Are you the kind of person who fancies a cheeky punt? The odd slap? A mischievous bankruptcy?
Gambling in sport is by no means a new phenomenon. It’s been written about at length, each season heralding a new swathe of jarring sponsorships (RIP Brookvale) and controversy.
That’s part of the problem. It’s bedded in. For every minor regulation brought in to curb the promotion of betting, the hydra simply grows more heads. Joel Caine announces first try scorer odds as routinely as if he were introducing the team line-ups. We hate it, but we’re resigned to this in our TV coverage.
Meanwhile, social media is a fiercely contested frontier for our hearts, minds, and brand loyalty. All your betting companies are going at it, meme for meme. And we’re liking, lol-ing and tagging indiscriminately, seemingly uncaring that we’re feeding the beast.
We’re not railroaded into solitary channels online. We can pick and choose the content we consume, so the battle becomes a more subtle one. Bookies are racing to serve up the choicest cuts from the world of sport ‒ highlights, gifs, and grouse captions ‒ desperate for our approval.
Some of it’s good content. A lot of it isn’t. But the respective social media managers know how to speak the language of their audience. They tap into our parochialism and thirst for sporting schadenfreude.
While it might get us to crack a smile as we scroll, or provide ready-made ‘banter’ for our colleagues on Monday, it’s worth considering the source. The dance of the bookies on social media is pure misdirection. They need eyes on their brand so they can get their meat hooks in (and keep them there). The lot of them ‒ they’re all just jockeying for the chance to bleed you dry.
If you can enjoy the occasional bet while maintaining control, more power to you. But this is empirically not the case for many punters. Wherever you stand on the philosophical ‘free will’ debate, as humans we’re vice-seeking missiles. It doesn’t take much to reach a point where we can no longer help ourselves. Once addiction takes hold, logic swiftly departs.
(Photo: Paul Barkley/LookPro)
You can’t love sport and love sports betting. No doubt some will disagree, but it really is that simple. Is our attention so fickle that we need to gamify games themselves? If I bet on my team and they lose, I resent them. If I bet against them, the conflict ruins my viewing regardless. Even betting on neutral teams gives me anxiety.
Bookies offer endless incentives ‒ $100 to sign up; another $100 for each friend you refer. This comes in the form of ‘bonus bets’. It’s a mirage. They don’t actually think you can win. In fact, they’re banking on the fact that you’ll not only lose, but develop a debilitating compulsion to keep losing.
Still, solid memes I suppose.
All bookmakers are just different strains of a pathogen on a mission to normalise itself. At best, it will hamper your enjoyment of sport. At worst, it will ruin your life and those around you. When it’s not mining fans’ pockets, betting is corrupting players and officials. Watch Benjamin Best’s documentary Dirty Games if you’re in the mood to thoroughly depress yourself.
For hopes of renewed integrity from governing bodies, I’m afraid the battle is all but lost. As a 2012 Deloitte report states, “Because [the NRL and AFL] receive marketing and product fees based on betting revenues, sporting bodies are also motivated to maintain and promote a competitive, innovative wagering product.”
That report was commissioned by a betting company, by the way. So confident in their status that they’ll happily outline the ways in which they are evil ‒ like a villain who has the protagonist bound and gagged.
Sporting bodies have invited bookies to be the lucrative rod for their back. Even in the unlikely event administrators could be shamed by their own hypocrisy, they’re in too deep to extricate themselves.
In contrast, social media remains a democratic space ‒ to the point of chaos at times, but democratic nonetheless. This is where we can exercise some agency, some resistance to the procession. Don’t blindly engage with the betting banter. Our social feeds are crowded enough as it is.
As far as the betting vultures are concerned, it isn’t about whether you win or lose, it’s how (long) you play the game.
Republican
Guest
One of a number of scourges that come under the commercial culture of avarice that has rendered sport virtueless.
Jeff Dustby
Guest
Please stop, you are embarrassing yourself
Jeff Dustby
Guest
Qwetzen - some of your silliest stuff here Total economic collapse?
qwetzen
Guest
"Please explain how there would be an economic collapse if gambling was banned?" To start with; Governments steal over $6bn pa in direct tax on gambling. Then, what happens to the tax money that individuals and companies pay to governments? More billions. And what's going to happen to the tens of thousands of gambling industries employees (a minimum of 150k) who are suddenly out of a job? With current unemployment being 5.7% a shedload will be on Centrelink won't they. More money lost by the Feds. The Federal budget deficit for 2017/18 is $29.4bn, add in the above figures and it'd be carnage.
Nathan Absalom
Roar Guru
That's ok, I was across the figures only because I was drafting an article myself on the topic the other day. I did find the 1% stat intriguing as well, but I'd like a little more context to it. There are a lot of dormant betting accounts where people bet through their money and can't be bothered depositing more in. Even so, at such a low figure it means there are a lot of people that when they win, and they must back a winner at some point, bet away their winnings until their gone.
Paul D
Roar Guru
My apologies - I did only glance at it briefly looking for the quote The 1% is the more intriguing factor for me - I'd like to see sports betting companies have an option when placing bets where the to win value is over x amount - say $100, that you have an option to have the winnings put back into your bank account. Make it less easy for them to twist people's arms into letting the money ride just an option, like a tickbox, doesn't have to be mandatory, but I'd like to see them required to offer it
Paul D
Roar Guru
No gambling involved there, the house always wins
Nathan Absalom
Roar Guru
That's not quite right, $23 billion is the total amount Australians lose on all forms of gambling, including scratchies, pokies, races etc. Sports betting accounts for $814 million, racing $3 billion and the pokies $12 billion. http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-23/sports-betting-losses-on-the-rise/7777388
no one in particular
Roar Guru
They aren't Woolworths, their job is to take risk against the market. They aren't doing that. It never happened until the UK mob started turning up
Charlie Lawry
Roar Guru
Quick shoutout to the Bulldogs, Panthers and Dragons who are the only teams* left in the NRL without a gambling sponsor. *Technically the Roosters don't either but they do have a short term loans sponsor which is arguably worse.
Charlie Lawry
Roar Guru
Worrying stat. Thanks for the link! I'll have a read.
Charlie Lawry
Roar Guru
Pretty much
Joe B
Guest
Lazy, zero thought comment. Please explain how there would be an economic collapse if gambling was banned? No money has left the economy, in fact, more money stays in the local economy... less demand on the public purse caused by households destroyed by gambling. I am for greater regulation, not prohibition... as are many people, and Nick Xenophon I believe.
Onside
Guest
Matt Cleary wrote this article a few weeks back.I saved it and sent it too a few mates. http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/03/18/league-man-gambling-knock-king-size-tontine/
Joe B
Guest
It is not a fair business, that is part of the argument. Banning punters because they win more than they lose is hypocrisy at it's most obvious. Gambling companies PREY on the weak... they ban punters who are savvy and mostly win. It is prejudiced, and predatory, and rightly should be regulated the same way cigarettes are.
Jimmmy
Guest
Please add an alcohol ban, tearing down Australia's poisonous sugar crop and corking up those flatulent cows. Do that and the Xenomorph gets my vote.
qwetzen
Guest
As someone earlier in the thread said about the new tv restrictions, it's A Good Start. The next target should be the abolition of ALL football betting. And then; ALL sports betting, horse racing betting, pokies, lotto, scratchies, phone-in competitions, bingo, chook raffles and of course, the stock market. Total economic collapse and record unemployment would be a price easily worth paying to witness the beatific radiance of the Nick Xenomorphs of this country.
Paul D
Roar Guru
Matt Cleary wrote an excellent piece on sports betting a few months ago here, the stat that remained with me was one where he quoted less than 1% of people withdraw money from their accounts, according to an insider Something like 23 billion dollars a year disappears into sports betting in this country http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/03/18/league-man-gambling-knock-king-size-tontine/
Larry1950
Guest
My one serious lament is the changes in our language driven by these incessant adverts. Kids have gone from "who do you think will win between * insert the fixture here" to "what are the odds on so & so this weekend". Absolutely hate it, gen Y's will never save a home deposit because they're the target market and see it as standard behaviour.
Rossy
Guest
Yes how dare they run a business and seek to be profitable. All businesses do this. All businesses will try and use clever marketing for you to use their product.