People have easy access to too many vices now throughout all levels of the population. Rich people could check into rehab clinics and such. The rest...do not.
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At first I wanted to disagree because that stuff has been around forever, but yeah - people used to have to go to the track to gamble and now it’s right there on the phone, same with porn. So yeah, after considering, *agreed*
So many good films about gambling - California Split, Hard Eight… I find them fascinating but I don’t really like to gamble- I hate to lose money. No one will want to watch a movie about someone gambling online
Recently visited friends in the Midwest. They said that online sports gambling (now via phone) is destroying families, and nobody in the media wants to talk about it because the industry is buying so many ads.
I worked on a house flipping reality show for TLC in 2007-08 and as the market dropped and people lost money the execs made us continue to fake high sell price numbers because so many re-finance companies bought ads. Anyway, sure everything will be fine for everyone this time around.
People have always complained about calls but the explosion of sports gambling means every single major sporting event sees hundreds or thousands of social media accounts calling for “investigations” into the referees over every call that fucks up one of their parlays.
a couple things. right now we have anecdotes but not a lot of data on the impact of sports betting. there are folks writing about the rise of gambling and asking questions but few folks seem concerned right now
i am out looking for stories of folks who have been impacted. one of the first stories I did years ago was about a church leader who lost everything gambling abd turned to robbing banks
Yes. Ten years from now society will rein it in, after massive damage has already been done. And performatively outraged legislators will claim they didn't know
As a 40something, the speed and completeness with which sports betting has gone from a clandestine thing you did under the table with a bookie to a globally advertised industry accessible with the touch of a button is as good a belwether of neoliberal social rot as any.
Gambling has ruined sport in Australia too. I can't watch football matches anymore because of the constant dribble of toxic content. Even the commentary team talks gambling!
Strange how this disease has spread worldwide so quickly.
Modern statehood rot.
Like 15 or even 10 years ago the idea of a website/app where you make bets advertising during a sporting event would be a hallmark of a particularly cynical dystopian work of fiction.
I can remember going to Vegas 12 years ago and placing my first legal sports bet and how it exciting because I was from PA and it’s unheard of here unless you’re doing illegally with a bookie. We now live no more than 5 minutes from a casino that we’ve been to twice in the decade it’s been there.
all that to say, it’s not the same and the fact that’s it’s so accessible makes it less exciting. But when you live in the middle of nowhere with little entertainment and this is just screaming at you from your pocket 🤷♀️
Is this any different to the past?
Opium dens, Beer street and Gin Lane, prostitution, gambling on bloodsports etc. The method of delivery and access has changed over time. But as a species we're flawed we largely all seek out instant gratification from our vice of choice.
The difference is that online vices are being done on a much larger scale, at much faster rates than ever before, and impacting millions of people without them needing to leave their homes.
I think it's probably ok that adults have this entertainment. It's bad that the average 12 year old boy knows what a cuck chair is. And not even in an illegal/legal paradigm but just the cultural saturation.
I had unrestricted internet access down when I was five and honestly it was fine and I knew worse than that at 12. Any attempt to alleviate this hard to quantify harm will result in suppression of LGBT stuff so we’re probably just going to have to live with it.
Have younger relatives who love betting apps. And weirdly is trading, crypto, options, and even futures.
They’ve explained me how I “don’t get it”, I have a masters in finance I certainly do and I expect to hear eventually how they’ve blown up their accounts.
18 months ago I would have wholly disagreed with this take. After having a mental breakdown and having to slowly rebuild my brain with what matters in life. I fully agree now.
It’s okay. Most of it was just driven by unaddressed childhood trauma with COVID then acting like a force multiplier on said trauma. Weirdly thankful for the struggle.
The explosion of sports gambling essentially overnight is a natural experiment. When you had to either go to Vegas or an extremely sketchy bookie it was essentially impossible to bankrupt yourself. When it’s available in your pocket 24/7/365 not so much.
That said I’m mostly against criminalizing any vice (gambling, drugs, prostitution) both on principle and because the harms of criminalization are very significant. So I’m not sure what the policy solution is to put the cat back in the bag. Punitive taxation maybe?
Like, cigarette advertising was banned in Australia *way* back, and now there's a lot less smokers around. (Although banning smoking in certain locations certainly helped there!)
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They can’t stop me!
College athletes are getting death threats.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-rules-with-michael-lewis/id1455379351
Strange how this disease has spread worldwide so quickly.
Modern statehood rot.
Opium dens, Beer street and Gin Lane, prostitution, gambling on bloodsports etc. The method of delivery and access has changed over time. But as a species we're flawed we largely all seek out instant gratification from our vice of choice.
steph curry's cuck chair is a commonplace.
They’ve explained me how I “don’t get it”, I have a masters in finance I certainly do and I expect to hear eventually how they’ve blown up their accounts.
Confession time ~
For me it’s toasted fruit bread
And digestive biscuits
But I can stop anytime I choose…Ah!
The toaster! 😶