The NHL embracing sports gambling was a major mistake

[Oleksiak]

I’ve stated my views once before on this subject in a thread about the future of the NHL.

The gambling house's will eventually become so wealthy that they will be buying up all the arenas and stadiums.

They will then place betting kiosk inside those venues.

The integrity of sports will be compromised.

Remember the NBA Scandal years back withe the Warriors

Quick story: many years ago I was at Yonkers Raceway.
1st race a 6-1 shot won the race. The para mutual board showed the money that was wagered on that horse and the favorite in the second race was extremely heavy for the Daily Double.
2nd race starts and immediately the favorite pulls off to the side. The crowd gave off a moan then the gambler's started screaming and yelling.
If the driver of the favorite would have pulled out before the start of the race anyone holding that horse would have received a refund but because the driver waited until the start, everyone holding that horse lost.
Got in my car, left, never returned.

These examples were before online sports betting and minuscule compared to now. Also sports gambling back then was limited to the State of Nevada and illegal bookies.

Does anyone really believe that MJ left the NBA because he wanted to play minor league baseball or was it to protect a sport and it greatest star?

The integrity of the NHL has been compromised for decades with Bettman allowing the refs and league officials to openly rig games. How else can you explain the continued employment of Campbell and Sutherland?

 

[daver]

It is not a mistake if it makes the league more money. It is a business.

 

[thesandman77]

It is not a mistake if it makes the league more money. It is a business.

Exactly it makes money that what it all about.

 

[daver]

I am sorry but gambling is sports it the future of sports .if we so worry about addiction that has nothing to do with the ads but the person themselves.

Now we have seen the slow decline of cigarettes ads but it took nearly 4 decades to see if these ads have influence in children.

You should separate sports from professional sports (and professional sports in everything but name only like the NCAA).

It is the future of pro sports because the consumer is making it the future. If the consumer makes it clear that the presence of gambling is turning people away from the NHL product, the mistake would be to not adjust things.

 

[JPT]

I often wonder what it's like to have such blind faith in the infallibility of the market.

(Kidding, I never wonder)

 

[Darcy Tucker]

I don't know any people who pissed their entire lives away on social media. I do, however, know many people who have lost marriages, destroyed their families, lost all their money, houses, life savings, investments, friendships, jobs, and everything else over gambling.

I find it funny that you think people who are addicted to gambling are using their brains. It's because of how sharp gamblers are at using their brains that the most profitable thing in a casino is slot machines. People who think when they gamble love slot machines for sure. Honestly, I know people who have lost everything over sports betting, so I know there is not a lot of rational thinking over there as well.

That is a very salient and valid point you make bud. I find slots to be the biggest scam and should be paying out higher cause they're making older ladies and people who don't know what they are doing go broke. I never play slots I barely gamble but have been pretty decent doing sports betting on games I follow.

All I was saying is that social media and tik Tok has their own way of scamming people and ruining lives that has never been seen before. Many horror stories out there. And the effect on people's attention spans , thought process and mental health has been drastically affected. One of my handles else where is "Socialmediaistoxic". With a short statement to avoid it as much as possible and go touch grass. Ever since I cut out most of that stuff my life has gotten much better.

*typo edit

 

[njdevil26]

From the perspective of a Devils fan:

We watch the team on MSG Networks.

The gambling ads are obnoxious and out of control. I do understand it's ultimately up to the will of the individual to stay away from gambling but it's very difficult.

When you watch a Devils game, you will see gambling ads on the boards and on the ice all game. Then, every single commercial break there be 5 commercials and at least 3 of them are for gambling sites. Then MSG Network has it's own sports betting show... and I kid you not, you will see the same exact commercial for their gambling show at least 20-30 times in one broadcast. It's played over and over again.

During the game we all know there's 3 commercial breaks during a period... so MSG also has cut ins between play to update the gambling lines or to promote sports books.

Then they started having the gameday host Erika Wachter read updated lines and gambling ads during periods... and during the intermission.


I don't care how strong your mental composure is... it is absolutely shoved down our throats and hammered into our brains.


Then just living here in general. I live in Central NJ and I hop on the NJ Turnpike and within a 5 minute drive I see billboards for Parx Casino, Hard Rock Casino, Bet Rivers online Casino.

I don't bet on sports but I've absolutely had tussles with playing slots on my phone/computer. I think the worst thing that happened to me is that within the span of one month 2 years ago, I won 12,000 on slots in one jackpot... then 5 grand twice on other games.

Sounds great... but what ends up happening is I'll deposit $50... turn it into 150 on a slot.. but my brain is like "keep going... bet bigger... you'll win big again!" I had one day I lost 1,000 in consecutive $50 deposits and I had a panic attack and had to shut all of my accounts down and tell my wife to never let me near a casino again. I know a grand isn't the end of the world... but that's how it starts.



I am 36 and never gambled in my life until NJ started promoting it heavily on every road in the state... and the Devils through MSG started making sure you saw and thought about gambling the entire broadcast of a game.


It is dangerous... and there's no recourse for people that go down that hole and get in deep. Then you're treated like a degenerate.

 

[2CHAINZ]

That is a very salient and valid point you make bud. I find slots to be the biggest scam and should be paying out higher cause they're making older ladies and people who don't what they are doing go broke. I never play slots I barely gamble but have been pretty decent doing sports betting on games I follow.

All I was saying is that social media and tik Tok has their own way of scamming people and ruining lives that has never been seen before. Many horror stories out there. And the effect on people's attention spans , thought process and mental health has been drastically affected. On of my handles else where is "Socialmediaistoxic". With a short statement to avoid it as much as possible and go touch grass. Ever since I cut out most of that stuff my life has gotten much better.

I want to clarify that I was not saying social media doesn't pose a threat to people, because it very clearly does. It brainwashes people and can very easily ruin lives. I myself am in my late 30's and don't use social media. I do have a Twitter account, which I use just to follow along with things I am invested in, but I don't use it for anything other than following a couple different industries, which are always evolving.

I have been playing poker professionally, either full-time or part-time, for about 17 years now, so I have seen firsthand the damage brought on by gambling. As someone who has made a living essentially from a form of gambling, I will say I am very against all this advertising for any form of gambling, but especially sports betting and online casinos, which draw in so many young people and are ruining lives before they even get started.

 

[thesandman77]

You should separate sports from professional sports (and professional sports in everything but name only like the NCAA).

It is the future of pro sports because the consumer is making it the future. If the consumer makes it clear that the presence of gambling is turning people away from the NHL product, the mistake would be to not adjust things.

Yeah but most of them especially on here are the minority

 

[Golden_Jet]

Yeah but most of them especially on here are the minority

Ya no

 

[thesandman77]

Ya no

Yum yes, it's not going anywhere.

 

[thesandman77]

I want to clarify that I was not saying social media doesn't pose a threat to people, because it very clearly does. It brainwashes people and can very easily ruin lives. I myself am in my late 30's and don't use social media. I do have a Twitter account, which I use just to follow along with things I am invested in, but I don't use it for anything other than following a couple different industries, which are always evolving.

I have been playing poker professionally, either full-time or part-time, for about 17 years now, so I have seen firsthand the damage brought on by gambling. As someone who has made a living essentially from a form of gambling, I will say I am very against all this advertising for any form of gambling, but especially sports betting and online casinos, which draw in so many young people and are ruining lives before they even get started.

Um no.

 

[thesandman77]

I Am going to say that the league is a business and the gambling is good for them.if you had a problem you should have say something when the Supreme Court made it unilegal.

 

[2CHAINZ]

Um no.

What do you mean um no? Getting young adults hooked on gambling isn't ruining their lives before their lives even start? I am referring to creating gambling addicts as early as 18.

 

[Golden_Jet]

I Am going to say that the league is a business and the gambling is good for them.if you had a problem you should have say something when the Supreme Court made it unilegal.

Ya don’t care if they have gambling ads on commercial breaks. Shoving it down our throats during in game play, an offside, a goalie save, etc, is where it needs to stop.

 

[DaveG]

I just wish North America wasn't so two faced about gambling.

We're force fed sports gambling which has unbeatable odds as well as online casinos (likely even worse odds somehow) yet the online gambling which requires skill (poker) is being slowly taken away if not outright banned already. To "protect" users.

That's what pisses me off. You can donk 10k on a 195-1 parlay with a click of a button. No questions asked.

Make it make sense.

Casinos don't get nearly as much off a rake from poker as they do, especially in the online space, from people placing parlay bets that won't hit. That's pretty much what it comes down to. That and lobbying influence.

 

[thesandman77]

What do you mean um no? Getting young adults hooked on gambling isn't ruining their lives before their lives even start? I am referring to creating gambling addicts as early as 18.

Addiction is alot more complex than you think.

 

[2CHAINZ]

Addiction is alot more complex than you think.

Advertising gambling non-stop during sports, which btw has the highest amount of viewership, isn't predatory and isn't swaying young people to gamble? Sure, it might be a small percentage of people who turn into full-blown gambling addicts and have their lives ruined, and a large percentage don't. However, sports betting is so predatory and one of the worst forms of gambling, regardless how good people think they are. Vegas does not set lines to be beaten; if they did, they would be broke. Not to mention parlays is one the worst ways to bet on sports, and intermission reports will advertise parlays to play

 

[thesandman77]

Advertising gambling non-stop during sports which btw has the highest amount of viewership isn't predatory and not swaying young people to gamble?

There is none stop advertising for food should we stop that.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

There is none stop advertising for food should we stop that.

Are you familiar with the term "false equivalence"?

 

[thesandman77]

Are you familiar with the term "false equivalence"?

Agin there is tones of ads that someone might have an addiction to , addiction is very complex.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I often wonder what it's like to have such blind faith in the infallibility of the market.

(Kidding, I never wonder)

It’s like any other form of blind faith. People are taught early not to think critically of the situation they were born into, and spend the rest of their lives digging in their heels to defend it. They sincerely believe that the life they’re living is the very best one available, that they won the existential lottery and are defending the best plot of turf in the universe. Anyone poking holes in that outlook is an enemy, and a dumb one at that.

Hard to get through to anyone who has dunked their head in that kind of Kool-aid.

Sure, it might be a small percentage of people who turn into full-blown gambling addicts and have their lives ruined, and a large percentage don't.

It does need to be noted that for every gambling addict, there’s a crowd who were burned by the addiction. Broken marriages, failed businesses, parents who don’t speak to their children and vice versa. One person’s addiction is a dozen or more people’s problem.

 

[2CHAINZ]

There is none stop advertising for food should we stop that.

I mean I would be all for not advertising garbage "food," especially to kids. I am all for advertising healthy things like quality healthy foods, reading, math, financial literacy, exercising, etc, etc.

 

[2CHAINZ]

It does need to be noted that for every gambling addict, there’s a crowd who were burned by the addiction. Broken marriages, failed businesses, parents who don’t speak to their children and vice versa. One person’s addiction is a dozen or more people’s problem.

100%, it cuts so much deeper than it being just one person's problem, which can be said about addiction in general.

 

[thesandman77]

100%, it cuts so much deeper than it being just one person's problem, which can be said about addiction in general.

100%, it cuts so much deeper than it being just one person's problem, which can be said about addiction in general.

I mean I would be all for not advertising garbage "food," especially to kids. I am all for advertising healthy things like quality healthy foods, reading, math, financial literacy, exercising, etc, etc.

My lord and it alot more complex than you think.one person addiction does not screw the whole world .it an individual issue.

Also stop with this someone think of the children garbage. I watch hockey when I was a kid and the amount of beer ads did not make me an alcoholic.