The shocking thing to me is how colleges and universities have gotten on board. Barstool Sports and its associated gambling hosts big campus events across the country. They target young men on campus, have pretty young women as "reps". It's all quite disturbing and wrong..
Years ago, colleges and universities allowed credit card companies to be on campus (for a fee) during the first week of the fall semester. I'm a retired academic and saw how shamelessly they signed up students. The companies used the same gimmicks you mentioned, including giving away frisbees, food, T-shirts and other merchandise. This led to massive problems with students having large amounts of credit card debt. Luckily, most faculty, students and parents complained and protested so these companies were banned from campuses. Of course, even though you can ban them from campus, now you can't do anything about their online presence.
Yes! I remember that. I hope the faculty and parents do the same with the betting relationships. Tuition is already ridiculous without these predatory practices to put students further into debt
I've been observing the digital gambling upswing and ranting about it since it's inception. But then again I'm the kind of person who once, when at a work-related conference held in Sin City, bought fifty bucks worth of nickels and managed to get through the week without spending more. I have serious and growing concerns about the mental health of our young men. I suspect that the current level of focus on those sports dominated by hulking poster boys for performative masculinity is symptomatic of a deep malaise fueled by the loss of job opportunities, z loss of guaranteed seats at the top of the heap, and in many instances roles as the heads of their own families. All this rests on much else, including iphone media culture, predatory 'influencers,' videogaming (addiction), violent pornography, the worship of celebrity and obscene levels of wealth. We won't change any of this overnight, but what we can do is call it out wherever we see it, and demand of our legislators that they start looking at how they can help via legal actions, of our public figures that they step up to counter the malign influences and in our families by fostering open and honest and caring communications with our husbands, sons, brothers, uncles.
Thank you for this summary of a bunch of related ills we face. The more the interwoven threads can be understood, the better. I think of all those who will be watching the Super Bowl today. Yes, these players deliver. Meanwhile the takeover by corporate America is complete. We’ll be indoctrinated on the good life--just purchase this car or that technology, corporations will boast about their pitiful attempts at ‘people care’ or ‘planet care’ and musical talent will become over the top spectacle.
Instead, there should be mass demonstrations, not another bag of Doritos or a Dominos pizza!
Appalling statistics. A new, fiercely debated gambling emporium opened recently in metropolitan Richmond, Virginia. The fever for big gambling, I suppose, grew from smaller horse racing events between here and Williamsburg, small gaming shops along Broad Street. The seeds were planted. But the big picture described here escaped me. I wonder how many others. We used to hear journalists’ stories about rampant gambling and addiction bringing a sort of collapse to Native American communities within the confines of reservations. It appears now, thanks to the courts, there are no boundaries to a perverse idea of “freedom” to do ourselves in. We, the observers, have become the story.
Thanks, Carol! I have never been in favor of online betting, or gaming in general. I had forgotten how Native American casinos decimated reservation dwellers with not only gambling, but alcohol and drug addiction as well. Sadly, greed speaks louder than concern for our humanity.
Just one of the latest in an already lengthy and still growing list of examples of America's alarming moral/ethical/spiritual bankruptcy. While Rome is, in essence burning, politically, we are distracted by mindless superficial pursuits. Just as Putin certainly had hoped.
While claiming no deep historical expertise, I would offer the following quote from Wikipedia on the fall of the Roman Empire: ". . . the emperors lost control over their whole realm insofar as that control came increasingly to be wielded by anyone who paid for it.[58] Meanwhile, the richest senatorial families, immune from most taxation, engrossed more and more of the available wealth and income[59][60] while also becoming divorced from any tradition of military excellence."
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
When the California Lottery was on the ballot in 1984 the advertising had me in a near-constant fury. The cynicism of targeting the most vulnerable people in the state for the most regressive kind of tax increase was breathtaking. Who bets on the lottery? People whose lives don’t offer them the hope of a better life by any other means. They said it would not create new gamblers, just divert gambling revenue from casinos to the state — an outright lie. If you’re not seeking new gamblers, WHYTF are you advertising?!? If you can’t ban gambling, at least BAN THE ADVERTISING.
Our addictive society is on a very slippery slope, as it has been for many years. In my family it was alcohol, cigarettes and horse racing. Now, we are so far beyond that in the information and tech age with escalating, state sanctioned gambling (lotteries, sports, etc) as well as a risky investment culture which includes commodity futures, hedge funds and crypto. And of course our phones and social media. Remember the Great Recession of 2008? I was wiped out by it by banks that gambled with taxpayer money and received no punishment. I was naive and foolish. That is what addiction does to humans.
We are on edge in all areas of our lives. The more we hurt, the more we numb out. This is what we're observing at a dramatic rate.
I have years of experience in the addictive behavior we ALL fall prey to (including myself), although I'm not a psychologist. As a CPA in public tax practice, I'm privy to information about clients finances and their hopes and fears about money, taxes, finance, retirement.
Money, power, patriarchy and racism/misogeny are the main cause of what ails us and divides us in the US.
Numbing out and disconnecting and feeding our addictions is what harms us and is used against us to create chaos.
I was married to a compulsive gambler for 25 years. Super Bowl Sunday was hideous. This was before online gambling was even available and yet he managed to lose somewhere in the 7 figures worth. It is a super slippery addiction, moving back and forth between cards, sports, Las Vegas, Wall Street, the local bar or AA meeting, more casinos and, now, more than 25 years later, crypto. He even managed to 'win' a dog... A gambling addiction is right up there with the sex addiction that also has a hold on so many, including but not limited to all well known figures in politics and entertainment, and yet 'sex addiction' is seldom named as such. Disturbing all around, as the super addicts and their minions attempt control of the country. They are are frighteningly close. Thanks for speaking up about this.
OK my wife and I could at the Superdome in a booth makin’ BANK tonight streaming live. We’re sitting here watching the Super Bowl, Eagles now up 17 - 0. She’s yelling at the TV. Leavin’ seriou money on the table 🤣 https://alabamaalumnifootballleague.blogspot.com
Unfortunately it doesn't seem as if it can be regulated in any satisfactory method, so outlawing it and allowing only in casinos or off track or some other internal building environment us likely the only way to somewhat control it.
SCOTUS doesn't seem to care but it is important to protect people from their own stupidities - whether an addiction (which you can feel bad about) or just sheer stupidity. Like kids or teenagers. Once looks after them.
The shocking thing to me is how colleges and universities have gotten on board. Barstool Sports and its associated gambling hosts big campus events across the country. They target young men on campus, have pretty young women as "reps". It's all quite disturbing and wrong..
Years ago, colleges and universities allowed credit card companies to be on campus (for a fee) during the first week of the fall semester. I'm a retired academic and saw how shamelessly they signed up students. The companies used the same gimmicks you mentioned, including giving away frisbees, food, T-shirts and other merchandise. This led to massive problems with students having large amounts of credit card debt. Luckily, most faculty, students and parents complained and protested so these companies were banned from campuses. Of course, even though you can ban them from campus, now you can't do anything about their online presence.
Yes! I remember that. I hope the faculty and parents do the same with the betting relationships. Tuition is already ridiculous without these predatory practices to put students further into debt
Colleges seek endless ways to bring in revenue. As govt support recedes, finding new avenues for funds for campus, will increase.
Everything is going wrong in this country!!
I've been observing the digital gambling upswing and ranting about it since it's inception. But then again I'm the kind of person who once, when at a work-related conference held in Sin City, bought fifty bucks worth of nickels and managed to get through the week without spending more. I have serious and growing concerns about the mental health of our young men. I suspect that the current level of focus on those sports dominated by hulking poster boys for performative masculinity is symptomatic of a deep malaise fueled by the loss of job opportunities, z loss of guaranteed seats at the top of the heap, and in many instances roles as the heads of their own families. All this rests on much else, including iphone media culture, predatory 'influencers,' videogaming (addiction), violent pornography, the worship of celebrity and obscene levels of wealth. We won't change any of this overnight, but what we can do is call it out wherever we see it, and demand of our legislators that they start looking at how they can help via legal actions, of our public figures that they step up to counter the malign influences and in our families by fostering open and honest and caring communications with our husbands, sons, brothers, uncles.
Thank you for this summary of a bunch of related ills we face. The more the interwoven threads can be understood, the better. I think of all those who will be watching the Super Bowl today. Yes, these players deliver. Meanwhile the takeover by corporate America is complete. We’ll be indoctrinated on the good life--just purchase this car or that technology, corporations will boast about their pitiful attempts at ‘people care’ or ‘planet care’ and musical talent will become over the top spectacle.
Instead, there should be mass demonstrations, not another bag of Doritos or a Dominos pizza!
Appalling statistics. A new, fiercely debated gambling emporium opened recently in metropolitan Richmond, Virginia. The fever for big gambling, I suppose, grew from smaller horse racing events between here and Williamsburg, small gaming shops along Broad Street. The seeds were planted. But the big picture described here escaped me. I wonder how many others. We used to hear journalists’ stories about rampant gambling and addiction bringing a sort of collapse to Native American communities within the confines of reservations. It appears now, thanks to the courts, there are no boundaries to a perverse idea of “freedom” to do ourselves in. We, the observers, have become the story.
Thanks, Carol! I have never been in favor of online betting, or gaming in general. I had forgotten how Native American casinos decimated reservation dwellers with not only gambling, but alcohol and drug addiction as well. Sadly, greed speaks louder than concern for our humanity.
Just one of the latest in an already lengthy and still growing list of examples of America's alarming moral/ethical/spiritual bankruptcy. While Rome is, in essence burning, politically, we are distracted by mindless superficial pursuits. Just as Putin certainly had hoped.
While claiming no deep historical expertise, I would offer the following quote from Wikipedia on the fall of the Roman Empire: ". . . the emperors lost control over their whole realm insofar as that control came increasingly to be wielded by anyone who paid for it.[58] Meanwhile, the richest senatorial families, immune from most taxation, engrossed more and more of the available wealth and income[59][60] while also becoming divorced from any tradition of military excellence."
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
--Plato
When the California Lottery was on the ballot in 1984 the advertising had me in a near-constant fury. The cynicism of targeting the most vulnerable people in the state for the most regressive kind of tax increase was breathtaking. Who bets on the lottery? People whose lives don’t offer them the hope of a better life by any other means. They said it would not create new gamblers, just divert gambling revenue from casinos to the state — an outright lie. If you’re not seeking new gamblers, WHYTF are you advertising?!? If you can’t ban gambling, at least BAN THE ADVERTISING.
Our addictive society is on a very slippery slope, as it has been for many years. In my family it was alcohol, cigarettes and horse racing. Now, we are so far beyond that in the information and tech age with escalating, state sanctioned gambling (lotteries, sports, etc) as well as a risky investment culture which includes commodity futures, hedge funds and crypto. And of course our phones and social media. Remember the Great Recession of 2008? I was wiped out by it by banks that gambled with taxpayer money and received no punishment. I was naive and foolish. That is what addiction does to humans.
We are on edge in all areas of our lives. The more we hurt, the more we numb out. This is what we're observing at a dramatic rate.
I have years of experience in the addictive behavior we ALL fall prey to (including myself), although I'm not a psychologist. As a CPA in public tax practice, I'm privy to information about clients finances and their hopes and fears about money, taxes, finance, retirement.
Money, power, patriarchy and racism/misogeny are the main cause of what ails us and divides us in the US.
Numbing out and disconnecting and feeding our addictions is what harms us and is used against us to create chaos.
I was married to a compulsive gambler for 25 years. Super Bowl Sunday was hideous. This was before online gambling was even available and yet he managed to lose somewhere in the 7 figures worth. It is a super slippery addiction, moving back and forth between cards, sports, Las Vegas, Wall Street, the local bar or AA meeting, more casinos and, now, more than 25 years later, crypto. He even managed to 'win' a dog... A gambling addiction is right up there with the sex addiction that also has a hold on so many, including but not limited to all well known figures in politics and entertainment, and yet 'sex addiction' is seldom named as such. Disturbing all around, as the super addicts and their minions attempt control of the country. They are are frighteningly close. Thanks for speaking up about this.
This is so pathetic. People are already addicted to sports,!might as well add gambling to it and call it a day.
OK my wife and I could at the Superdome in a booth makin’ BANK tonight streaming live. We’re sitting here watching the Super Bowl, Eagles now up 17 - 0. She’s yelling at the TV. Leavin’ seriou money on the table 🤣 https://alabamaalumnifootballleague.blogspot.com
Unfortunately it doesn't seem as if it can be regulated in any satisfactory method, so outlawing it and allowing only in casinos or off track or some other internal building environment us likely the only way to somewhat control it.
SCOTUS doesn't seem to care but it is important to protect people from their own stupidities - whether an addiction (which you can feel bad about) or just sheer stupidity. Like kids or teenagers. Once looks after them.
Sad, right?