The big trend bursting onto the scene for young adults is to participate in sports gambling. Some do it for leisure, while others do it to supplement their job. Many inexperienced and uneducated bettors are appealed to the idea of making “free money,” as most amateurs call it. It seems so easy to make money through sports gambling but at the same time… it’s not. Senior at Antioch Community High School, Jake Pankau, is one of these amateur bettors, however is not inexperienced, as he often bets most days.
“I place multiple bets a day… It is more than safe to say I bet every day of the week,” Pankau said.
Sports gambling can bring attention to sports that are not frequently watched. The engagement it can bring helps build up other sports but comes with bettors potentially being taken advantage of by sportsbooks. The idea of the money that can potentially be made from sports gambling. Betting opportunities can range from how many points an NBA will score to even things like how many eliminations a player will get on a video game.
“When I place a bet on a game, I’m watching it no matter what it is,” Pankau said. “[The sportsbooks] are definitely taking advantage because they allow no matter what amount of money to be placed on any parlay…it seems like the odds are never in your favor.”
A parlay, as Pankau stated prior, is putting together multiple bets into one. In order for the parlay to win, every bet that a bettor enters into the parlay must meet the prediction the bettor has chosen.
The odds are seemingly stacked against bettors. Even with this fact, according to Emily Rodgers’ “Sports Betting Statistics, Trends, & Predictions” article, roughly half of U.S. citizens that are of age (18 years or older) to bet have placed a bet within the past year. They are all hoping to make some money watching the sports that they love. Gambling can be fun because it makes sports more engaging and interesting to watch. However, the issue that goes along with that is if someone does not win while betting, they become more intent on winning the money back that they have lost to possibly get back to even. This means more money being deposited into their accounts and more amounts of money being gambled away with potentially no recuperation of lost cash.
This is where the addictive habits set in; the addiction issues all stem from the same problem. Professional sports associations are allowed to freely market and advertise sports gambling companies. These advertisements do have disclaimers about the addictive nature of sports gambling and a phone number to get help if needed. However, the main enlarged message throughout the ads all point towards the encouragement of gambling and the money that it can make you.
“Every single time you turn on an NFL game, you’ll see a DraftKings ad…they definitely promote it,” Pankau said.
The free ability to deposit as much money into an account as you wish, adds to the fact that professional sports can advertise at any rate. They create an environment that puts newly aged adults in a vulnerable position where they do not realize the choices they make until it is too late.
