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"I always think it's funny which types of commercials play during certain types
of podcasts. The online therapy site BetterHelp seems to be singlehandedly
underwriting the industry, with ads on almost every type of show. The
New York
Times loves to promote itself, so if you listen to "Hard Fork" or "The Daily,"
get ready to listen to the same commercials over and over again about the
dedication of
Times journalists. Any podcast with a business or economic
focus flogs products like "scalable enterprise solutions." (I don't even
understand what most of these are. Accenture, you're wasting your money!)
And, of course, sports podcasts are supported largely by one industry: sports
gambling. These ads are the worst of them all. After a bro reads some ad copy
about parlays and bonus bets, I have to listen to somebody else — often with
their voice sped up to what must be the fastest legally permissible speed —
read disclaimer after disclaimer. The law dictates that the motormouth must
mention each state's bespoke gambling addiction hotline:
In Colorado, call
1–800-ADDICTED; in Indiana, dial 1–888-MYLIFEISRUINED. The cognitive
dissonance of these ads is profound. I get 30 seconds of promises about the
glamour and excitement of betting on sports through my phone, then I get 45
seconds of legalese about how this product could destroy my life.
For its part, the gambling industry claims that it has no intention of
addicting customers or enticing them to gamble in a way that could cause them
harm. They say it's just a fun way to get some skin in the game. It makes the
banter better if you have $5 riding on the outcome of a game you're watching
with your friends! And yes, there are many people who do bet occasionally, in
small amounts.
But anyone with any sense knows that this isn't how the industry makes its
profits. Everything from the apps' designs to their onboarding procedures (they
often give you "bonus bets" designed to get you in the habit of betting
frequently and opening the app often) makes a mockery of the little disclaimers
you have to click through. These gambling apps, like so much else in our
economy, are built to hook us and trick us into spending our time and money in
ways we know aren't good for us.
But here's the thing that everybody knows and nobody wants to say: If everyone
uses these services in a healthy way — i.e., not at all or in moderation —
sports gambling can't survive. In the U.K., where sports gambling has been
legal for much longer than in the United States and where gambling companies
can (for a few more years at least) emblazon their logos on the uniforms of
Premier League teams, the House of Lords commissioned a study about
gambling-industry profits. The study reached a conclusion that should surprise
no one: "60% of [the gambling industry's] profits come from the 5% who are
already problem gamblers, or are at risk of becoming so." Though sports
gambling is newer in the U.S., we're finding similar results here. A
Connecticut report found that the 2% of people who are problem gamblers placed
half of all the bets in the state.
Despite all of the disclaimers and happy talk from gambling companies and the
politicians that enable them, anyone who looks at the issue carefully — or even
engages their common sense for a minute — understands that the gambling
industry makes most of its profits from addicting people and enticing them to
behave in self-destructive ways. At its core, it's a morally indefensible
industry."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
