The NHL embracing sports gambling was a major mistake

[patnyrnyg]

People running sports gambling is like all other gambling.

People win when they get lucky, the house always wins.

It's math.

The NHL legitimizes gambling and thus have some complicity in the negative results, lives destroyed, suicides ect but it's all legal so people just go whatever.

The math works for the house against ALL gamblers as a whole. Individually, people can and win over the long haul. There is a skill involved. If you walk into a casino tonight and look around, the house is turning a profit. But, they do not need everyone to lose in order to do so.

 

[patnyrnyg]

I just take objection to the sports books and league always deserving the upper hand. If they want to offer odds in their favor and benefit from people’s addiction they should have to live with circumstances that go against them like if a player tells his family he’ll get a penalty in the first period. Don’t offer the odds if you won’t let people win without crying about it.

He would not be screwing the sportsbook. The sportsbook makes their money on the vig. If you and I each bet on tonight's Mets-Angels game, the book wants you to bet the Angels and me to bet the Mets for the same amount. They pay one of us with the other's money and pocket the 10%. So, the player is screwing 1/2 the betters for the betterment of his family. Secondly, if non-gambling fans suspect this is going on, they will lose interest as well. Goes back to the Black Sox scandal.

 

[JianYang]

Whether the nhl embraces gambling or not, the horse was long out of the barn, and then it just becomes one of those things where they probably look at it and say: well, people are going to make their money off this regardless, so we might as jump in the pool too and grab our share.

 

[Bigtrout]

I have to mute my stream and change tab every time a gambling related ad or segment come up because the shamelesness and predatory nature of these companies drive me nuts. It's ruining a good chunk of the pleasure I get from watching games, same with the stupid moving ad boards to a slightly lesser extent.

At the end of the day every big sports league are only about money for owners and medias. NHL sold it's soul a long time ago, I don't think they care about the product over the long therm because the future generations won't really know better and will likely embrace it.

 

[wetcoast]

I mean, yeah the house always wins, but if you do it responsibly and with reasonable stakes for your budget, it can easily be justified as a form of entertainment.

This is exactly what I'm talking about, I love hockey but I also love movies, dining out, hiking ect and have yet to meet a person whose life was destroyed because they enjoyed dining out too much or watched one too many movies.

The existence of it doesn't automatically make people lose all their money, heck, I've made probably thousands of bets and I'm down, what, 150 euro? It's not a big deal, and the money was expected to be lost anyway as soon as it was deposited.

Lives destroyed, suicide etc. you're pretending that people don't have any responsibility for their own actions. They do. You can't always blame someone else for your own mistakes.

The thing is that gambling is a science by those that operate it and people with addictions don't have the impulse control that "normal " non addicted, gamblers in this case people do.

(The invasive advertizing is still an issue, though).

Wonder why they advertise so much?

One person once told me about the art of advertising is to convince people to buy something they don't need or want, advertising creates the need and want.

 

[Bottomshelf]

The league put dollars ahead of sense. But that’s the way the world typically works now anyways.

 

[njdevils1982]

Yet, you can't grasp the truth of what really happened.

idiot doesn't have the foresight to not spill hot coffee all over her jogging pants.

that happened for real.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

idiot doesn't have the foresight to not spill hot coffee all over her jogging pants.

that happened for real.

You should actually look up the case before you malign this person.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

When the motion ad with a black car ran across the boards the first couple of times, I swear I thought a mouse was scampering across my TV cabinet

Soon it will be as bad as baseball. This pitch is brought to you by this, this foul ball is brought to you by that, this popup is brought to you by the other thing

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

I dont think it will truly get bad till every spot on a players uniform is covered in ads

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

idiot doesn't have the foresight to not spill hot coffee all over her jogging pants.

that happened for real.

yup. No one in the history of humanity has every accidentally spilled coffee on themselves, so that is definitely the crazy part of this story.

But selling a drink at a temperature that will give you 3rd degree burns in 3 to 7 seconds, well that's just something we should all accept as normal.

 

[JPT]

yup. No one in the history of humanity has every accidentally spilled coffee on themselves, so that is definitely the crazy part of this story.

But selling a drink at a temperature that will give you 3rd degree burns in 3 to 7 seconds, well that's just something we should all accept as normal.

Their refusal to lower the temperature after over 700 reported injuries is what really got them in trouble. That and their insulting offer to pay a few hundred dollars towards what I believe was a $50,000 medical bill which led to the lawsuit in the first place. Greed upon greed.

Anyway, and on topic, I think if the league discourages its players from doing something, they shouldn't advertise for that thing.

 

[SirJW]

I want to point out it feels as if the local broadcasts that have gambling in their states pimp out more than the national ones. For instance the in game odds and encouraging bets is at the local level all game long.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It's so bizarre because in most cases it's not like they get any benefit in doing so. It's often actually the opposite.

It's one thing for someone representing the corporation to keep the spin going, but I'm always amazed at people's reluctance to look at the facts and sit in a grey area if necessary, even if it means they have to change their initial opinion. But they'd rather live in black and white.

It speaks to some people’s absolute to-the-death refusal to move away from their initial beliefs. Once a belief is locked in, it’s locked in.

In particular, the “individual choice” worldview is largely the legacy of a political movement about 25 years ago that was largely fueled by corporate money and amplified by corporate lobbyists. Whoever was captured by that movement during their formative years will not be in favor of any sort of consumer protections, you can be assured of that.

 

[njdevils1982]

You should actually look up the case before you malign this person.

ill sincerely look at it again in more depth. i hope to find why my opinion is so decried.

 

[Moose Head]

The whole thing is just extremely distasteful, especially the during the game analysis crap and stars of the game shilling for gambling companies

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I remember when Bill Burr got his DraftKings sponsorship pulled because he kept calling them a gambling app which got their panties in a twist . . . so he kept doing it.

 

[Mike C]

I dont think it will truly get bad till every spot on a players uniform is covered in ads

let's hope-----this wrist shot is brought to you by......

what a blocker save kenny. yes sir enzo and that save was brought to you.....

 

[Mike C]

The league put dollars ahead of sense. But that’s the way the world typically works now anyways.

It's the way it's always worked. I learned very early in the streets of Brooklyn "always follow the trail of the money"

 

[Johnny Rifle]

The math works for the house against ALL gamblers as a whole. Individually, people can and win over the long haul. There is a skill involved. If you walk into a casino tonight and look around, the house is turning a profit. But, they do not need everyone to lose in order to do so.

I’m not saying it’s impossible to beat the system, but mathematics pretty much proves that the longer you play the more likely you are to lose money.

If there was a skill involved that could win you money over the long term, the hockey gambling pundits that make picks on TV sure don’t have it.

Poker is the only legal gambling activity where it is possible to make money over the long term because you are allowed to bet on yourself and winning pays the same regardless of the expected outcome.

EDIT: Fantasy sports too.

 

[JPT]

ill sincerely look at it again in more depth. i hope to find why my opinion is so decried.

There's a documentary called Hot Coffee that does a pretty good job of explaining it if you'd rather not read boring Court papers.

 

[Stony Curtis]

To be fair, private islands can be really expensive, especially if you're at the lower end of the billionaire spectrum. And keeping it properly stocked can be a nightmare. This money is absolutely needed.

 

[Lshap]

The thing is that gambling is a science by those that operate it and people with addictions don't have the impulse control that "normal " non addicted, gamblers in this case people do.

Wonder why they advertise so much?

One person once told me about the art of advertising is to convince people to buy something they don't need or want, advertising creates the need and want.

I don't believe advertising creates a need. More like it creates curiosity and a sense of urgency. The difference is subtle and, I admit, kind of semantic. Think of it like sex – you already know what you like and dislike. No advertising is going to change your orientation. However, a good ad will tap into a need you already have, even if you haven't acted upon it yet. Someone attracted to the lure of gambling will more likely try online gambling if the ads make it seem fun, easy and accessible. Someone who doesn't like gambling is unlikely to care and may become turned off by the constant ads.

Online casinos are creating some new gamblers, but I'd argue they've seen plenty of ads over the years and were already... um... 'gambling-curious'. I'd guess most new customers come from existing gamblers who switch brands.

yup. No one in the history of humanity has every accidentally spilled coffee on themselves, so that is definitely the crazy part of this story.

But selling a drink at a temperature that will give you 3rd degree burns in 3 to 7 seconds, well that's just something we should all accept as normal.

Their refusal to lower the temperature after over 700 reported injuries is what really got them in trouble. That and their insulting offer to pay a few hundred dollars towards what I believe was a $50,000 medical bill which led to the lawsuit in the first place. Greed upon greed.

FYI, coffee served at acceptably hot temperatures will still cause 3rd degree burns, it'll just take an extra couple of seconds. I'm not disputing the judgment, just pointing out the margin for liability was very narrow and could've easily gone the other way if the defendant wasn't McDonalds.

 

[JPT]

I don't believe advertising creates a need. More like it creates curiosity and a sense of urgency. The difference is subtle and, I admit, kind of semantic. Think of it like sex – you already know what you like and dislike. No advertising is going to change your orientation. However, a good ad will tap into a need you already have, even if you haven't acted upon it yet. Someone attracted to the lure of gambling will more likely try online gambling if the ads make it seem fun, easy and accessible. Someone who doesn't like gambling is unlikely to care and may become turned off by the constant ads.

Online casinos are creating some new gamblers, but I'd argue they've seen plenty of ads over the years and were already... um... 'gambling-curious'. I'd guess most new customers come from existing gamblers who switch brands.



FYI, coffee served at acceptably hot temperatures will still cause 3rd degree burns, it'll just take an extra couple of seconds. I'm not disputing the judgment, just pointing out the margin for liability was very narrow and could've easily gone the other way if the defendant wasn't McDonalds.

Sure, assuming the defendant didn't have a history of ignoring injuries they had been causing customers.

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

From a financial perspective, it was the only move that could be made.

The parties at much greater fault are lawmakers who allow online gambling to exist and be advertised 24/7.

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

I don't believe advertising creates a need. More like it creates curiosity and a sense of urgency.

Well, the intention is certainly the former. It's critically important to read Edward Bernays if you want to really understand (and subsequently become very depressed about ) this stuff.

You ever see this shit on Instagram where limited edition water cups are marketed to women and then they rush out to Target (or wherever) and fight over them? Over plastic cups? Yeah. That's what advertising can do.