Posted on: December 3, 2024, 08:16h.
Last updated on: December 3, 2024, 08:16h.
Former Democratic presidential and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang believes sports wagering is having adverse effects on American men and that states should do a better of job regulating the industry to prevent further harm.
In an opinion-editorial piece for Newsweek, the entrepreneur and lawyer admits he too is a bettor and has been for a couple of years after being seduced by a $250 promotion run by an unidentified sportsbook. He acknowledged that he wished he didn’t bet on sports, emphasizing the activity prays on emotions that are more common in men than women.
Betting on sports online is a perfect storm for men in that it combines things we enjoy at a visceral level: sports, money, speed, risk, and thinking that we know something that others don’t. It’s social, and it makes spending time on sports seem like a job that will pay you money,” wrote Yang.
Various studies confirm that while gender-based differences in addictive behavior have declined in recent years, men are still more susceptible to addiction than women and that includes vulnerabilities to problematic betting patterns as well as alcohol and drug consumption.
Yang Highlights Financial Consequences, Domestic Violence
In his criticism of sports betting, Yang mentioned some of the financial woes this form of wagering can create. For example, he cited a statistic about for every $1 a bettor plunks down on a sporting event, $2 doesn’t make its way into investment accounts. A study released earlier this year by researchers from Brigham Young University (BYU), Northwestern University, and the University of Kansas confirmed that data.
The founder of the Forward Party also noted that personal bankruptcies rise in households with at least one avid sports bettor, adding that the phenomenon is particularly concerning among men in lower income brackets.
That jibes with a study published earlier this year by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Southern California (USC), which confirmed the proliferation of sports betting in the US has had negative impacts on bettors’ credit scores and driven bankruptcies higher.
Yang also said that the negative feelings and stress caused by losing sports bets has led to increased instances of domestic violence. Citing unidentified research, he said “legalized sports betting leads to a 9 percent increase in domestic violence.”
Yang Discourages Other States from Legalizing Sports Betting
With the recent addition of Missouri, 39 states and Washington, DC permit some form of sports betting. That number and the related iGaming figure could increase next year, Yang encouraged Alabama, Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, and Utah to not join the party.
He said that while lobbyists from gaming companies are likely active in some of those states, policymakers need to resist the overtures.
“Online sports betting is the equivalent of a new tax on Americans that preys upon vulnerable, low-income men in particular. It increases financial stresses and emotional problems. It’s not what your citizens need,” concluded Yang.
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