Not too long ago professional sports shunned gambling on their games. But with the emergence of digital apps for sports betting, pro sports have a whole new world of sponsors. Fantasy football lured fans into the deep statistics, but sports betting hits at a whole other level.
It's one thing to beat your friends in a fantasy league, but when you put serious dollar signs on your picks, fans have a lot more at stake. And it looks so easy. Download an app, enter some personal information, and boom! You're all set.
I have pretty much tuned out all the FanDuel ads, but a news report got my attention tonight. A psychology professor noted that young men who are drawn into sports betting are highly likely to become gambling addicts. The brain's formation does not recognize certain dangers before age 25. Gambling can etch destructive thought patterns in young brains. And so we could be setting up society for a new wave of addicts.
Some people may actually make money with sports betting, but most will lose. Some will lose fortunes. Some will lose gas money. Some will lose jobs. Some will lose families. Some will borrow from everyone they can think of. I expect there will be lots more losers than winners.
But the gaming companies will certainly win. Therapists will have new clients. If pharmaceutical companies can create a pill to control gambling, then they will get rich too.
But many children will be losers. And relationships will suffer. And many (most?) of the users of gambling apps will wish they had never downloaded.
