Gambling....

[Blansky]

The only sports I watch on TV these days are NHL hockey games, and this season for the first time they allowed gambling and basically every ad now is for gambling.

Wall to wall gambling ads and on the web sites of the companies like ESPN and SPORTSNET etc are sections for gamblers. Not ads but information to gamble.

I'm guessing that all the other sports have this as well.

I'm not a gambler and never have been. I guess basically I think the odds are always stacked for the house. What do you think of this new phenomena?????

Here's a NYTimes story on it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/21/b...sultPosition=2

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/b...it_nn_20221121

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/b...d-portnoy.html

[East Bay Rider]

I don't like it.

[espanol]

I was thinking the exact same thing recently!

My family moved overseas toward the beginning of 2022. I'm currently back in the US visiting clients, and have been shocked by the amount of gambling ads (mainly sports betting). Did I miss something or has this recently been legalized in all states (if it wasn't previously)? Not sure if it's alarming, but can't imagine it's a great thing TBH.

In a way it's sorta reminiscent of some Eastern European countries. My wife is from one, and her small town is quite literally owned by the betting agencies. Apartments, commercial real estate, football team, media, all owned by them. It's a statistical gravy train.

[JoeJoeBobo]

With out the ability to gamble on sports it would be far less watchable for many. Just look what fantasy football did for the watchability of the NFL.

[HHIslander]

Gambling is always bad unless the government can regulate and tax it. Then it somehow becomes OK.

I don't like it either but I guess it's better than getting a bookie and taking that risk.

[330ci]

I think gambling is a parasite on society, I will occasionally take part in a mega millions or buy a scratchy lottery if I am in the mood to wager some money knowing that the proceeds go to the school district.

I am vehemently against sports betting and casino gambling. I find the markets malicious and predatory of the poor. Realistically I don't think the lottery is much better, and destroys plenty of lives as well; but atleast the stakes are lower in most cases. I also realize gambling has been apart of society since its inception and my spiritual views towards it will do little to stop people from getting swindled. Would rather society benefit if at all possible though.

Detroit definitely didn't need any casinos

[JoeJoeBobo]

Originally Posted by Blansky

I'm not a gambler and never have been. I guess basically I think the odds are always stacked for the house. What do you think of this new phenomena?????

Sure you are, you invest in stocks right? Anytime you put your $ into something where you can lose that’s gambling.

So many holier then thou people.

[330ci]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeBobo

Sure you are, you invest in stocks right? Anytime you put your $ into something where you can lose that gambling.

Doesn't really fit the traditional definition of gambling. Something backed with tangible assets or intellectual property isn't really a game of chance or that risky depending on the investment. I have made plenty of shitty investments, none of them in the stock market have gone to 0 yet.

[JoeJoeBobo]

Originally Posted by 330ci

Doesn't really fit the traditional definition of gambling. Something backed with tangible assets or intellectual property isn't really a game of chance or that risky depending on the investment. I have made plenty of shitty investments, none of them in the stock market have gone to 0 yet.

How does the second definition not fit what I questioned or did you not read your own post?

[330ci]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeBobo

How does the second definition not fit that or did you not read your own post?

Because you're able to set your risk threshold on any investment. Calls, puts, etc can all be used to minimize exposure at any given point in time. Just because you don't know how to play a game and you lose, doesn't mean the game was unfair to begin with. In gambling, the house always wins. Through investments, wealth is generated; there's a difference.


Statistically speaking you're lucky to win through gambling. Statistically speaking you defy odds to lose money investing when done properly.if you have to defy odds to lose money, that is the opposite of risk.


Carry on though, your commentary is entertaining.

[JoeJoeBobo]

Ok if it makes you feel less like a gambler. I guess you never meet a professional gambler or an investor that always loses money.

[330ci]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeBobo

Ok if it makes you feel less like a gambler. I guess you never meet a professional gambler or an investor that always loses money.

both are statistical anomalies.


And any Professional gambler will be the first to tell you how unwelcome you are in any casino hence how short most of their careers are before they're blacklisted across the nation.

[texasmade]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeBobo

Ok if it makes you feel less like a gambler. I guess you never meet a professional gambler or an investor that always loses money.

I've always viewed investing as white collar gambling unless you invest in T-bills or something like that. I basically gamble everyday in the stock market selling puts and calls hoping the market doesn't swing too much where I get assigned or called on my positions by end of the week.

[Chewbacca]

Buying and investing in Rolexeses is the only sure thing.

[Mifune]

In all gambling, 'The House' doesn't exist to loose money as their advantage is mathematically baked into the odds they offer... that being said, you can gain some advantage, or at least marginally mitigate the house advantage, by betting in certain fashions or by Hedge betting.

[brandrea]

This thread outta end well Blansky.

[eman1200]

I guess some people pay attention to ads and others don’t. All I watch is hockey and I honestly couldn’t tell you what one single ad was on any game I’ve watched. The only thing I can say is the moving ads suck. I don’t mind the new digital ads, mostly because I pay zero attention to them but the moving ones are really annoying and distracting. Maybe that’s on purpose, who knows.

[brandrea]

Not to take away from your thread but in sort of a similar vein … I know you said you only watch hockey, but yesterdays CFL Gray Cup the broadcasting company put digital Ads on the football field during the game …

I kid you not it was brutal and the images floated on the screen … super distracting. I turned it off after about a half hour it was so bad. Shame as it was such a good game

[beshannon]

I don't care what other people do, choice is a wonderful thing. I do feel that the incessant and close to deceptive ads do ruin things for me. I don't gamble my money.

DraftKings stock dips over 10% on report of hack that drained customer accounts

https://seekingalpha.com/news/391008...tomer-accounts

Then there is this where you have to wonder about the only people making money are those who convinced everyone else to give them money.

[JoeJoeBobo]

Originally Posted by 330ci

both are statistical anomalies.


And any Professional gambler will be the first to tell you how unwelcome you are in any casino hence how short most of their careers are before they're blacklisted across the nation.

Again your making my point…thanks.

Just to be clear buying 10 lottery tickets mitigates your risk more then buying one correct? Lol

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by 330ci

Because you're able to set your risk threshold on any investment. Calls, puts, etc can all be used to minimize exposure at any given point in time. Just because you don't know how to play a game and you lose, doesn't mean the game was unfair to begin with. In gambling, the house always wins. Through investments, wealth is generated; there's a difference.


Statistically speaking you're lucky to win through gambling. Statistically speaking you defy odds to lose money investing when done properly.if you have to defy odds to lose money, that is the opposite of risk.


Carry on though, your commentary is entertaining.

Have to agree. Investing done properly is nothing at all like gambling. If you have an investment opportunity that doesn't offer any risk management then it’s a gamble

[Blansky]

I have a feeling that the addiction is built in with the apps now. A lot of it I don't understand but it seems like you don't just bet on a game as was the normal way to bet before this to some extent. Now I think these apps let you bet on numerous things going so far as which hand the ref/umpire uses his whistle in.

I'm sure with notifications etc, that gambling addiction will go through the roof with this stuff. They've learned all the tricks of Facebook etc to stimulate dopamine and ensure you're constantly betting.

And yeah, those moving ads in hockey along the boards and now in the corner of the screen while the play is going on are a mess.

Another thing I don't get. Why do people in the advertisements for casinos always laughing and having a great time.

I've wandered through a lot of casinos and I never see anyone even smiling. Are the fun people in a separate room????

[HHIslander]

Originally Posted by 330ci

Because you're able to set your risk threshold on any investment. Calls, puts, etc can all be used to minimize exposure at any given point in time. Just because you don't know how to play a game and you lose, doesn't mean the game was unfair to begin with. In gambling, the house always wins. Through investments, wealth is generated; there's a difference.


Statistically speaking you're lucky to win through gambling. Statistically speaking you defy odds to lose money investing when done properly.if you have to defy odds to lose money, that is the opposite of risk.


Carry on though, your commentary is entertaining.

The nature of investing is also quite different.

Gambling in most cases results in a binary gain/loss outcome, your either win or lose your bet. When investing, you can get out or add at any time after your initial purchase, there's no restriction. Theoretically, there are an infinite number of gain/loss outcomes.

There is risk involved is investing, no doubt. I don't think it's the same type of risk as gambling but ymmw.

[330ci]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeBobo

Again your making my point…thanks.

Just to be clear buying 10 lottery tickets mitigates your risk more then buying one correct? Lol

Not at all, the more you gamble the more you lose.

Buying more than 1 lottery ticket doesn't improve your odds of winning at all, it improves your overall chance of winning once. You still lose 10 times as much, theres no way you can beat the houses edge.

You can repeat this over and over and no matter what, based on odds you will eventually end up with nothing.

When investing, your second call changes the outcome of the first position, minimizing risk(theres that word again). You can hedge positions all day long and see no net gains or losses, that can't be found anywhere in gambling. Certain games of chance offer similar opportunities, but the risks are far different.

You rarely, if ever, have it all on the line through traditional means of investing. When gambling, its all always on the line.

[huncho]

Originally Posted by 330ci

Not at all, the more you gamble the more you lose.

Buying more than 1 lottery ticket doesn't improve your odds of winning at all, it improves your overall chance of winning once. You still lose 10 times as much, theres no way you can beat the houses edge.

You can repeat this over and over and no matter what, based on odds you will eventually end up with nothing.

When investing, your second call changes the outcome of the first position, minimizing risk(theres that word again). You can hedge positions all day long and see no net gains or losses, that can't be found anywhere in gambling. Certain games of chance offer similar opportunities, but the risks are far different.

You rarely, if ever, have it all on the line through traditional means of investing. When gambling, its all always on the line.

lottery tickets are a scam but there are ways to be profitable in sports betting. it mostly involves the same principles as trading where you have a consistent system and manage risk/reward

problem is most people just try to bet on favorites which is the scam, you'll never beat vegas and their statisticians by risking 200 to win < 200 (spread betting for example) because very very few people can be right 60%+ of the time, and if you follow sports you know there's no such thing as a guarantee. even worse is some people will bet favorite MLs thinking a team is so much better and it'll be an easy win. imagine you bet 200 to win 50 and lose, you now need to win 4 of the same bets just to make your money back. they'll then get mad and chase their losses by betting more than 200 and lose that. now you're in a hole lol

if you bet underdogs and stay consistent with your bets you can even win 30% of bets and be profitable. this is what i do when i bet and i've made a decent amount of money doing it. this is the same reason traders won't take trades with 1:1 risk/reward, because most know they'll lose more trades than they'll win (i suck at trading but just know that's one of the big rules)

with all that said, i do think these ads are pretty predatory because they know 99% of people will lose money. they give out "free" money with promos, when in reality they know that money will come right back to them, and they're quick to limit or investigate anyone that wins

[JoeJoeBobo]

Originally Posted by 330ci

Not at all, the more you gamble the more you lose.

Buying more than 1 lottery ticket doesn't improve your odds of winning at all, it improves your overall chance of winning once. You still lose 10 times as much, theres no way you can beat the houses edge.

You can repeat this over and over and no matter what, based on odds you will eventually end up with nothing.

When investing, your second call changes the outcome of the first position, minimizing risk theres that word again). You can hedge positions all day long and see no net gains or losses, that can't be found anywhere in gambling. Certain games of chance offer similar opportunities, but the risks are far different.

You rarely, if ever, have it all on the line through traditional means of investing. When gambling, its all always on the line.

When the system is skewed against the little private investor in favor of the institutions (see Robinhood and GameStop) system is flawed and constitutes gambling end of story! I guess “investing” in FTX wasn’t a “gamble”?

[GB-man]

I dabble for entertainment but never any more than a hundred here or there. I am confident down the road there will be legislation limiting the ability of Sportsbooks to market and promote. When you have Kevin Hart with 100M followers telling everyone to gamble with xyz and get 200 for free today etc you’re bound to find a lot of people who can’t control themselves and ruin their lives.

I was able to arbitrage 7k last year just In promotions from the opening of New York State. That’s how profitable the needle in your arm is for these guys. They could afford to give away thousands.

[superdog]

I think the rampant legalization of gambling is a travesty.

And I love to hit casinos. I can sit at the tables for days. But I also know when I need to leave.

The ease of which they are making it…is criminal. The government is essentially taking advantage of those with the addiction or the ability to cultivate this type of addiction.

They just want the taxes to squander.

[330ci]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeBobo

When the system is skewed against the little private investor in favor of the institutions (see Robinhood and GameStop) system is flawed and constitutes gambling end of story! I guess “investing” in FTX wasn’t a “gamble”?

Will be a case study in 2 years on unethical business practices, lack of oversight and not questioning proof of assets.

At the end of the day, they still own near worthless shares of FTX, they weren't completely insolvent. While investing may not always be profitable, you still retain ownership of the shares you purchased. You never have any equity in anything when gambling, and no recourse when things go awry. How many people have been denied payouts on big wins due to technicalities as well?

Robinhood didn't have enough in their clearing house. Not completely unbelievable considering the amount of retail buys occurring at the time. That snafu also cost them 75% of their market value.

Gamestop was/is a fools play and anyone playing those games is most certainly gambling.

However investing in index funds or a portfolio of volatile stocks with a proper strategy? Not even close to the risks associated with the best odds at the casino.

[JoeJoeBobo]

Originally Posted by 330ci

Will be a case study in 2 years on unethical business practices, lack of oversight and not questioning proof of assets.

At the end of the day, they still own near worthless shares of FTX, they weren't completely insolvent. While investing may not always be profitable, you still retain ownership of the shares you purchased. You never have any equity in anything when gambling, and no recourse when things go awry. How many people have been denied payouts on big wins due to technicalities as well?

Robinhood didn't have enough in their clearing house. Not completely unbelievable considering the amount of retail buys occurring at the time. That snafu also cost them 75% of their market value.

Gamestop was/is a fools play and anyone playing those games is most certainly gambling.

However investing in index funds or a portfolio of volatile stocks with a proper strategy? Not even close to the risks associated with the best odds at the casino.

Well stated but still keep making my point. In its truest form gambling see “risk” (possible loss of anything w/o guaranteed outcome) is gambling i.e. money, reputation, life, wearing your Rolex in Somalia etc.

This was fun but I’m out!