No offense, but I think those two are non sequiturs. I must be a real old fuddy duddy. I have friends who have had gambling problems, and I wonder how many more are out there. I have always hoped we could offer solutions for these addictions.
It is fantastic system, actually. Drug Possession has been moved into the treatment instead of confinement. Where is the problem?. Confinement cost $120.000 per inmate yearly. Out of custody costs the American people around $50.000 a year. Drugs cost money, personal money or state money.. Removing custody is a saving of our money. I got to tell you, as a lawyer, I was put in Treatment home by the state. I told the state via The Internet that I don't belong there, I don't drink. They evidently talk to the staff folks and they had a mind-meld and I finally got where I belong. This is a great TREATMENT CENTER. I write books, at a does not home that is b a front for a non-treatment center. drjimxlaw64@gmail.com
The system sucks. Drug addicts don't want treatment or rehab, they just want to live on the street, not work, and do drugs 24/7, and that's what's happened. It's ruined great cities up and down the west coast and caused a tremendous amount of human suffering and death. It's not working. That's why ballot measure 110 failed miserably.
Walk into any low end bar, tavern, or "deli" in Oregon and look at the poor souls hunched over the electronic blackjack maxing out their cards before they get to Freddys. Nothing to be admired about gambling (I know, I know) except the life blood it drains out of society. Just sayin', Charlie
Sorry John, just because you can, doesn't mean you should...Sports wagering is just another step towards killing athletics. just another step towards more graft, corruption, etc, under the guise of "easing the taxpayer burden". No... it isn't. Then the taxpayer is on the hook to pay for more courts & jails for thieves so gamblers can feed their addictions. Gambling debt means more drug pushers & distrubtors trying to make money to pay for their gambling addictions & debts.
The downside to gamblings ugly underbelly is really ugly and sad...and worst of all a debt and a plague on society. I know...I used to run numbers a long time ago. I saw others fall into the trap and lose their families, their homes, their jobs.
Please don't try and justify something that is indefensible, all for the perception of trying to make something easier elsewhere. for every action there is a consequence.
If people want to gamble, that's their right....but we don't have to encourage something so destructive. Look what the idiotic Oregon governor and misguided legislature already did with refusing to punish illegal drug use.
Not a fan of gambling at all (not that I don't throw a few bucks when in Vegas) or other vices (marijuana, psilocybin) that cause a lot of social problems and personal grief. But if the state wants to legalize those activities in the name of personal freedom, it is hard for me, a libertarian, to argue. At least the proceeds from those activities go to do good for society, even if at great personal cost.
I agree with you 100% John. The Beavers could use the revenue, and I was very upset when I could no longer bet on college sports at either Spirit Mountain or Chinook Winds casinos in Oregon. Too bad the Cougars and Beavers got left behind. GO DUCKS
THAT IS THE POINT! Illegality, it has been a nightmare. By the way, I was a Board Member that got our governor to legalize Pot sand free up 1300 prison beds at once. When the Governor was a classmate at Law School I got it done. Police. now, just let it slide and smoke or eat it with me. All professional pot heads do it right. It is a drug that calms you. It is no problem in actuality, if it is used correctly for fun. Although, I stupidly used it multi-day on a drive to from Texas to Philly the one time 31 years ago I drove to and from Philly. Of course, the city has gotten worse. drjimxlaw64@gmail.com
Sure... I agree. I know a lot of people who use pot responsibly including my wife. But it can be and is abused by people with addiction problems / depression. It can be (certainly is not always) a gateway drug for those that are addictive and / or depressed. Tolerance can build and it requires more for the same effect. That can lead to harder drugs that are even more socially problematic. As said, I am a libertarian. I would rather people have the right to do what they want, even if abusive. But there needs to be a safety net to try and save those people, though some are truly beyond help
To my Irish Brother: There is an enormous safety net, which is
fundamentally flawed. We call it the Criminal Injustice System 'Justice ' is a misnomer. What we have is The Criminal System, which is the play ground for 15% of our population. It used to be just 10% but Trump made it 15% by stealing money from the poor. Neat way the Republicans fight injustice with injustice, letting Injustice prevail. Smoke or eat pot, stay calm. Peace. Dr. Jim McHugh, drjimxlaw64@gmail.com
Not a fan of gambling for many reasons - including the devastating social problems it creates for so many families. Also, not a Peter Courtney fan for many reasons I don't need to elaborate on this forum. But anybody can be right on occasion, and he was right on this issue. The hypocrisy behind the Oregon Lottery system should be investigated and exposed. Something doesn't smell right, but that aroma encompasses a lot of Oregon these days.
Gambling addicts often end up as alcohol and drug addicts with depression. Addiction is an illness and trying to cover for loss of family wealth, cars, homes, marriages will cause depression and drug / alcohol use in most. Encouraging addictions of any kind carry a very high personal and societal cost. It is why gambling, drugs, even alcohol, were illegal in the past
Prohibition. Yeah. That's always been an effective way to eradicate vices perceived and real. Not so much, but it does feed the insatiable budgetary appetites of countless law enforcement agencies flailing about counterproductively arresting and incarcerating people who are going to do what they want legal or not.
Everyone is swimming in a societal pool that is 30 feet deep in legal gambling opportunities and you think adding another 2 inches of depth to the pool is going to have any measurable adverse affect on gambling addiction prevalence?
You are on the right track Chris, but the genie is out of the bottle. It is even hard to find a sports talk show on the radio anymore without some reference to the lines, the over under, etc., etc. A good friend of mine and I were discussing how long we thought it would take before the gambling addiction issues this easy access to wagering will create became a huge societal issue. I commented about 10 years. He looked at me and said, "I am thinking about 5". I looked back at him and said I think 5 years will more likely be the accurate time frame. It will happen.
Total CC debt in America is 1.2 trillion - think about that. The average American CC debt is 6K, SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS! Of that, 3.5% is 30 days in arrears, and 1.6% is 60-90 days in arrears. How much of that 1.2 trillion is wrapped up in sports betting? A bunch - it’s a killer, plain and simple.
Regarding Oregon State (Washington State, too): Just sell your revenue programs to the highest bidder. Why dink around with this? If some well-heeled VC were to come in and buy football and basketball at OSU / WSU, they would have the incentive to fund and rebuild the programs to keep them in the P4. They would have the business acumen and connections to negotiate with the big networks on equal footing. They would fund the marketing that OSU seems unwilling or unable to develop, the very basis for the Ducks' sports success (how can the OSU poobahs miss such an obvious success 40 miles away?!) Since the college admins have no clue how to build their sports programs and keep them viable for 3 generations of fans, let professional business people with deep pockets do it for them. They can work out some arrangement to guarantee funding for non-rev sports. Unlike the NBA or NFL, OSU would not need to worry about the team relocating since its brand is 100% affiliated with the university and its resources like the stadium. A 99 year "no-move" clause can be written into the sale contract to make sure it stays put.
$10M is a good start, but it's the floor. Future appropriations from the Oregon House and Senate Bills should include $25M/year to Oregon State for OSU sports, scholarships and general funding to keep Beaver sports competitive until they get a Power4 invite. That's peanuts for this state and will help smooth over the starvation period until the Beavers find their conference. Let the proceeds from sports betting lead the way for the state's flagship university.
UO stuck the Oregon taxpayers with former Duck coach Mike Bellotti's PERS that was one the biggest scams ever in this state, and UO did it intentionally. We still don't know how his salary was manipulated and embellished to get that kind of payout. How much does he make every month?
@Orange Sunshine - Enlighten us. What exactly was the scam? What did Oregon do intentionally? How was Bellotti's salary embellished and manipulated? If you won't know how much he makes each month, then how do you know it's a problem. Help us out, seeing as how you know so much.
That $10M allocation was "in addition" not a one-timer. OSU athletics has received annual budget support from the OSU state allocation, while UO has not in recent years. Last year it was $8.4M. Further, the university "loaned" OSU athletics about $30 million as a result of the COVID revenue deficit. Not sure if that will ever be re-paid.
No general fund money should be taken from taxpayers to fund college athletics. What happened to “Built not bought”? Begging is a bad look.
However, I’m strongly in favor of John’s proposal to use sports betting proceeds to aid college programs. Divvy the funds up evenly between Oregon State, Oregon, and Portland State.
Other than casinos, I’m against sports wagering. It’s only a matter of time before something bad happens because of it. I’d like to know how much sports wagering has enriched the coffers of school districts in Southern Oregon. I would like specifics. Like Coos Bay, Coquille, Myrtle Point, Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford, Ashland. How many millions did they get? How is it being distributed? Were teacher salaries improved? Facility improvements? Did they lower property taxes in Oregon due to these huge earnings? It’s one thing to says sports wagering has brought in millions. It’s an another to track how that money is invested.
I understand your wish to have more sports covered by betting, but research shows that many people bet who really can't afford it and should really put their money on a regular basis into a mutual fund. The same thing applies to the lottery. But once states get this regular infusion of money, they are not about to give it up. If the huge corporations and ultra-rich were not able to game our tax system the way they do, we would have more money for schools and our badly maintained roads and our awful medical system compared to other wealthy countries.
It is a given that people love to gamble and that they will continue gamble with or without it being legal or illegal.
Years ago gambling was illegal just about everywhere excluding Nevada. Being young at the time I thought it a moral issue and that was the reason for it being illegal. It was was just flat wrong and the laws were enacted to protect people from themselves. How stupid was I? It was not a moral issue it was a money issue and once governments figured out how to benefit from gambling….. no longer a legal issue..
Oregon takes a goodly % of the gaming profits and we all get to read about how much good comes from the state profiting from gambling. I suggest that there is no net profit from gambling when you consider the real effects of it on the people in Oregon. Talk to the businesses that have the machines in their establishments and they will have horror stories to tell. The person that spends their entire pay check and ends up sleeping in their car on the parking lot. Monies that never make it home to the families but is left inside a poker machine.
Think of the the divorces as a result of addictive gambling and the children that go without food or school clothes. You read nothing about the incredible negative impact of gambling but only about the positives. Gambling is addictive, it knows no boundaries, there are no stop signs, it is a journey into hell for many families. Without question the negatives far out weigh the positives, and sadly gambling is not only here to stay but Become even more available to more people.
"Gaming" is a cancer that sucks money from those that can absolutely not afford it, there is no arguing that fact. Honestly, who can "afford" it is not really the point. Figuring out the way the state of Oregon can most benefit from it is no less morally bankrupt. It's easy to throw up your hands and cite the Inevitably of it all, and figure out the least worst way to do something inherently evil. I expected more form John Canzano.
Have to disagree on this one, John. Since sports betting was legalized by the Supreme Court in 2018, the industry that was once limited to Las Vegas has spread like wildfire to 38 states and counting.
In 2023, Americans wagered an astouding $119.8 billion on sports, and the bookmakers' gross revenue (the total amount wagered less gamblers' winnings) was a healthy $10.9B.
All the major sports leagues have climbed into bed with the bookmakers, endlessly promoting their gambling "partners" and encouraging fans to place snap bets on every play, pitch, possession, quarter, inning, and individual stat.
The leagues are all complicit in fostering gambling addiction by running ads for DraftKings, FanDuel and their ilk in virtually every commercial break during game telecasts.
The leagues are getting their "cut" in the form of huge sponsorships and advertising dollars. And player inducements are being offered to players at every level.
Worse yet, athletes are receiving death threats from gamblers who blame them for their losses.
It's a sickening spiral that is only going to get worse.
Whoa John, just because we can do something doesn’t mean it is a great idea, especially if it involves money, even for a good cause. There are plenty of reasons for not betting on college sports, good ones, that have served as a guardrail for a long time. If, instead of reporting on the machinations of the college sports world you are now advocating for more walls coming down, where money is sloshing all around and our greed and even our desire to do good blind us to the consequences of our decisions, then I would suggest a collective breath, a pause if you will, in our headlong race for what exactly? History is full of people doing something they think is good, I think the phrase is, “the road to hell is paved by good intentions”, that have not worked out as hoped but created more suffering.
Crazy that I can’t bet NCAA sports here in Oregon, but I can legally possess heroin, fentanyl, meth, pcp, shrooms, acid, and oxys. Great governing.
No offense, but I think those two are non sequiturs. I must be a real old fuddy duddy. I have friends who have had gambling problems, and I wonder how many more are out there. I have always hoped we could offer solutions for these addictions.
It is fantastic system, actually. Drug Possession has been moved into the treatment instead of confinement. Where is the problem?. Confinement cost $120.000 per inmate yearly. Out of custody costs the American people around $50.000 a year. Drugs cost money, personal money or state money.. Removing custody is a saving of our money. I got to tell you, as a lawyer, I was put in Treatment home by the state. I told the state via The Internet that I don't belong there, I don't drink. They evidently talk to the staff folks and they had a mind-meld and I finally got where I belong. This is a great TREATMENT CENTER. I write books, at a does not home that is b a front for a non-treatment center. drjimxlaw64@gmail.com
The system sucks. Drug addicts don't want treatment or rehab, they just want to live on the street, not work, and do drugs 24/7, and that's what's happened. It's ruined great cities up and down the west coast and caused a tremendous amount of human suffering and death. It's not working. That's why ballot measure 110 failed miserably.
Walk into any low end bar, tavern, or "deli" in Oregon and look at the poor souls hunched over the electronic blackjack maxing out their cards before they get to Freddys. Nothing to be admired about gambling (I know, I know) except the life blood it drains out of society. Just sayin', Charlie
Absolutely, Charlie. It’s easy money for the state but is it worth the personal detestation that comes with it.
Well played, Charlie...100% correct. And the worst Neanderthal response is "everybody does it".
Have you ever walked out the back door of a casino where the (much) poorer souls are awaiting their bus ride back home? Yikes!
You can't deny a benefit for all people to protect the few people who can't control their impulses.
Sorry John, just because you can, doesn't mean you should...Sports wagering is just another step towards killing athletics. just another step towards more graft, corruption, etc, under the guise of "easing the taxpayer burden". No... it isn't. Then the taxpayer is on the hook to pay for more courts & jails for thieves so gamblers can feed their addictions. Gambling debt means more drug pushers & distrubtors trying to make money to pay for their gambling addictions & debts.
The downside to gamblings ugly underbelly is really ugly and sad...and worst of all a debt and a plague on society. I know...I used to run numbers a long time ago. I saw others fall into the trap and lose their families, their homes, their jobs.
Please don't try and justify something that is indefensible, all for the perception of trying to make something easier elsewhere. for every action there is a consequence.
If people want to gamble, that's their right....but we don't have to encourage something so destructive. Look what the idiotic Oregon governor and misguided legislature already did with refusing to punish illegal drug use.
You get it. Thank you for having a sane voice.
Not a fan of gambling at all (not that I don't throw a few bucks when in Vegas) or other vices (marijuana, psilocybin) that cause a lot of social problems and personal grief. But if the state wants to legalize those activities in the name of personal freedom, it is hard for me, a libertarian, to argue. At least the proceeds from those activities go to do good for society, even if at great personal cost.
That's a good point. I'm not a fan either, but let's make it do something positive.
Ditto guys.
did the Beavers ever recover from now being in the Pac-2? which libertarian is your vote going to for President? I am sure you will pick a winner.....
I agree with you 100% John. The Beavers could use the revenue, and I was very upset when I could no longer bet on college sports at either Spirit Mountain or Chinook Winds casinos in Oregon. Too bad the Cougars and Beavers got left behind. GO DUCKS
THAT IS THE POINT! Illegality, it has been a nightmare. By the way, I was a Board Member that got our governor to legalize Pot sand free up 1300 prison beds at once. When the Governor was a classmate at Law School I got it done. Police. now, just let it slide and smoke or eat it with me. All professional pot heads do it right. It is a drug that calms you. It is no problem in actuality, if it is used correctly for fun. Although, I stupidly used it multi-day on a drive to from Texas to Philly the one time 31 years ago I drove to and from Philly. Of course, the city has gotten worse. drjimxlaw64@gmail.com
Sure... I agree. I know a lot of people who use pot responsibly including my wife. But it can be and is abused by people with addiction problems / depression. It can be (certainly is not always) a gateway drug for those that are addictive and / or depressed. Tolerance can build and it requires more for the same effect. That can lead to harder drugs that are even more socially problematic. As said, I am a libertarian. I would rather people have the right to do what they want, even if abusive. But there needs to be a safety net to try and save those people, though some are truly beyond help
To my Irish Brother: There is an enormous safety net, which is
fundamentally flawed. We call it the Criminal Injustice System 'Justice ' is a misnomer. What we have is The Criminal System, which is the play ground for 15% of our population. It used to be just 10% but Trump made it 15% by stealing money from the poor. Neat way the Republicans fight injustice with injustice, letting Injustice prevail. Smoke or eat pot, stay calm. Peace. Dr. Jim McHugh, drjimxlaw64@gmail.com
Not a fan of gambling for many reasons - including the devastating social problems it creates for so many families. Also, not a Peter Courtney fan for many reasons I don't need to elaborate on this forum. But anybody can be right on occasion, and he was right on this issue. The hypocrisy behind the Oregon Lottery system should be investigated and exposed. Something doesn't smell right, but that aroma encompasses a lot of Oregon these days.
1000% and it's not just Oregon!
John C., you should do a column on the politicians who voted No, and where their "donations" (aka, bribes) are coming from.
Same as the WA state politicians who keep the tribes exclusivity going.
Good article you are presenting the benefits but what about those who get entrapped with gambling as an addiction.
Right on! It is a huge problem.
Gambling addicts often end up as alcohol and drug addicts with depression. Addiction is an illness and trying to cover for loss of family wealth, cars, homes, marriages will cause depression and drug / alcohol use in most. Encouraging addictions of any kind carry a very high personal and societal cost. It is why gambling, drugs, even alcohol, were illegal in the past
All addictions push away unwanted thoughts, feelings/emotions, and memories. Nothing goes away until it is resolved.
Prohibition. Yeah. That's always been an effective way to eradicate vices perceived and real. Not so much, but it does feed the insatiable budgetary appetites of countless law enforcement agencies flailing about counterproductively arresting and incarcerating people who are going to do what they want legal or not.
Everyone is swimming in a societal pool that is 30 feet deep in legal gambling opportunities and you think adding another 2 inches of depth to the pool is going to have any measurable adverse affect on gambling addiction prevalence?
Sports wagering is an emerging public health issue. It should be abolished and not expanded. This is a VERY bad idea.
You are on the right track Chris, but the genie is out of the bottle. It is even hard to find a sports talk show on the radio anymore without some reference to the lines, the over under, etc., etc. A good friend of mine and I were discussing how long we thought it would take before the gambling addiction issues this easy access to wagering will create became a huge societal issue. I commented about 10 years. He looked at me and said, "I am thinking about 5". I looked back at him and said I think 5 years will more likely be the accurate time frame. It will happen.
Total CC debt in America is 1.2 trillion - think about that. The average American CC debt is 6K, SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS! Of that, 3.5% is 30 days in arrears, and 1.6% is 60-90 days in arrears. How much of that 1.2 trillion is wrapped up in sports betting? A bunch - it’s a killer, plain and simple.
Regarding Oregon State (Washington State, too): Just sell your revenue programs to the highest bidder. Why dink around with this? If some well-heeled VC were to come in and buy football and basketball at OSU / WSU, they would have the incentive to fund and rebuild the programs to keep them in the P4. They would have the business acumen and connections to negotiate with the big networks on equal footing. They would fund the marketing that OSU seems unwilling or unable to develop, the very basis for the Ducks' sports success (how can the OSU poobahs miss such an obvious success 40 miles away?!) Since the college admins have no clue how to build their sports programs and keep them viable for 3 generations of fans, let professional business people with deep pockets do it for them. They can work out some arrangement to guarantee funding for non-rev sports. Unlike the NBA or NFL, OSU would not need to worry about the team relocating since its brand is 100% affiliated with the university and its resources like the stadium. A 99 year "no-move" clause can be written into the sale contract to make sure it stays put.
$10M is a good start, but it's the floor. Future appropriations from the Oregon House and Senate Bills should include $25M/year to Oregon State for OSU sports, scholarships and general funding to keep Beaver sports competitive until they get a Power4 invite. That's peanuts for this state and will help smooth over the starvation period until the Beavers find their conference. Let the proceeds from sports betting lead the way for the state's flagship university.
Thanks for one more idea sticking it to taxpayers. Let Oregon State stand on its own athletic performance.
Immature thinking, as usual.
UO stuck the Oregon taxpayers with former Duck coach Mike Bellotti's PERS that was one the biggest scams ever in this state, and UO did it intentionally. We still don't know how his salary was manipulated and embellished to get that kind of payout. How much does he make every month?
"They did it, why can't I? Whaaaa...whaaaa...whaaaa..."
You sound like a teenager who can't have the keys to daddy's car this weekend.
And what do you think you sound like?
@Orange Sunshine - Enlighten us. What exactly was the scam? What did Oregon do intentionally? How was Bellotti's salary embellished and manipulated? If you won't know how much he makes each month, then how do you know it's a problem. Help us out, seeing as how you know so much.
That sends a great message. Legalize gambling on NCAA and give the proceeds to OSU. Beaver Football: paid for by Oregonians addicted to gambling.
That $10M allocation was "in addition" not a one-timer. OSU athletics has received annual budget support from the OSU state allocation, while UO has not in recent years. Last year it was $8.4M. Further, the university "loaned" OSU athletics about $30 million as a result of the COVID revenue deficit. Not sure if that will ever be re-paid.
https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/2024/06/will-oregon-state-continue-spending-like-a-power-5-school-here-are-the-numbers-for-the-beavers-2024-25-budget.html
No general fund money should be taken from taxpayers to fund college athletics. What happened to “Built not bought”? Begging is a bad look.
However, I’m strongly in favor of John’s proposal to use sports betting proceeds to aid college programs. Divvy the funds up evenly between Oregon State, Oregon, and Portland State.
Other than casinos, I’m against sports wagering. It’s only a matter of time before something bad happens because of it. I’d like to know how much sports wagering has enriched the coffers of school districts in Southern Oregon. I would like specifics. Like Coos Bay, Coquille, Myrtle Point, Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford, Ashland. How many millions did they get? How is it being distributed? Were teacher salaries improved? Facility improvements? Did they lower property taxes in Oregon due to these huge earnings? It’s one thing to says sports wagering has brought in millions. It’s an another to track how that money is invested.
Sorry Reno-Deno…just saw your reply. Why the casinos? Because Native Americans got screwed. They deserve everything they can get.
Why the casinos?
I understand your wish to have more sports covered by betting, but research shows that many people bet who really can't afford it and should really put their money on a regular basis into a mutual fund. The same thing applies to the lottery. But once states get this regular infusion of money, they are not about to give it up. If the huge corporations and ultra-rich were not able to game our tax system the way they do, we would have more money for schools and our badly maintained roads and our awful medical system compared to other wealthy countries.
It is a given that people love to gamble and that they will continue gamble with or without it being legal or illegal.
Years ago gambling was illegal just about everywhere excluding Nevada. Being young at the time I thought it a moral issue and that was the reason for it being illegal. It was was just flat wrong and the laws were enacted to protect people from themselves. How stupid was I? It was not a moral issue it was a money issue and once governments figured out how to benefit from gambling….. no longer a legal issue..
Oregon takes a goodly % of the gaming profits and we all get to read about how much good comes from the state profiting from gambling. I suggest that there is no net profit from gambling when you consider the real effects of it on the people in Oregon. Talk to the businesses that have the machines in their establishments and they will have horror stories to tell. The person that spends their entire pay check and ends up sleeping in their car on the parking lot. Monies that never make it home to the families but is left inside a poker machine.
Think of the the divorces as a result of addictive gambling and the children that go without food or school clothes. You read nothing about the incredible negative impact of gambling but only about the positives. Gambling is addictive, it knows no boundaries, there are no stop signs, it is a journey into hell for many families. Without question the negatives far out weigh the positives, and sadly gambling is not only here to stay but Become even more available to more people.
State run gambling is simply a tax on the poor.
Why not tax the Indian Casinos strewn across both WA and OR?
Tribes are sovereign nations.
Can’t
I agree. Over the years I have seen a few people in therapy who were addicted to gambling and had their lives ruined because of it.
"Gaming" is a cancer that sucks money from those that can absolutely not afford it, there is no arguing that fact. Honestly, who can "afford" it is not really the point. Figuring out the way the state of Oregon can most benefit from it is no less morally bankrupt. It's easy to throw up your hands and cite the Inevitably of it all, and figure out the least worst way to do something inherently evil. I expected more form John Canzano.
Have to disagree on this one, John. Since sports betting was legalized by the Supreme Court in 2018, the industry that was once limited to Las Vegas has spread like wildfire to 38 states and counting.
In 2023, Americans wagered an astouding $119.8 billion on sports, and the bookmakers' gross revenue (the total amount wagered less gamblers' winnings) was a healthy $10.9B.
All the major sports leagues have climbed into bed with the bookmakers, endlessly promoting their gambling "partners" and encouraging fans to place snap bets on every play, pitch, possession, quarter, inning, and individual stat.
The leagues are all complicit in fostering gambling addiction by running ads for DraftKings, FanDuel and their ilk in virtually every commercial break during game telecasts.
The leagues are getting their "cut" in the form of huge sponsorships and advertising dollars. And player inducements are being offered to players at every level.
Worse yet, athletes are receiving death threats from gamblers who blame them for their losses.
It's a sickening spiral that is only going to get worse.
Whoa John, just because we can do something doesn’t mean it is a great idea, especially if it involves money, even for a good cause. There are plenty of reasons for not betting on college sports, good ones, that have served as a guardrail for a long time. If, instead of reporting on the machinations of the college sports world you are now advocating for more walls coming down, where money is sloshing all around and our greed and even our desire to do good blind us to the consequences of our decisions, then I would suggest a collective breath, a pause if you will, in our headlong race for what exactly? History is full of people doing something they think is good, I think the phrase is, “the road to hell is paved by good intentions”, that have not worked out as hoped but created more suffering.
“And everyone did what was right in his own sight.”