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The inside tip on sports gambling

17th April, 2011
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Roar Guru
17th April, 2011
13
2059 Reads

I love sport, and most things associated with it. I love the pre-game banter. I love the atmosphere ahead of a big match. I love the debate that sport stirs up, and until recently I have been more than happy to tolerate the pastime of betting on sport.

However, over the past few years, sports gambling has insidiously worked ever deeper into sports coverage, to a point where it is very difficult for the governing bodies to repel the intrusions made.

Betting agencies have sport by the balls.

Gambling on sport used to be an adjunct to the spectacle of the match. Now, the odds of a match are continually updated and broadcast during matches. Gambling on sport is no longer just an optional extra, but a constituent part of sports coverage, apparently adding some value to the viewer’s experience.

Every preview of a match comes with the requisite odds for each result being displayed, as well as the details of the betting agency which supplies the odds. The Magpies or the Broncos are no longer mentioned as heavy favourite to beat their opposition, they are “$1.25 to win at SportsBettingMadeEasy.com.”

With live broadcasts of matches, viewers are encouraged to bet on the run, which will only increase the pervasiveness of sports betting.

It seems so abundantly clear, but I often wonder if those who bet regularly know what they are getting into?

I’m not a gambling man. I never have been. Call me a killjoy, but I just don’t get it. My decision not to gamble on sport is based on the financial reality that comes with it.

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Betting agencies exist to make money. Punters wage their hard-earned cash on sports bets in an attempt to make money. These are mutually exclusive objectives, and the fact that the betting agencies continue to do business makes it very clear which way the flow of money goes over the course of all bets.

Sure, you might have the occasional lucky windfall, but over the course of time, you will lose more money than you win. It issimple mathematical probability.

Anyone who claims they can win over the course of a long-term series of bets is lying, deluded, or has a vested interest in promoting gambling. I say this not as an opinion, but as a statement of fact.

I’m tired of listening to paid segments on sports radio shows where the presenters tell me that if I listen to Jimmy Bob and his Dog from GamblingGenius.com I’ll come out ahead, when every law of business, mathematics and human behaviour says otherwise.

At what point will the gambling agencies be forced to get serious (because they would never do it of their own volition), and be made to warn the public about the realistic outcomes of betting on sport?

It is time that gambling, like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, had its risks better publicised.

Just as cigarette packets are now adorned with a plethora of warnings, I’d like to see a glowing neon sign displaying the following message outside all betting agencies and on betting websites. I can see it now….

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“WARNING: It is exceedingly unlikely that any attempt to win money by betting on sporting events will result in a net financial gain. The more bets you make, the higher the likelihood that you will lose. Gambling can lead to family and relationship breakdowns, bankruptcy, and social isolation.”

While the evils associated with smoking and alcohol are well known, there is not sufficient recognition of the fact that betting agencies will ultimately take more money from the general public than they give back.

If you have the occasional flutter, can afford to lose what you bet, and enter into any bet armed with the knowledge that the odds are stacked against you, by all means go ahead and place a bet.

But know that the only ‘sure thing’ with gambling is that the betting agencies will come out ahead in the long run. And that’s the safest bet of all.

Follow Michael on Twitter @michaelfilosi

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