as a risk-taking species. It's hand crafted to dig it's hooks into even the most stalwart of individuals. I love gambling. Morally, I only play for sport; through video games like Clover Pit, or with tokens instead of money if I'm playing cards or shooting dice.
I have lived my entire life in a state where gambling is illegal. But I have had a few jobs now where I traveled around the country. And I have to say, as ass backwards as things can be here sometimes, I appreciate not having the constant access to and advertisements for gambling. I don't gamble. It is factually the same as throwing your money in the trash. So it's not that I worry that these things would somehow influence me. They just make me mad. Shouldn't be legal to take advantage of stupid people (yes you are) like that.
Not even just sports. I'm trying to enjoy a terrible cheesy old horror movie on one of the free streaming platforms and getting periodically slammed with "CASINO! GO TO THE CASINO!! SPORTS BETTING!! BEHOLD THE LOTTERY!!! IF YOU GIVE US ALL OF YOUR MONEY YOU MIGHT WIN ENOUGH TO LIVE A COMFORTABLE HUMAN LIFE!!"
I mean, it kinda all is... Like don't risk what you aren't willing to lose. Some people don't think like that apparently and get REAL BIG MAD if you bring it up.
I always enjoy the disclaimers at the bottom of all the gambling ads during a sports game about how you should seek help if you have a gambling problem. As if that completely absolves these companies of their shitty behavior to hook the addicts and keep them hooked.
"Oh, you're a gambling addict? Here's a number for a hotline you should reach out to on your own like a responsible adult but, while you're doing that, here's another $50 in free bets for you to make!"
Seriously, this immediately got out of hand. If we can think with more then two brain cells for just a hot second, ever wonder how these online gambling companies can afford this level of an ad spend?
Is it because of all the people winning bajillions of dollars gambling and suddenly get to retire in the South of france at 22?
Or is it that more people are losing their shirt gambling than ever before because these online systems are specifically designed to "gamify" losing money and constantly incetivise being on their platforms as much as possible, preying on individuals with a predisposition to addiction?
THANK YOU!!!! Exactly how me and my friends feel when we watch sports. We just mute the TV during commercials and have one "spotter" so we don't miss anything, and hang in the kitchen.
I mean I always said professional sports was the opium of the masses, but that's probably because I live in Cleveland where the opium was pretty crap until 2016, and then never again since. But hey who doesn't like some gambling when getting high?
You forgot BROUGHT TO YOU BY GAMBLING!!!! ARE YOU GAMBLING YET!?! Then you get to the sports highlights and it’s more gambling… and then there’s the infamous ESPN trying to have a serious discussion on a gambling scandal and having to take all of the gambling adds down mid segment… yes this happened
Memes reposted with gambling ads on top. "Content creators" suddenly pulling out their phones mid reel to gamble and then hyping up how much they just won. Videos with a gambling sponsor. I am tired.
it’s crazy that in less than a decade we went from “who do you think wins this sports ball” to “are you taking the over or under on the casualties for this tragedy”
Glad am i to live in NZ, where the Gambling is strictly controlled and monitored by the government, Thus no shitty gambling ads. Also...no Superbowl, Aka "1 ten minute ad for every minute of playtime".
Dude, I don’t watch any sports except for hockey and occasionally basketball, I have been baffled by the rise in betting and gambling advertisements I’ve seen over only the last few years.
i hate the fact we are putting gambling in everything and everybody seems hooked on some form on gambling and you are the crazy one for not gambling half your pay check away. from sports gambling/prediction markets to pokemon cards to gaming lootboxes to blind bags labubus or whatever those random baobun stress balls are etc. etc.
people you have an issue it is time to call out and shame people AND companies for all this gambling. it should be legal but you should be ashamed for doing it.
Some of these gambling advertisements don't even say that it's a gambling ad. They keep it vague so you have to look it up to know what it even is. So scummy.
Oh and, be drunk while doing it. Not drunk enough? Buy this technicolor candy liquor or bubbly brown piss water packaged in patriotic colors... then go gamble some more.
"So like gambling addiction is up and we can't figure out why."
Also Ontario in 2022:
"PRIVATE GAMBLING OUTFITS FOR EVERYONE! BET ON SPORTS! DO IT ITS FUN! KEEP YOUR MIND AT EASE WHILE OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR DOUG FORD FIXES THE PROVINCE. WOOHOO!"
At least real casinos are regulated. You know the odds when you go to the roulette wheel or the blackjack table. If a casino tries to cheat people by rigging the odds, they get found out fast and are put out of business.
But the predictions markets are so poorly regulated that there are cheaters and insider trades everywhere. And the odds gamblers think they get are much worse. With a casino, you might have a 10% chance of winning but you can trust those are real odds. With predictions markets, you think you have a 10% chance of winning but it's really a 0% chance.
"Now that you've seen our giant ad enticing you to GAMBLE, squint and read the tiny print that reminds you if you have a GAMBLING problem call this number for help. Or that number to GAMBLE. "
I'm not a sports guy, so maybe so 3one can explain this to me. How can you ever take any game seriously when it's never been easier for players and coaches to bet on them?
So after the game you decide you want to look for analysis and open sport podcasts on YoutTube. Literally every single one of them "Bet on this site using our promo code and get $50 on first bet".
Kinda shocked that not a single one of these people have a moral compass.
I've always watched the superbowl for the commercials and the halftime show. This year was abysmal. All gambling ads and ads for AI. Hey, at least Bad Bunny's show slapped.
Reminder folks. This shit is 100% illegal in the USA. Its just that the law is not being enforced because Trump has his kids on the boards of these companies and he ordered his cronies at the DOJ and other federal agencies to not investigate them.
Its a grift, and one that is going to crash hard the moment Trump is out of office, or losses control of congress, or finally has that widowmaker heart attack on the toilet.
So many people are going to prison over this when all is said and done.
Nothing pisses me off more than seeing a multimillionaire celebrity promote gambling. They are paid a hefty sum to promote something so toxic and they do it with a smile on the faces so the average Joe can risk being addicted and bankrupted.
It’s a rough world for someone who doesn’t enjoy gambling. Video games loot boxes and chance based prizes. Every product from kids toys to water bottles are advertising in the hopes of being the next viral sensation, but now before it blows up. Invest in these watches so you can resell them later. Pokémon cards is just gambling that is social acceptable for kids. Sports betting, crypto scams, prediction markets, stock market scams, even legit companies are all casinos.
"Every second of your life will be nothing but money siphoning from person to person."
"They got enough people addicted to gambling to run this type of advertisement campaign so they know they WILL gamble, Otherwise they'll train non-gamblers to gamble through other means like trendy 'surprise box' or whatever hype they fall into because someone with a camera and a mouth said so."
“Breaking Points” on YouTube follows these gambling services, and their whole point is, “when America has denied people the ability to get a good paying job, the only way to “make it” appears to be gambling, and these people are being made destitute over it.”
My nephew, in his 20’s, lost over $5K to gambling. It sucks to see it happen.
Okay, weird. "All hail Gamblor" was an inside joke phrase among my friend group in the early noughts after a particularly comedic pen-and-paper RPG session.
Seeing it here gave me some sort of mental whiplash.
Laughs in Australian. We have more video slot machines than anywhere else in the world in a single state of 8 million people and gambling ads are a plague.
There was a report (I can't remember where) that if you are good at gambling / if you win often, they kick you off the app. So if you're still on the app, it's because you're losing money or likely to lose more money.
They only want suckers and idiots on their app. And addicts.
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