Betting this will be a bad thing
I’ve been cogitating on this for a couple of months, and I’m pretty sure many people will dismiss it as the ravings of an old man who needs to get with the times and develop a life. I acknowledge that might be true generally speaking, but nevertheless I’m gonna’ say it: Mainstream America’s acceptance of the proliferation and normalization of gambling, especially but not exclusively, sports betting, is greatly concerning.
I can hear you now. “Gambling has always been with us. You of all people should remember the Roman guards ‘drew lots’ for Jesus’ clothes.” Yes, but in recent months it has gone way over the top with the advent of betting sites like FanDuel, BetMGM and Draft Kings, just to name a few. (And I’m consciously NOT linking to them.)
I spent part of my career as a sports writer, so I’m perfectly aware that even the mainstream has had a tacit recognition of sports betting — where else do you think all those stories saying so-and-so was favored to win got that information. (At one newspaper where I worked, the greasy spoon lunch place next door was a favorite source of parlay cards for lots of folks, including several of my colleagues.)
But it was always, if not hidden, assuredly under wraps and one definitely had to go to some extra lengths to participate.
No longer. Just turn on any TV, and it won’t be long until you’ll be urged to sign up for easy, one-touch sports betting as well as “casino-style” gambling.
One of the sports betting sites advertises the ease with which one can place a bet on whether a football team will make a field goal, or who wins the coin flip, etc. (It seems to me that those are the types of bets we used to cite as signs of a gambling problem.)
Network television sports programs now report the odds and the over/under as a regular part of their coverage (ESPN being a primary offender, especially the popular GameDay on football Saturdays). Announcers joke about now a last second score which doesn’t affect the outcome of a game will make some people happy but not others, depending on the “spread.”
And just how does a half a point come into play, anyway, except for betting purposes?
I’m not arguing that gambling should be illegal — although I do think sports betting, especially on college games, puts an inordinate amount of pressure and temptation on young people who may not be equipped to withstand some of the more nefarious folks in the gambling world.
There is a lot of literature about the prevalence of problem gambling.
In 1999, a National Academies of Science study estimated “about 1.8 million adults [in the United States] are pathological gamblers and 5.7 million are either pathological or problem gamblers. In relation to drug and alcohol dependence, the current prevalence of pathological gamblers is equivalent to about one-third the estimated rate of drug-dependent persons … and one-eighth the estimated rate of alcohol-dependent persons.” (Pathological Gambling, © 1999, National Academies of Science)
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A more recent study from the National Institute of Health, however, suggested that problem gambling had not increased in the years following (Gambling and Problem Gambling in the United States: Changes Between 1999 and 2013).
But another study says people who live within “10 miles of a casino were twice as likely to be problem gamblers as those who did not.” (Risk Factors for Pathological Gambling)
What if the casino is in your hand?
An article in Social Work Today magazine sounds an alarm:
“[I]t’s indisputable that more access will lead to more gambling. ‘What we know from the evidence is the more acceptable and accessible gambling is, the more people will gamble. And the more frequently you gamble, the more activities you play, and the more places you place your bets, the more likely you will be to develop a gambling problem,’ says Lia Nower, JD, PhD, a professor and director of the Center for Gambling Studies and the Addiction Counselor Training Certificate Program at Rutgers University School of Social Work. “Interactive forms of gambling such as mobile phones and computers,” she adds, “have turned gambling into a 24/7 activity that you can do anywhere without leaving your home. It’s easy to hide as well. This accessibility also increases the risk that people will develop problems.’
“Furthermore, she says, technology plays a role. ‘Many video games introduce youth to gambling by offering loot boxes (in-game prizes video gamers can buy for the chance of winning something important for their status in the game). As people are aging out of traditional gambling settings such as bingo and casinos, operators are finding ways to tap into the interests of people who weren’t formerly gamblers. So new technologies will attract former nongamblers and will also add additional gambling opportunities for those who are already recreational and/or problem gamblers.’ ”
I’m not naive enough to believe this broader acceptance and visibility can be reversed. I’m not even sure it should be. So I guess my point is that we should not be cavalier about the impact it can have on a goodly number among our population, especially since almost every study reports that those among us who can least afford to get caught up in problem gambling are most affected.
Telephone numbers and email addresses, in type too small to be readable, offering counseling services isn’t going to make a difference.
Billboards with a disclaimer you’ll never read as you shoot by won’t either.
Admonishments to “please play responsibly” will fall by the wayside for those with real problems (just as “please drink responsibly” ones do).
Those who promote and benefit from easy gambling have a greater responsibility to be alert to the issue, not only for the good of society, but also, I suggest, for their own well-being. If they don’t, I suspect they’ll find themselves in the same place as tobacco companies and distilleries with respect to TV advertising.
As for the rest of us, even the “social” gamblers among us, need to pay attention and watch out for our friends who may get in over their heads. If not, society and even the games will suffer.
You can bet on it.
