Gambling Is Skyrocketing

[g5000]

More and more states have been relaxing their laws against gambling, seeing it as a way to generate revenues.

The surge in digital access to gambling apps has also fueled the rise of losers throwing away countless billions.

Gambling houses and gambling sites don't use that word, gambling. They call it "gaming". As if.

Since 2019, calls to addiction phone lines have increased by a whopping 60 percent.

With gambling apps, you can bet 24/7 without leaving your soiled bed.

The latest craze is parlay betting. This is betting on several outcomes at once, with the only way to win is for all those outcomes to occur. This attracts the innumerate in droves because the difference between the amount you bet compared to the possible winnings is huge. But it is literally a sucker's bet.

About 20 years ago, I had cause to travel to Las Vegas on business. As a coworker and I marveled at the tremendous size and glitz of Caesar's Palace, I said, "They didn't build that by suckers winning." He nodded and headed to the sports desk to throw away a few hundred dollars. And this guy was an evangelical!

I didn't drop a single dollar the three days I was there, but I did get to meet Colonel Paul Tibbets. That was cool.

I hate the very idea of Las Vegas. And Atlantic City. And Fanduel et al.

This is rapidly becoming a serious public health problem.

The Rise of Sports Gambling: Understanding the New Addiction Landscape​

​

 

[g5000]

DraftKings and Other Sports Gambling Apps Are Hitting the Jackpot With ‘Parlay’ Bets. As They Win, You Lose.

Americans have found a creative new way of losing money at sports betting. They’re losing with such regularity that they’re catapulting gambling apps to profitability well ahead of schedule.

Parlay bets, which allow people to wager on several things happening together, have taken off in popularity this year.

[snip]

In Illinois, which releases the most specific data about betting activity, parlays now account for more than 60% of the total number of online sports bets that people make each month and more than 27% of the money wagered, up from 20% two years ago.

[snip]

That shift is no small matter to the two biggest sports gambling companies, DraftKings (ticker: DKNG) and Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY), the owner of FanDuel. Parlays have allowed them to make much more on each wager. The companies don’t regularly release details on just how profitable parlays can be, but a Barron’s analysis of data released by state gambling regulators shows that the companies’ average “win margin”—the amount they keep from bets—is about 20% on those bets, versus 5% for a standard bet on a single outcome in baseball or football.


A 20 percent edge.

Jesus H. Christ.

 

[MarathonMike]

Online sports betting is becoming a near epidemic with male college students. They start small making $1 or $5 dollar bets and then when they start losing they increase the betting to "catch up". Parlays are the ultimate teaser because you always come so close to winning but you mostly lose.

 

[ThisIsMe]

More and more states have been relaxing their laws against gambling, seeing it as a way to generate revenues.

The surge in digital access to gambling apps has also fueled the rise of losers throwing away countless billions.

Gambling houses and gambling sites don't use that word, gambling. They call it "gaming". As if.

Since 2019, calls to addiction phone lines have increased by a whopping 60 percent.

With gambling apps, you can bet 24/7 without leaving your soiled bed.

The latest craze is parlay betting. This is betting on several outcomes at once, with the only way to win is for all those outcomes to occur. This attracts the innumerate in droves because the difference between the amount you bet compared to the possible winnings is huge. But it is literally a sucker's bet.

About 20 years ago, I had cause to travel to Las Vegas on business. As a coworker and I marveled at the tremendous size and glitz of Caesar's Palace, I said, "They didn't build that by suckers winning." He nodded and headed to the sports desk to throw away a few hundred dollars. And this guy was an evangelical!

I didn't drop a single dollar the three days I was there, but I did get to meet Colonel Paul Tibbets. That was cool.

I hate the very idea of Las Vegas. And Atlantic City. And Fanduel et al.

This is rapidly becoming a serious public health problem.

The Rise of Sports Gambling: Understanding the New Addiction Landscape​

​

It’s a free country, if people want to throw away their life savings, who are we to interfere.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

More and more states have been relaxing their laws against gambling, seeing it as a way to generate revenues.

The surge in digital access to gambling apps has also fueled the rise of losers throwing away countless billions.

Gambling houses and gambling sites don't use that word, gambling. They call it "gaming". As if.

Since 2019, calls to addiction phone lines have increased by a whopping 60 percent.

With gambling apps, you can bet 24/7 without leaving your soiled bed.

The latest craze is parlay betting. This is betting on several outcomes at once, with the only way to win is for all those outcomes to occur. This attracts the innumerate in droves because the difference between the amount you bet compared to the possible winnings is huge. But it is literally a sucker's bet.

About 20 years ago, I had cause to travel to Las Vegas on business. As a coworker and I marveled at the tremendous size and glitz of Caesar's Palace, I said, "They didn't build that by suckers winning." He nodded and headed to the sports desk to throw away a few hundred dollars. And this guy was an evangelical!

I didn't drop a single dollar the three days I was there, but I did get to meet Colonel Paul Tibbets. That was cool.

I hate the very idea of Las Vegas. And Atlantic City. And Fanduel et al.

This is rapidly becoming a serious public health problem.

The Rise of Sports Gambling: Understanding the New Addiction Landscape​

​

You actually understate the problem:

Top 5 Prediction Markets in the U.S. (2026 Ranked List) | Gambling Insider

Prediction markets surged in popularity in 2025, driven by regulatory wins and rising liquidity. Platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket are giants in this industr

www.gamblinginsider.com

Polymarket | The World's Largest Prediction Market

Polymarket is the world's largest prediction market, allowing you to stay informed and profit from your knowledge by betting on future events across various topics.

polymarket.com

MLB reaches agreements with Polymarket, federal commission

MLB has named Polymarket as the league's official prediction market exchange and announced an information sharing agreement with the CFTC, the federal body that oversees the growing industry.

www.espn.com

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

More and more states have been relaxing their laws against gambling, seeing it as a way to generate revenues.

The surge in digital access to gambling apps has also fueled the rise of losers throwing away countless billions.

Gambling houses and gambling sites don't use that word, gambling. They call it "gaming". As if.

Since 2019, calls to addiction phone lines have increased by a whopping 60 percent.

With gambling apps, you can bet 24/7 without leaving your soiled bed.

The latest craze is parlay betting. This is betting on several outcomes at once, with the only way to win is for all those outcomes to occur. This attracts the innumerate in droves because the difference between the amount you bet compared to the possible winnings is huge. But it is literally a sucker's bet.

About 20 years ago, I had cause to travel to Las Vegas on business. As a coworker and I marveled at the tremendous size and glitz of Caesar's Palace, I said, "They didn't build that by suckers winning." He nodded and headed to the sports desk to throw away a few hundred dollars. And this guy was an evangelical!

I didn't drop a single dollar the three days I was there, but I did get to meet Colonel Paul Tibbets. That was cool.

I hate the very idea of Las Vegas. And Atlantic City. And Fanduel et al.

This is rapidly becoming a serious public health problem.

The Rise of Sports Gambling: Understanding the New Addiction Landscape​

​

It's a terrible addiction. Even when they lose, they get the "high".

 

[g5000]

You actually understate the problem:

Top 5 Prediction Markets in the U.S. (2026 Ranked List) | Gambling Insider

Prediction markets surged in popularity in 2025, driven by regulatory wins and rising liquidity. Platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket are giants in this industr

www.gamblinginsider.com

Polymarket | The World's Largest Prediction Market

Polymarket is the world's largest prediction market, allowing you to stay informed and profit from your knowledge by betting on future events across various topics.

polymarket.com

MLB reaches agreements with Polymarket, federal commission

MLB has named Polymarket as the league's official prediction market exchange and announced an information sharing agreement with the CFTC, the federal body that oversees the growing industry.

www.espn.com

Yeah, it pisses me off that while I am watching a hockey game, it is interrupted by ads for casinos and online gambling sites.

Linkage.

This is not good.

 

[g5000]

It's a terrible addiction. Even when they lose, they get the "high".

Yep.

I had a roommate a long time ago who had the bug really bad. Six months after a new casino opened near us, he declared bankruptcy.

First, his Rolex was pawned. Then the rest of his jewelry. Then his 5.0 Mustang was repossessed.

He could not stop himself.

He would leave Friday afternoon, and would not return until Sunday night all wild-eyed and wound up.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Yeah, it pisses me off that while I am watching a hockey game, it is interrupted by ads for casinos and online gambling sites.

Linkage.

This is not good.

 

[shockedcanadian]

More and more states have been relaxing their laws against gambling, seeing it as a way to generate revenues.

The surge in digital access to gambling apps has also fueled the rise of losers throwing away countless billions.

Gambling houses and gambling sites don't use that word, gambling. They call it "gaming". As if.

Since 2019, calls to addiction phone lines have increased by a whopping 60 percent.

With gambling apps, you can bet 24/7 without leaving your soiled bed.

The latest craze is parlay betting. This is betting on several outcomes at once, with the only way to win is for all those outcomes to occur. This attracts the innumerate in droves because the difference between the amount you bet compared to the possible winnings is huge. But it is literally a sucker's bet.

About 20 years ago, I had cause to travel to Las Vegas on business. As a coworker and I marveled at the tremendous size and glitz of Caesar's Palace, I said, "They didn't build that by suckers winning." He nodded and headed to the sports desk to throw away a few hundred dollars. And this guy was an evangelical!

I didn't drop a single dollar the three days I was there, but I did get to meet Colonel Paul Tibbets. That was cool.

I hate the very idea of Las Vegas. And Atlantic City. And Fanduel et al.

This is rapidly becoming a serious public health problem.

The Rise of Sports Gambling: Understanding the New Addiction Landscape​

​

You are following the same path Ontario took.

It ends in misery and collapse, destroyed families. I married a gambler and I am still paying for it,

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Yeah, it pisses me off that while I am watching a hockey game, it is interrupted by ads for casinos and online gambling sites.

Linkage.

This is not good.

The thing about Polymarket and Kalsi is that you can literally bet on anything...will Trump bomb Kharg Island..when...how--all have odds lines. It reduces world affairs to a prop bet~

https://polymarketanalytics.com/

 

[BothWings]

They're doing it to maintain their "level" after they've abused our tax dollars and our laws for so long. It's like someone who turn to prostitution to pay the bills because they spent all the savings from their day-job at the bar.

 

[g5000]

It’s a free country, if people want to throw away their life savings, who are we to interfere.

Well, this does conflict with my libertarian streak.

However, the gambling industry is exploiting human weakness, and are using our political system to gain easier and easier access to the weak.

When I was stationed in Mississippi, there was a tavern which had a drive-through liquor store. You could literally grab a fifth of Jack Daniels' from behind the wheel of your automobile.

I don't think it was a coincidence that same town had the highest DUI rate in the country.

That owners of that tavern and the only bail bondsmen in town were one and the same.

 

[Rambunctious]

Greedy democrats want that tax money... they do not care about you or your money...

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Well, this does conflict with my libertarian streak.

However, the gambling industry is exploiting human weakness, and are using our political system to gain easier and easier access to the weak.

When I was stationed in Mississippi, there was a tavern which had a drive-through liquor store. You could literally grab a fifth of Jack Daniels' from behind the wheel of your automobile.

I don't think it was a coincidence that same town had the highest DUI rate in the country.

That owners of that tavern and the only bail bondsmen in town were one and the same.

I remember drive-thru cocktails in Florida back in the 70's--ahhhh..good times~

 

[drudge X]

Isn’t the lottery state sponsored gambling?

 

[g5000]

The thing about Polymarket and Kalsi is that you can literally bet on anything...will Trump bomb Kharg Island..when...how--all have odds lines. It reduces world affairs to a prop bet~

https://polymarketanalytics.com/

Yep. And it looks like someone is making insider bets on actions about to be taken by Trump.

 

[katsteve2012]

More and more states have been relaxing their laws against gambling, seeing it as a way to generate revenues.

The surge in digital access to gambling apps has also fueled the rise of losers throwing away countless billions.

Gambling houses and gambling sites don't use that word, gambling. They call it "gaming". As if.

Since 2019, calls to addiction phone lines have increased by a whopping 60 percent.

With gambling apps, you can bet 24/7 without leaving your soiled bed.

The latest craze is parlay betting. This is betting on several outcomes at once, with the only way to win is for all those outcomes to occur. This attracts the innumerate in droves because the difference between the amount you bet compared to the possible winnings is huge. But it is literally a sucker's bet.

About 20 years ago, I had cause to travel to Las Vegas on business. As a coworker and I marveled at the tremendous size and glitz of Caesar's Palace, I said, "They didn't build that by suckers winning." He nodded and headed to the sports desk to throw away a few hundred dollars. And this guy was an evangelical!

I didn't drop a single dollar the three days I was there, but I did get to meet Colonel Paul Tibbets. That was cool.

I hate the very idea of Las Vegas. And Atlantic City. And Fanduel et al.

This is rapidly becoming a serious public health problem.

The Rise of Sports Gambling: Understanding the New Addiction Landscape​

​

Very informative. I have family in Vegas, and have been regularly going there since the 1980's to attend boxing matches.

Through attending those events, over a period of decades, I have met and socialized with quite a few people who have experienced an addiction to gambling, and in some cases, their lives were ruined, then they rebuilt, and repeated the same cycle all over again.

Homes lost, families broken.

Sad to witness.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Greedy democrats want that tax money... they do not care about you or your money...

Yeah, good thing greedy Republicans don't want our money eh?

If you think that Republicans are not just as deeply involved with this you're just not paying attention~

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Yep. And it looks like someone is making insider bets on actions about to be taken by Trump.

NOW you're getting it~