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I absolutely HATE sports betting it is a plague and should be banned

Discussion in 'NBA Dish' started by SamFisher, Apr 11, 2024.

  1. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    A long time ago

    I never thought much or ever about sports betting or any betting growing up. I remember the Houston Post / Chronicle would post "the line" near the back of the sports section and vaguely having an idea as to what the favorite and point spread was, but mostly I just looked at it to see who "They" - the unknown ubiquitous they - thought were gonna win. Also, the baseball odds were totally weird. It wasn't till high school when our PE coach explained them till I figured that out.

    When I was younger and starting to have opinions about things, of course like any young dope I was all in on lotteries and gambling being legal. I remember forming proto opinions about evil Southern Baptist prohibitionists during the time when Texas was legalizing the lottery and pari mutuel betting via referenda, I believe. And yes it's ****in weird that I recall various state referenda as a teen - but live and let live said teenage me. Where is your anti dicing god now!

    I do remember mild enthusiasm for scratch off tickets when they arrived in our pre internet lives. I also remember being really bored and watching the broadcast from Gulf Grayhound Park on UHF (channel 39 or something?) Gordon Lake? on the call "around the back they come and here's your field....") - but otherwise the gambling itself held no appeal because Lotto and dog racing were freaking boring even back then where we had fewer distractions.

    Anyway that's pretty much my whole exposure to gambling as a kid. Had literally nothing to do with sports or sports watching or whatever.

    Present Day

    Holy ****in ****, if I some other dumbass celebrity like Jamie Foxx yelling at me about bet mgm or hear some radio chud talking about almost hitting his parleys or hammering the over or if I look up.a sports score and can't ****in see it because the UX folks at ESPN decided to drop " bet ESPN " buttons onto every ****in table in the mobile view, im just going to lose it even more than I have already lost it

    This stuff is so goddam boring and not at all related to the things we ostensibly care about - the sporty sports ness. And it's not a case of the non sports world extruding into the sports world, as all the anti woke patrolmen would have it - that's an unavoidable consequence of existing in the world.

    rather , this is entirely avoidable - the minutuae of the sports world - like prop bets on Johntay Porter - being tranched, securitized and monetized in order to make some soulless very rich husk-people very richer. This is not a thing that needs to exist, or at least, needs to exist at scale.

    It's one thing to have some fantasy sports league. Fine , that was fun back in the day with my college dorm bros It's another thing when I go to the games and see roes of dead eyed young dudes glued to their phones to hit the 4th quarter under. ****in awful.

    The scope and scale of mobile sports gambling is so much more destructive than the old apocryphal days of vito breaking your kneecaps - the ease with which it can be accessed, the normalization of awful boring sports gambling content being superimposed across our retinas at every possible opportunity, the fact that ****in kids are being taught this **** is normal "please bet responsibly and call 1800 go fk yourself if you don't after we take all your $" .

    It's a sickness and a scandal that we just let this **** happen.

    The Baptists were right.

    This **** is the plague.
     
    nolimitnp, SubE, Sanctity and 32 others like this.
  2. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    I’m Episcopalian despite going to Baylor and I agree. Sam, this might be my favorite Sam post ever and that’s rare air honestly. It’s about to **** it all up.
     
    Deckard, Lar, majicdonjuan and 3 others like this.
  3. Buck Turgidson

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  4. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    Maybe but betting also kept me engaged when I had lost interest.

    Double edged sword....... bet responsibly what they always promote.....
     
  5. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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    Sports betting is fun and it is going to continue to spread even more
     
    raining threes likes this.
  6. kubli9

    kubli9 Member
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    It’s sad that some people (and I know many) need to bet on sports in order to enjoy them. In principle, I agree with legalized gambling and legalized drugs, but there is a cost to society.
     
    IvanLCPM, Andre0087, Deckard and 6 others like this.
  7. Marshall Bryant

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    That's like telling drunks to drive carefully. It's as disingenuous as a bureaucrat saying it's about YOUR safety instead of institutionalizing demand for corruption.
     
  8. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    Your last sentence reveals the people that are behind those gambling portals that control everything, yeah, that is where it gets warmer and warmer.

    It is the greed part.........same thing with everything else, if it is under control, it is under control.
    And the problem is there is something out of control.......and you have to fix that problem.

    Is smoking a lesser evil, sure is, can you ban smoking on a national level.....doubt that much.



     
    #8 daywalker02, Apr 12, 2024
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2024
  9. Marshall Bryant

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    The point is not that there are some who can behave responsibly. It is marketing irresponsibly to maximize profit while "saying" they are marketing to the responsible. It's just bait.
     
  10. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    You are right that it is bait but it is not as serious as a problem to us who are not in the US.
    (Don't get me to things like Gun control, pharma drug crises etc....)

    It is also because you think the situation is the same over the whole planet.

    It is not, the US have problems that are 10x more magnified than in other countries of the world....that is just that.

    You guys also have 2-3 of the best sports leagues in the whole darn world.......that is involved in all of this.

    Do you think Switzerland has a gambling problem? Does Switzerland even have sports leagues that are relevant to the world?

    You can ban it in the US but do not easily ban it in other countries until there is a consensus.



     
    #10 daywalker02, Apr 12, 2024
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2024
  11. RudyTBag

    RudyTBag Member
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  12. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    One thing to admit he has a problem, another to truly put into work and effect and funnel money to his own account.

    It is theft and fraud of Ohtani's possessions, another individual's money.
     
  13. Jontro

    Jontro Member

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    not halal
     
    SubE and basso like this.
  14. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    The "bet responsibly" disclaimers are the ultimate symbol of American hucksterism - let's tack on some magic words as part of the legislative package that allows us to put a vacuum cleaner into people's pockets - no refunds, all sales final
     
  15. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    I thought you wanted to ban slogans, betting commercials, advertisements and celebrities' deals with betting agencies in your state...

    Better get to that first. That's finna be a busy time.

     
  16. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    I no longer really trust any sports
    It's all WWE to me

    Rocket River
     
    basso likes this.
  17. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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    mileage may vary
     
    rocketsjudoka likes this.
  18. basso

    basso Member
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    I haven't trusted sports since the 2002 WCF.
     
  19. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Notable Member
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    IvanLCPM and basso like this.
  20. basso

    basso Member
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    the germans really should have won more WCs.
     

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