There are over 100 million adult gamblers in the United States according to American Attitudes towards Gaming. Due to the increased popularity of sites like FanDuel, Prize Picks and Betr gambling has become very easy to access. The average sports bettor loses 7.7 cents per dollar they bet. The saying “Vegas always wins” is truly a fact. Prize Picks and other sites give promotions that seem like free money, but in reality, they are traps to bet more. Promotions include .5-yard plays or deposit matches. These types of promotions convince people to deposit more money and inevitably lose more.
First, let’s get the slang correct. A parlay is multiple bets together with long-shot odds. A book is a website that you can place bets on, while a bookie is someone who manages the book and pays the money if you win. Money line is picking the odds that a team will straight-up win. While spreading his how many points a team has to win by. If a team is -3.5, they have to win by more than 4 points to cover. However, if a team is +3.5 a team has to lose by less than or equal to 3 points for your bet to win.
Parlays and long-shot odds are a big money-makers for gambling sites. The idea that you can bet 10 dollars and win 100 is very addicting. However, the odds of you winning are very unlikely. You can place a 10 to win 100 parlay 12 times and win once, but you will still lose 20 dollars. The feeling of hitting that six-leg parlay is what keeps people addicted.
There are also tons of influencers that idealize gambling. People like SteveWillDoIt, Togi, Book it with Trent, or Drake stream themselves betting absurd amounts of money. However, most of the time they are sponsored by the gambling website and are not winning or losing any money. These types of bettors idealize gambling and show off expensive cars, however, they are not winning that money through gambling. Book it with Trent is popular for his horrible picks, and many people purposefully pick the opposite of what he does in order to profit.
Underage gambling has also been on the rise. “I get multiple random texts a week telling me to get on a book,” said Senior Thomas Costanzo. Many schools around the country have illegal gambling books run by students. Since 2017 the revenue from gambling has grown 500% according to a chart on statista.com; the numbers rose from 50 million to 250 million.
Gambling will inevitably become legal in Georgia. It is already legal in a multitude of states across the country. “Once gambling is legal I am excited to bet the Buffalo Bills money line every week,” said senior Charlie Costanzo.
One of the most profitable forms of gambling is a casino. Casinos are prolific for rigging games to give the player bad odds. Carnival games, slot machines and virtual websites like Stake. The longer you are at a casino, the more likely you are to lose. Casinos have tricks to keep you in the casino like pumping in oxygen to keep you awake, having no clocks on the walls and giving out many complimentary treats. In 2023 casinos only in Las Vegas profited 15.5 billion dollars according to the Nevada Independent.
Gambling has become extremely popular in recent years. If you want to gamble and not lose a lot of money, do not bet on longshot parlays, keep your wager amount the same and play baccarat at casinos. However, gambling is difficult and you will most likely lose money.
