Overall a good article. It's a pity that the talented author appears to know little about sports or sports gambling. For example, we are not in either the NBA nor the NHL "finals." We are in the "playoffs" or the "postseason." The last round of the playoffs constitute the finals. Further, the "over / under" is a wager regarding the total…
Overall a good article. It's a pity that the talented author appears to know little about sports or sports gambling. For example, we are not in either the NBA nor the NHL "finals." We are in the "playoffs" or the "postseason." The last round of the playoffs constitute the finals. Further, the "over / under" is a wager regarding the total number of points scored in a game, or in the example above, the first half of a game. You do not divide by two, nor do you score three hundred points in one half of basketball ;)
That said, the article raises substantial concerns - and gambling can indeed be as addicting as any drug. Simultaneously, I do not believe prohibition has ever worked - not for alcohol, drugs, abstinence only education, or anything else. People have always gambled and always will.
What IS new is the explosion of technology and the access to legalized gambling on any phone. We will indeed see a huge increase in problems because of all the new laws, technology, and subsequent easy access. Similarly, there was an explosion in alcohol related problems following the repeal of prohibition, and then it leveled off. There was an initial spike in cannabis use after legalization, and that too leveled off and even fell. There are fewer juvenile cannabis users in my state now than there were when it was illegal.
My solution is to a) recognize that prohibition doesn't work b) technology will not slow down c) there will be a rapid and frightening increase in problem gambling as it proliferates across technology, and then d) it will level off and even fall as the "shiny" wears off and people realize the only ones who win long term are the books.
Legalize it. Regulate it. And take a substantial chunk of the inevitable profits from the books and use them to fund education and treatment programs for those experiencing problems. That's what works and preserves free markets and liberties.
I live in SF and it smells like marijuana smoke on many streets, BART (subway) stations and trains. Use has not leveled off. Similar experience when I visited LA in March.
Overall a good article. It's a pity that the talented author appears to know little about sports or sports gambling. For example, we are not in either the NBA nor the NHL "finals." We are in the "playoffs" or the "postseason." The last round of the playoffs constitute the finals. Further, the "over / under" is a wager regarding the total number of points scored in a game, or in the example above, the first half of a game. You do not divide by two, nor do you score three hundred points in one half of basketball ;)
That said, the article raises substantial concerns - and gambling can indeed be as addicting as any drug. Simultaneously, I do not believe prohibition has ever worked - not for alcohol, drugs, abstinence only education, or anything else. People have always gambled and always will.
What IS new is the explosion of technology and the access to legalized gambling on any phone. We will indeed see a huge increase in problems because of all the new laws, technology, and subsequent easy access. Similarly, there was an explosion in alcohol related problems following the repeal of prohibition, and then it leveled off. There was an initial spike in cannabis use after legalization, and that too leveled off and even fell. There are fewer juvenile cannabis users in my state now than there were when it was illegal.
My solution is to a) recognize that prohibition doesn't work b) technology will not slow down c) there will be a rapid and frightening increase in problem gambling as it proliferates across technology, and then d) it will level off and even fall as the "shiny" wears off and people realize the only ones who win long term are the books.
Legalize it. Regulate it. And take a substantial chunk of the inevitable profits from the books and use them to fund education and treatment programs for those experiencing problems. That's what works and preserves free markets and liberties.
I live in SF and it smells like marijuana smoke on many streets, BART (subway) stations and trains. Use has not leveled off. Similar experience when I visited LA in March.