Wanna Bet?

Fenway Park. 7/29/2022 dwm photo

 If you spent ten minutes watching a professional or college game on TV this season I bet you saw at least one mention, visual, or reference to betting. There was even a reference in the first sentence of this blog.

 My impression, as a sports fan, of what I see on TV and hear on sports radio is that the whole world is betting on any game and on possible outcomes of moments during those games too.

 Just a moment to clarify, I'm not opposed to a friendly wager. As a fan of Wisconsin's teams I'd be open to bet a pizza or drink with a friend who likes the other team.

It's fun and low-stakes. For me, it would be a one-off or rare event. For some, a friendly bet to make it interesting might lead to a spiral of betting, either because they're winning, or worse, because they're losing and need a big win to recover their losses.

Losing happens when you bet, so it's important to wager only what you can afford to lose and walk away. A few minutes ago, I heard hosts on a sports talk station give their parlay of the day, which is a bet where you pick the result of two or more circumstances, whether it's multiple games or game statistics for a particular player.

You may remember that just a few years ago, leaders of all professional leagues opposed betting and penalized any players caught betting on the outcome of games. It's still against the rules for players and members of teams (players, coaches, and administrative staff) to bet on their sport, but fan betting is one more potential source of revenue.

I have no interest betting on Packers, Badgers, Brewers, or Bucks games because I like to keep my money. A survey by the American Gaming Association, which favors sports betting, indicates more than 75-million people are expected to bet on NFL regular season games this year. That's 28% of the adults in the United States. 

It's nice to be among the majority on this. As I mentioned above, I'm not black and white on this issue, a case in point is the fantasy football league I play in organized by my son. Last year was the first season there was a 'buy-in' of $10 per player, the pot goes to the winner at the end of the season. It's low-stakes bet on something I get to do with my son and something we talk about. By the way, I won that league the year before there was a prize!

If you like putting money on something or anything, go ahead, it's your choice. Truth is, there is a lot of betting we do - on how we invest our retirement funds; should we buy this house: or will it rain enough to provide a good harvest - so we're probably all bettors on something.

But be careful and pay attention to the stakes; remember the odds are against you; as dad used to say, "The casinos aren't fancy because the house loses more than they win."