BONUS BLOG: Betting on Sports?

The Ugly Truth About Sports Betting
by George Kamel

Here’s the thing about betting on sports—it’s fun. And sports betting sites know it. They’ll lure you in with the promise of a free bet and then suck you in by combining two things you already love, sports and technology, into a game.

These sports betting companies know exactly what they’re doing here. They know who their audience is. They’re targeting young, impressionable people the same way the tobacco industry did years ago. 

Online betting companies knew the younger generations weren’t going to look for a bookie hiding outside of a sports stadium, so they brought the bookie to them—right to their phones.

The crazy thing is, most people making these outrageous bets can’t afford the loss. They’re not made of money.

In fact, that’s why they’re drawn to sports gambling. They’re trying to make money—and quickly. These are the same folks investing money they can’t afford to lose in crypto (https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/investing-in-cryptocurrency) and Tesla single stocks (https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/should-i-buy-stocks) while they’re still saddled with student loan debt and car payments.

Here’s my hot take, folks: Sports betting makes the middle class broke and the lower class even more broke. Take the already addictive nature of gambling, combine it with the ease of using mobile apps, add in some peer pressure from your sports-loving friend group, throw in the odds stacked against you by a professional bookie, and you have a recipe for a lot of broke people with more anxiety and money problems than ever. (https://www.ramseysolutions.com/personal-growth/how-to-deal-with-anxiety)