We're all Caesars now.

[WillJ]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/b...-colleges.html

What do other think about the deluge of on-line betting hitting college campuses (and elsewhere)? I have libertarian instincts, but I don't like it, not least because my college sophomore son and all his friends are into it.

[ClemmonsDevil]

Was hoping this was about salads.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Never saw the allure of sports gambling, beyond brackets. Games I care about are stressful enough without money being lost.

[OldPhiKap]

Was hoping this was about salads.

Any salad can be a Caesar’s if you stab it enough.

[dudog84]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/b...-colleges.html

What do other think about the deluge of on-line betting hitting college campuses (and elsewhere)? I have libertarian instincts, but I don't like it, not least because my college sophomore son and all his friends are into it.

They didn't build Vegas on winners. Although I think parts of Atlantic City were built on losers. I sincerely hope your son can handle it.

I have a friend who bets on everything. How long the Star Spangled Banner is sung at the beginning of the Super Bowl, etc. He talks a lot about his winnings, not so much about his losings.

[Acymetric]

Never saw the allure of sports gambling, beyond brackets. Games I care about are stressful enough without money being lost.

Same here, 0 appeal. In fact I'm opposed to legalized sports betting but only on the grounds that it is ruining sports coverage. I can't go 5 minutes without having to hear about some idiot's lock of the week or whatever anymore.

[OldPhiKap]

They didn't build Vegas on winners. Although I think parts of Atlantic City were built on losers. I sincerely hope your son can handle it.

I have a friend who bets on everything. How long the Star Spangled Banner is sung at the beginning of the Super Bowl, etc. He talks a lot about his winnings, not so much about his losings.

Must not be a poker player, all they talk about are bad beat stories.

[DevilHorse]

I think if kids are prone to gamble, they'll gamble (i.e., cards, lotto, races, casinos, stocks).

Best to learn the consequences, and your limits, of gambling at an early age IMHO. Teach/expose them to all of it, and show them the math. I chose to expose my kids, under controlled conditions, so they would know how to handle it when the opportunity/temptation presents itself.

I exposed my kids to stock ownership at an early age; they have minor interest in that but that could change. In the meantime their nest egg (on average) is growing.
Racing they knew about from me, but I allowed them to bet on a budget (when we attended in person; I had to bet for them when they were underage); one of my kids, the DevilPony, won nicely at the Preakness this year (almost enough to pay for his beer intake), but he rarely goes on his own. He understands limits.
He was going to Las Vegas, with his apartment-mates, right after he graduated college. Since I attended the graduation, I taught the group the sucker bets and the best bets in the Casino. They had a great time; had limited success. But they were in a position to know what worked and what didn't.

Except for stocks, the house has the advantage. But couch this as entertainment and not an investment, because on average they will lose.

Larry
DevilHorse

[Kdogg]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/b...-colleges.html

What do other think about the deluge of on-line betting hitting college campuses (and elsewhere)? I have libertarian instincts, but I don't like it, not least because my college sophomore son and all his friends are into it.

These sites make it easier and more accessible but the campus bookie has always been around. “Allegedly“ a former line monitor used his/her position to pay his/her debts through line skipping. I don’t like the addictive nature of gambling but don’t don’t oppose it in aggregate. I do oppose all the advertising. It’s everywhere.

[PackMan97]

Games I care about are stressful enough without money being lost.

Betting on a game can be an emotional hedge.

For example, in NCAA Bracket Pools I'll usually pick UNC or Duke to win it all...at least I get something from them winning.

[budwom]

What's amazing about many of these sites is how unprofitable they are...I think it was BusinessWeek than ran a great story some time ago...the "services" do a great job at getting losers to bet more, while rejecting the business of people who win too much...seems like a really good way for some young adults to get into trouble...

[PackMan97]

What's amazing about many of these sites is how unprofitable they are...I think it was BusinessWeek than ran a great story some time ago...the "services" do a great job at getting losers to bet more, while rejecting the business of people who win too much...seems like a really good way for some young adults to get into trouble...

Ideally, aren't betting sites aiming to balance the money on both sides of the line such that the house always wins.

[budwom]

Ideally, aren't betting sites aiming to balance the money on both sides of the line such that the house always wins.

I'm no expert on gambling, but I think you're referring primarily to odds on a particular game. Get the bets on Duke to roughly equal those on Wake, etc (I know it's more complicated than that).

But these gambling sites do a LOT of very different stuff...they'll let people bet on just about anything, and they nurture those who usually lose but can be enticed back.

Apparently the major problem these sites have is that their promotional expenses are extremely high and they struggle to become profitable.

[freshmanjs]

Never saw the allure of sports gambling, beyond brackets. Games I care about are stressful enough without money being lost.

I'm not a big sports gambler, but i think part of the allure for casual betters is turning games you don't care about into games you do care about.

[PackMan97]

I'm no expert on gambling, but I think you're referring primarily to odds on a particular game. Get the bets on Duke to roughly equal those on Wake, etc (I know it's more complicated than that).

But these gambling sites do a LOT of very different stuff...they'll let people bet on just about anything, and they nurture those who usually lose but can be enticed back.

Apparently the major problem these sites have is that their promotional expenses are extremely high and they struggle to become profitable.

I really don't know much about these sites. Even then, I thought they just balance the sides and make money off the ties/fees.

Sounds really scammy. Of course gambling sounds really scammy, especially when the escort you out of the building when you are good enough to beat the odds. The rule is, "The house must always win".

[cato]

I'm no expert on gambling, but I think you're referring primarily to odds on a particular game. Get the bets on Duke to roughly equal those on Wake, etc (I know it's more complicated than that).

But these gambling sites do a LOT of very different stuff...they'll let people bet on just about anything, and they nurture those who usually lose but can be enticed back.

Apparently the major problem these sites have is that their promotional expenses are extremely high and they struggle to become profitable.

I bet their overhead is high too, but that’s just a WAG.

[WillJ]

I think it's pretty skeezy that major colleges are pushing gambling on their students, even if some of it would happen anyway. It's also odd that so many of them are smoke-free campuses, even outside....I guess it's just one more example of how social and arbitrary is the process by which we approve or shame many activities...IMO.

[acdevil]

They didn't build Vegas on winners. Although I think parts of Atlantic City were built on losers.

Them’s fightin’ words

[BigWayne]

I think it's pretty skeezy that major colleges are pushing gambling on their students, even if some of it would happen anyway. It's also odd that so many of them are smoke-free campuses, even outside...I guess it's just one more example of how social and arbitrary is the process by which we approve or shame many activities...IMO.

Gambling being promoted on campuses will be on borrowed time. Sooner or later gambling is likely to get flagged as being socially unacceptable to the academic powers that be.

[Reilly]

(1) I have zero interest in gambling as a general matter, I think. Enjoyed playing poker as a kid for the camaraderie and bonding, not for the meager winnings/losings. Would play on the neighbor's front porch and the matron of the home would always stop and make us promise to put any winnings in the church collection plate. She wasn't joking. She's also about the saintliest person I've ever met and an important person in my life.

(2) That said, always enjoyed the thrill of going to the horse races. Big, soft-serve ice cream cones. Numbers/metrics. Rooting. Photo finishes with the photo literally being hung out to dry to prove whatever (much more clear 40 years ago than today's fuzzy replays). Greasy guys pulling out wads of cash and peeling off bills to make bets -- made an impression on those with a paper route collecting coins and, sometimes, cash.

(3) No interest in casinos. One of the saddest scenes I've ever seen: casino at Niagara Falls the weekend Duke lost to VCU. Walk through haze of smoke. Blue-hairs mindlessly pulling one-armed bandits. This is America? So gross. So sad. The Falls were a disappointment, too.

(4) Really enjoyed the NFL tickets with the odds where, if you got 4 games right for a $1 bet, you'd win $10. Seemed so simple. Think Dad got them at church. Or, at least, we'd fill them out after church and pancakes (Perkins! ... last one I encountered, not that long ago, was outside Allentown, PA). We'd fill them out; confab on the 4 games; put the ticket on the console TV; and watch.

(5) Often said, I have zero interest in gambling as a general matter. But boy, if they ever legalize sports gambling, that could be dangerous.

(6) 4-0 betting on Duke football the past two years. Have pulled out my initial investment. Playing with the house's money now. And when that runs dry, there's always the kids' inheritance and the dog's dog-food fund to play with, right? They need to learn to stand on their own 2/4 feet.

(7) Hate, hate, hate the idea of government-run lotteries. It is not why governments were instituted amongst men, as George Will once said. The gov't run lotteries bother me **much** more than ubiquitous sports-betting apps. I do not buy lottery tickets. Never have; never will.

(8) DC had scratch-offs before most places. My oldest brother lived in DC. Got scratch-offs for everyone and slipped them into stockings one Christmas Eve. Christmas morning arrives, one sister starts screaming thinking she had won $10K. Back when $10K bought more than a loaf of bread. She hadn't read the fine print that you had to have 3 matching figures. Had never done a scratch-off as they weren't really anywhere. Funny at the time. Funny now.

(9) Wish the current sports app/ubiquity was around when Cut came on the scene. Followed the football team to a T. We always under-valued. Could've cleaned up. Refused to do the offshore thing as I like to follow the law.

(10) Take the Devils and the points. Make sure there's some frozen gruel in the freezer for the dog.