Sports betting, the poll says you are 100% amazing

The Cubs are playing against the White Sox on the south side this weekend, and you can reduce the excitement with a plastic spoon.

Do we all agree that rivalry between cities has lost some of its weight over the years? It seems indisputable. One of the reasons is that the teams were not often good at the same time, so the matches were not that important. The second is that the novelty of the inter-league game that started in 1997 has disappeared. Also, both teams finally ended their droughts in the Homer World Series, introducing the fans to the bigger picture.

But here’s another reason: gambling. The ever-growing number of people just don’t watch sports the same way they used to, and that’s because they have their nose in sports betting apps. They “live their lives in bet.” They “make rain”. These are PointsBetting and FanDueling, DraftKinging and Barstooling. They don’t care if the Sox or the Cubs win; they don’t care if Tim Anderson has more than 1 goal, and Wilson Contreras is in the race.

Have you ever noticed a room full of young fans on NFL Sunday? They are not able to watch the Bears game from start to finish - and not just because they are Bears. No, they watch the NFL RedZone and follow their fantasy players and their bets across the league.

And they have a lot of companies - older companies - since the Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on sports betting in 2018. Thirty-two states have legalized sports betting, with Illinois pressing “go” in June 2020, among the 17 states that allow fully mobile betting.

Turn on the show before a game in any sport, on any network - including Marquee and NBC Sports Chicago - and you’re sure to be treated to a hilarious gambling-sponsored segment in which one or more former analysts pretend to have no idea how random bets.

“I’ll tell you what, Frank, I absolutely believe that Spikes McGee will foul at least two balls from his own face. In fact, you can bet on it! ”

Gambling has become ubiquitous in sports, and among the countless absurdities of it all are the results of a survey of sports bookmakers that arrived in my inbox this week. The survey was conducted by SportsBettingReport.com - which considers itself “the leading source of the most accurate news on safe and legal online sports betting” - and included 1,250 adults, which is, incidentally, also the number of sports and media professionals in Chicago who openly bet on players and teams they chat and / or write about.

Where to begin? What do you say to this: According to the survey, only 24% of sports bookmakers gamble daily, while 42% gamble several times a week. That leaves the other 34% who are liars.

This is kind of scary: 39% admitted that they usually risk 50% or more of their monthly income from home in total pledges. What do they do with the other half, sewing $ 20 into dragons?

According to the survey, women - 26% to 23% - are more likely to consider themselves “common” gamblers. But let’s face it, people: if 23% of men are willing to admit that they have a weakness - any kind of weakness - there must be at least as many who can’t force themselves to do so. This result should come with an adjustment for meatiness.

Meanwhile, 60% of respondents said they bet on sports to earn extra income. Similarly, there are effective ways to do this: play the lottery, invest in your cousin Earl’s latest cryptocurrency, and throw a piggy bank in a wood chipper.

Quick question: Are all sports bookmakers full of it or just most of them? Because 75% of respondents said it was unsuccessful, and 24% claimed to win in at least 75% of cases. Do you know who wins in 75% of cases? No one you have ever met or will ever meet.

On the other hand, only 11% answered that they “rarely” win. One can only assume that they bet on Kabs.

And finally, hilarious, pathetic: among everyday sports gamblers, 80% claim that it has positively affected their lives. If they like it, they should try to drink in the bathtub.