7 ms·

I absolutely hate the proliferation of online gambling everywhere in the US. I'm used to it in Europe, but it's still jarring to me that live broadcasts will re

I absolutely hate the proliferation of online gambling everywhere in the US. I'm used to it in Europe, but it's still jarring to me that live broadcasts will regularly mention betting odds in an attempt to get people to gamble. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for somebody with a gambling addiction. I also can't help but think what kids think about gambling if its thrown at them constantly. Gambling for me is analogous to marijuana smoke. It's stinky, and I don't really want it in public, but I don't mind if you do it behind closed doors. I just don't want to see it constantly.

imbnwa 2y ago
Kids were gambling on loot boxes until recently, no?
- no_wizard 2y ago
  It hasn't really stopped, from what I can see. Some sites got shut down, but it was a token few and certainly not something the video game industry seems keen on shutting down with any seriousness, and why would they? The loophole here is that that you are gambling loot for loot, so you are only paying for loot with real dollars, you aren't (usually) straight gambling money on odds, though this does occur, its far far less prominent than the culture around loot and gambling, as noted, and this has lead to misaligned incentives and the government has not shown any real interest in taking systematic action, from what I can tell.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- LtWorf 2y ago
  Still going strong, except belgium I think?
yellow_postit 2y ago
I’m thankful some US States still don’t allow online gambling.
iamthirsty 2y ago
> Gambling for me is analogous to marijuana smoke. It's stinky, and I don't really want it in public, but I don't mind if you do it behind closed doors. I just don't want to see it constantly. This is a purely cultural adaptation — especially in the U.S. People said the exact same thing about interracial & homosexual couples in the 60's. Gambling isn't inherently bad, it was just banned throughout the U.S. and, like marijuana, was constantly presented as bad. As a recovering addict, learning to deal with the advertisements is just a part of recovering. The world doesn't cater to meet the needs of the few who struggle with any vice.
- hn72774 2y ago
  > People said the exact same thing about interracial & homosexual couples in the 60's Not sure if this is a false equivalence or strawman fallacy. Maybe both?
  - topherclay 2y ago
    First they came for the gamblers and I did not speak up because I am not a gambler.
    - DougN7 2y ago
      And then they came for the guns owned by 5 year olds, and I didn’t speak up… Then they came for the huge environment polluters, and I didn’t speak up… Somethings really are dangerous and should be regulated.
      - topherclay 2y ago
        Yeah lol I was poking fun at the hilarious false equivalence.
ninkendo 2y ago
It feels like we already solved this with cigarettes... we've mostly agreed that we can't/shouldn't make them illegal, but we absolutely made it illegal to advertise them, we put huge taxes on them, required huge warning labels on boxes, etc.
- lelandfe 2y ago
  Meanwhile, US colleges: https://apnews.com/article/college-sports-betting-on-campus-a5ec491a391069e7c9de3e51b744c94f https://apnews.com/article/college-sports-betting-on-campus-... > The four schools partnered with PointsBet and Caesars have agreements that go beyond ads in stadiums and on broadcasts. A campus-wide email campaign from Caesars targeted anyone on LSU Athletics’ email list, offering free bets for an initial wager Cigarettes are cool, kiddos!
  - MrMember 2y ago
    Wow, I thought it was bad when I was in school and they tried pushing credit cards we didn't need on us. Now colleges are partnering with sportsbooks? That's terrible.
- ensignavenger 2y ago
  I still see ads for cigarettes and I still get nauseated by second hand smoke when in public places. I don't think we have solved the smoking problem at all. I don't particularly care about the ads, but the second hand smoke is a major problem.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
ethanbond 2y ago
Mobile gambling apps should be outright illegal nationwide. The degree to which mobile app makers have hacked people's psychology to get them to spend hours doing things that are counter to the person's own goals is insane. Mixing that with its own separately extremely addictive behavior, gambling, is a recipe for disaster. Where it gets really, really nasty is that it's quite hard to maintain and hide a gambling addiction when you have to go to the casino or track so often. But now you can get roped into this family-destroying activity from the couch sitting right beside your partner. Your drug dealer is perpetually a mere one click away, and dangling huge incentives in front of you from every TV screen in the country. Politicians actively broadening access to these sorts of services should be (journalistically) investigated for bribery and/or their own gambling addiction. It is so blatantly anti-social so as to be indefensible.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
Ekaros 2y ago
I'm not against making gambling advertisement illegal. It is reasonable enough ban. On other hand I might find odds kinda interesting point to discuss. Not as specific odds, but in general. As that is purest number that could actually help in predicting the game. So maybe it should be okay to mention range of odds, just not where those odds come from.

imbnwa 2y ago

Kids were gambling on loot boxes until recently, no?

no_wizard 2y ago
It hasn't really stopped, from what I can see. Some sites got shut down, but it was a token few and certainly not something the video game industry seems keen on shutting down with any seriousness, and why would they? The loophole here is that that you are gambling loot for loot, so you are only paying for loot with real dollars, you aren't (usually) straight gambling money on odds, though this does occur, its far far less prominent than the culture around loot and gambling, as noted, and this has lead to misaligned incentives and the government has not shown any real interest in taking systematic action, from what I can tell.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
LtWorf 2y ago
Still going strong, except belgium I think?

yellow_postit 2y ago

I’m thankful some US States still don’t allow online gambling.

iamthirsty 2y ago

> Gambling for me is analogous to marijuana smoke. It's stinky, and I don't really want it in public, but I don't mind if you do it behind closed doors. I just don't want to see it constantly. This is a purely cultural adaptation — especially in the U.S. People said the exact same thing about interracial & homosexual couples in the 60's. Gambling isn't inherently bad, it was just banned throughout the U.S. and, like marijuana, was constantly presented as bad. As a recovering addict, learning to deal with the advertisements is just a part of recovering. The world doesn't cater to meet the needs of the few who struggle with any vice.

hn72774 2y ago
> People said the exact same thing about interracial & homosexual couples in the 60's Not sure if this is a false equivalence or strawman fallacy. Maybe both?
- topherclay 2y ago
  First they came for the gamblers and I did not speak up because I am not a gambler.
  - DougN7 2y ago
    And then they came for the guns owned by 5 year olds, and I didn’t speak up… Then they came for the huge environment polluters, and I didn’t speak up… Somethings really are dangerous and should be regulated.
    - topherclay 2y ago
      Yeah lol I was poking fun at the hilarious false equivalence.

ninkendo 2y ago

It feels like we already solved this with cigarettes... we've mostly agreed that we can't/shouldn't make them illegal, but we absolutely made it illegal to advertise them, we put huge taxes on them, required huge warning labels on boxes, etc.

lelandfe 2y ago
Meanwhile, US colleges: https://apnews.com/article/college-sports-betting-on-campus-a5ec491a391069e7c9de3e51b744c94f https://apnews.com/article/college-sports-betting-on-campus-... > The four schools partnered with PointsBet and Caesars have agreements that go beyond ads in stadiums and on broadcasts. A campus-wide email campaign from Caesars targeted anyone on LSU Athletics’ email list, offering free bets for an initial wager Cigarettes are cool, kiddos!
- MrMember 2y ago
  Wow, I thought it was bad when I was in school and they tried pushing credit cards we didn't need on us. Now colleges are partnering with sportsbooks? That's terrible.
ensignavenger 2y ago
I still see ads for cigarettes and I still get nauseated by second hand smoke when in public places. I don't think we have solved the smoking problem at all. I don't particularly care about the ads, but the second hand smoke is a major problem.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

ethanbond 2y ago

Mobile gambling apps should be outright illegal nationwide. The degree to which mobile app makers have hacked people's psychology to get them to spend hours doing things that are counter to the person's own goals is insane. Mixing that with its own separately extremely addictive behavior, gambling, is a recipe for disaster. Where it gets really, really nasty is that it's quite hard to maintain and hide a gambling addiction when you have to go to the casino or track so often. But now you can get roped into this family-destroying activity from the couch sitting right beside your partner. Your drug dealer is perpetually a mere one click away, and dangling huge incentives in front of you from every TV screen in the country. Politicians actively broadening access to these sorts of services should be (journalistically) investigated for bribery and/or their own gambling addiction. It is so blatantly anti-social so as to be indefensible.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Ekaros 2y ago

I'm not against making gambling advertisement illegal. It is reasonable enough ban. On other hand I might find odds kinda interesting point to discuss. Not as specific odds, but in general. As that is purest number that could actually help in predicting the game. So maybe it should be okay to mention range of odds, just not where those odds come from.