There seems to be a lot more gambling on sports than when I started this blog.
When Congress passed a law banning most online gambling, they did not want to criminalize sharing your office pool that you'd been running for years via email. So they allowed a loophole.
Then FanDuel, Draft Kings, and others found a fullback and drove through that hole, making the National Fantasy Football League bigger than the NFL. It's a shame they didn't have interesting enough games before all the gambling. Seeing how many points Curry will score tonight, can the Bulls beat the Timberwolves, and other similar questions are not interesting enough; people have to lay money on how many points Curry will score, and whether the Bulls will beat the T-wolves. NFL tickers say how many yards the QBs and running backs have, not where the team is on the field and how close they are to scoring again.
So the temptation runs wild. Some good people can't stop, and it turns into an addiction. They have gambler help numbers at the end of all the sports gambling commercials. Some might argue that gambling is not as dangerous as alcohol; alcohol commercials just have "Please Drink Responsibly. So-and-So Brewing, La Crosse, Wisconsin" at the end, assuming most people know how to drink responsibly. This suggests people do not know how to gamble responsibly.
So far this year, we have seen Cleveland pitchers and Columbus Crew footballers suspended for gambling activities. In the past five years we have also seen a half-season suspension for an NHL player (and UND alum) and a Major League umpire getting fired with the chance to work his way back up. The NHL player's helmet was sponsored by an online betting parlor. And speaking of sponsorships, casinos also have naming rights to an NHL/PWHL arena (Minnesota) and an NFL stadium (New Orleans).
It used to be an issue when players were not paid enough by their teams. The 1919 White Sox threw the series because Comiskey was known for being cheap. The gamblers told the Sox that throwing a Series had happened before ; some believe the Cubs threw the Series in 1918. And now they have betting windows right at or next to the ballpark.
But, Latrell Spreewell aside, how can anyone sane argue that $780,000 a year is not enough money to live on? Sure, you might not able to pay cash for a house, but those of us making 5 figures can't do that. The $780k number is the Major League minimum for 2026. That comes out to $4,814.81 per game. A non-athletic person making $57,000.00 a year only makes makes $4,750 ... per month.
And why do we have injury reports for NFL games? Mainly for the gamblers. Will the TV networks move the Pittsburgh Steelers to an early game if Aaron Rodgers is hurt? Probably not. Will the gamblers prefer to bet on the opponents? Probably.
I remember hearing a proposal a few years ago that the NCAA would not issue credentials to the Final Four to any news outlet publishing betting lines. Now, the official bracket at NCAA.com is sponsored by Capital One.
Perhaps Pierre de Coubertin was right about getting the money out of athletic competition.