In 2023, the NCAA did a survey of college students to see how widespread sports gambling was. They found that 58% of college students had at least placed one bet during their college experience. Sports gambling is now more widespread than ever, with more and more states making it legal every year. As of right now, 38 states offer several gambling apps, including FanDuel and DraftKings. With the ability to bet on almost every sport at the push of a button, one has to ask the question, “Is this good, bad, or not important?”
These companies are in the business of making money, and they set up their apps to do exactly that. Even if each team has a 50% chance of winning, according to the sportsbook, the odds on the bets will most likely be “-110” meaning that if you put in $20 you would only win $18.18. These odds give the sportsbook room for profit if the bets on that particular game end up being split evenly.
While I do understand that these companies want to make money, sometimes the odds are too favored towards the house, and not towards the people. These companies also offer profit boosts and free $5 dollar bets. They do this to try and have you bet more, to possibly win more as well. Another way they try to bring you back is through email; if you have not opened the app in a while, sometimes they will send you an email, stating that “you have a profit boost available” or “claim your $5 bonus bet today only.” They continue to do these types of promotions because they know that while not everybody will do it, some will, and that is the only goal for these messages.
While this is a smart tactic on their part, I believe that they are feeding some people’s addiction by doing this. If someone wants to place a bet, they can easily do so on their own accord, not through constant reminders and notifications.
These sportsbooks are also required to give the person signing up for the account some information. All of the apps include the gambling problem hotline, as well as daily, monthly or yearly limits you can place on yourself so that you don’t spend too much. For FanDuel in particular, they have a notification pop up every time you enter the app, stating “If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call …”. While this is a friendly reminder to all that use the app, I find that most people who use the app just click “ok” and show no regard to the message at all.
So while these sportsbooks do meet the required information guidelines, more and more college students decide to bet on their apps, which begs the question, “Could they do more?” In this aspect, I don’t believe that they need to do much more; they give out an ample number of warnings and messages about the possible consequences, leaving it up to the user to either stay true to the guidelines or not.
One main difference that some sportsbooks have recently added is the option of a “casino” in their apps. This is only available in some states, but Connecticut is one of them, and this could lead to even more profit for the sportsbooks. The games they offer always have a slight house edge, meaning that in the long run, they will make a profit.
Recently, I even saw a billboard about DraftKings working together with Foxwoods Casino to offer their games on the app. When comparing gambling to 10 years ago, it is so much easier to bet on everything; 24 hours a day, these apps offer something you can bet on.
Options span from Japanese baseball to automated roulette. This can be consequential for some who want to “win back” all the money that they lost during the day by betting on things that they know nothing about. This could lead to putting yourself in an even deeper hole, which is why I would always bet on sports that you have some previous knowledge about.
To answer my previous question, “Is this good, bad, or not important?” I believe that this topic has much relevance for college students who just turned 21 and want to make some money in sports betting. This could be both a good and bad thing simultaneously. If one is responsible with their wagers and only goes on to the app with a distinct amount they are willing to lose, then it can be a fun way to make games more exciting.
However, if students bet amounts that they either can’t afford, or place multiple bets in a day to make all their money back, then it can be the beginning of a bad path.
Personally, I have sports gambled here and there since I turned 21, and I always try to be selective and careful with my picks and bets. I hope that everyone that uses these apps takes the same approach, and maybe, in the long run, we all turn up in the positive.