Thread

1. ecshafer · 1790700742 · focus · HN ↗

   Legalizing sports betting and online gambling was such a massive mistake. They are sleazy immoral industries that profit on suffering.

   1. matsemann · 1790713195 · focus · HN ↗

      One thing not mentioned here, is how this also affects those not gambling. People act as if the only problem is how it exploits gambling addicts.

      But it fundamentally changes sports. Both the amount of money in them, which comes with their own problems (see ManCity's judgement today). But also how players are affected. I know a soccer player in lower divisions getting death threats because someone in another country was gambling on their match. People try to bribe what's basically amateurs etc.

      1. dam_jackalopes · 1790715331 · focus · HN ↗

         I suspect most of the fraud by volume is going to be committed in the lower leagues in most nations just do to more access to individuals and less scrutiny.

         1. mcmcmc · 1790717350 · focus · HN ↗

            The problem is any fraud at all, and the fact that it’s so incredibly easy to do it now, degrades trust and the sense of fair play. It’s now much more believable to question refs making bad calls against one team or another because of a profit incentive.

            1. dam_jackalopes · 1790720529 · focus · HN ↗

               I'm not sure legalized betting makes fraud itself that much easier, but I'd agree that the incentives could now be larger in the US if tied in with legal betting. Those markets dwarf the illegal markets that drove a lot of famous instances of fraud prior to legalization. More fans are probably suspicious of calls now but, I mean, sports fans don't generally need much of a push to find a reason for suspicion of officials.

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