Excellent article! Sports betting is fine until it becomes normalised into the culture like it has in Australia - for example, the announcers discuss betting at length in every broadcast, and little kids now think it's a normal part of sports. That in turn has led to enormous societal harm. Some of those little kids grow up to become problem gamblers and destroy theirs and others' lives. There are ways to reduce harm - outlaw advertising (and certainly non-advertising discussion by the announcers!), institute rational betting limits, etc. But with everyone's fingers in the pie, the lobbyists have repeatedly won every battle in Aus to curtail the harm because of course it will mean lost profit to companies, and lost taxation to governments. Once the industry gets a foot in the door they know they'll be able to throw the door wide open with continued lobbying/electoral pressure. Quite a Pandora's Box.
Lots of different NBA shows and broadcasts seem to be showcasing betting. For some reason it makes me a bit uncomfortable. I get that it can be fun, but it worrisome for the reasons enumerated in the podcast. As with lots of things; it’s complicated.
Excellent article! Sports betting is fine until it becomes normalised into the culture like it has in Australia - for example, the announcers discuss betting at length in every broadcast, and little kids now think it's a normal part of sports. That in turn has led to enormous societal harm. Some of those little kids grow up to become problem gamblers and destroy theirs and others' lives. There are ways to reduce harm - outlaw advertising (and certainly non-advertising discussion by the announcers!), institute rational betting limits, etc. But with everyone's fingers in the pie, the lobbyists have repeatedly won every battle in Aus to curtail the harm because of course it will mean lost profit to companies, and lost taxation to governments. Once the industry gets a foot in the door they know they'll be able to throw the door wide open with continued lobbying/electoral pressure. Quite a Pandora's Box.
Lots of different NBA shows and broadcasts seem to be showcasing betting. For some reason it makes me a bit uncomfortable. I get that it can be fun, but it worrisome for the reasons enumerated in the podcast. As with lots of things; it’s complicated.
This is how sports betting took over Australian sports - nepotism, a High Court challenge, and the game was lost: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/commentisfree/2022/apr/18/a-generation-of-children-increasingly-think-gambling-is-inextricably-linked-with-the-afl