The two largest online sports gambling companies, DraftKings and FanDuel, have already spent millions of dollars on the 2026 midterm elections, according to FEC disclosures filed on Friday.
As a sports fan, I can personally attest to how DraftKings, FanDuel, and other betting services inundate both live and televised events with ad placements, throwing money at celebrities to promote them. While not to obviate people's sense of responsibility, the aggressiveness of these campaigns certainly merits discussion owing to the harm gambling and gambling addiction can do. When individuals are plunging themselves into financial ruin, that's a real problem.
Gambling apps spending billions to normalize addiction isn’t market failure, it’s the market working as designed. Profit maximizes by exploiting behavioral vulnerabilities…systematic wealth extraction from people who can’t afford it.
“Personal responsibility” when they mention it, is cover. These platforms engineer addiction using variable reward schedules, near-miss programming, loss-chasing mechanics. Applied behavioral economics weaponized for profit.
Financial ruin at scale isn’t bad individual choices. It’s predatory design meeting regulatory capture.
Same structure as opioids, same as subprime mortgages.
Extract value, externalize damage, call it freedom.
At least casinos--like the one that opened in Sonoma County a few years ago--employ actual human beings. But an outright ban on online sports and prediction gambling doesn't seem right either--as such gambling will fall under the purview of the mafia, and become even more toxic; like playing "the numbers" in the days before States transformed it into legal Lotteries.
Politicians are gunna keep getting bought--like Adam Schiff recently taking a few million from Crypto, and then going all in. And now with online gambling. We're on a dark road.
"Everybody Loses" is a recently released book by Danny Funt which discusses the online betting craze. The online betting companies schmooze the elected representatives with celebrity sports stars and tickets to sporting events. Some people can win money, but more often than not, people lose money. And when I say "lose money," it will disappear FAST. Not only are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, but if you bet, you'll become poor faster.
The title of the book is a misnomer. When someone loses, someone else "wins" and that someone didn't even need to play the game, just provide the mechanism to take the money when the player, inevitably, loses.
This sounds like a downward spiral into hell for sports, fans, and democracy. First college basketball, next FIFA?, then what? Congress, elections? End Citizens United now, but I guess that’s not going to happen anytime soon. 😩
Michael Lewis’ podcast Against the Rules is a great places to learn how sports betting became legal and how it has changed and ruined lives. I know they call it gaming, but the only winner of this game is the legal corporate hustlers and they obviously are spending money to keep it that way. Like David Funt writes, Everybody Loses.
Gambling is just a way of draining money from the 99% to fill the pockets of the 1%.. The marketing creates the illusion that they can obtain instant riches, but delivers deeper poverty.
So where are the Twumps in this? They must be sitting down in front of a big mirror with piles of white powder as they discuss with the sons of non-American warlords dressed in robes a new gambling entity they, the sons of warlords, need to get permission for to run in the United States and 49% of it will be yours, Don and Eric! Forty nine percent?!? Dad will want 51.
Another way to f up our young men. Another red flag for all young women when deciding the emotional worth of a prospective date or boyfriend. You smoke cigarettes? Gross. You drink too much? Run! You gamble for"fun." Slam the door.
As a sports fan, I can personally attest to how DraftKings, FanDuel, and other betting services inundate both live and televised events with ad placements, throwing money at celebrities to promote them. While not to obviate people's sense of responsibility, the aggressiveness of these campaigns certainly merits discussion owing to the harm gambling and gambling addiction can do. When individuals are plunging themselves into financial ruin, that's a real problem.
Definitely, good point.
Gambling apps spending billions to normalize addiction isn’t market failure, it’s the market working as designed. Profit maximizes by exploiting behavioral vulnerabilities…systematic wealth extraction from people who can’t afford it.
“Personal responsibility” when they mention it, is cover. These platforms engineer addiction using variable reward schedules, near-miss programming, loss-chasing mechanics. Applied behavioral economics weaponized for profit.
Financial ruin at scale isn’t bad individual choices. It’s predatory design meeting regulatory capture.
Same structure as opioids, same as subprime mortgages.
Extract value, externalize damage, call it freedom.
America.
At least casinos--like the one that opened in Sonoma County a few years ago--employ actual human beings. But an outright ban on online sports and prediction gambling doesn't seem right either--as such gambling will fall under the purview of the mafia, and become even more toxic; like playing "the numbers" in the days before States transformed it into legal Lotteries.
Politicians are gunna keep getting bought--like Adam Schiff recently taking a few million from Crypto, and then going all in. And now with online gambling. We're on a dark road.
"Everybody Loses" is a recently released book by Danny Funt which discusses the online betting craze. The online betting companies schmooze the elected representatives with celebrity sports stars and tickets to sporting events. Some people can win money, but more often than not, people lose money. And when I say "lose money," it will disappear FAST. Not only are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, but if you bet, you'll become poor faster.
The title of the book is a misnomer. When someone loses, someone else "wins" and that someone didn't even need to play the game, just provide the mechanism to take the money when the player, inevitably, loses.
I just finished the book. Helpful background on how sports betting has evolved and the damage caused. I would recommend to other sports bettors.
This sounds like a downward spiral into hell for sports, fans, and democracy. First college basketball, next FIFA?, then what? Congress, elections? End Citizens United now, but I guess that’s not going to happen anytime soon. 😩
I'll wager it won't.
Ok I’ll take that bet.
Money is politics in America.
Who would have thunk it!?
More obvious now than ever.
Michael Lewis’ podcast Against the Rules is a great places to learn how sports betting became legal and how it has changed and ruined lives. I know they call it gaming, but the only winner of this game is the legal corporate hustlers and they obviously are spending money to keep it that way. Like David Funt writes, Everybody Loses.
Huge sport fan who just hates all the gambling commercials during games…
There's too much gambling in this country and I'm pretty sure a lot of it is boosted by economic inequality.
Gambling is just a way of draining money from the 99% to fill the pockets of the 1%.. The marketing creates the illusion that they can obtain instant riches, but delivers deeper poverty.
So where are the Twumps in this? They must be sitting down in front of a big mirror with piles of white powder as they discuss with the sons of non-American warlords dressed in robes a new gambling entity they, the sons of warlords, need to get permission for to run in the United States and 49% of it will be yours, Don and Eric! Forty nine percent?!? Dad will want 51.
Another way to f up our young men. Another red flag for all young women when deciding the emotional worth of a prospective date or boyfriend. You smoke cigarettes? Gross. You drink too much? Run! You gamble for"fun." Slam the door.
All addictions have the potential to destroy relationships and families. Recovery is extremely difficult and prevention protects generational harm.
May loose every penny and more
i think gambling debts will eventually be forgiven, unlike student loans.