[BostonCard]

A few updates:

The NCAA has put the proposal on hold, in light of, well, what happened in the NBA.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-footba...criticism/

Greg Sankey, the NCAA commissioner, sent a letter to the NCAA begging them not to do it.
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/stor...ts-betting

The problem is that sports leagues in general are completely hypocritical on this matter.  Here’s an editorial calling out the NBA for going all in on sports gambling to revise interest.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/opini...&smtyp=cur

Lots of quotable from the editorial

For years, the leagues, networks and sports books have pretended that gambling is just another way to “engage fans.” Officials pointed to last week’s arrests as proof that the system is catching bad actors. But the rising frequency of these scandals, and the public’s fading trust, points to an industry rotting from the inside — one that rewards corruption, punishes transparency and treats addiction as a business model. The same institutions that claim to protect the integrity of the game have built an economy dependent on its erosion. And the deeper the rot goes, the more it misleads fans that gambling isn’t just part of sports, but part of being American.

There are some common sense solutions in there.  I don’t think we will ever get the genie back into the bottle, and I know plenty of people whose enjoyment of the game is enhanced by putting a bit of money on the line, but don’t wager more than they can afford to lose.

But like a lot of pernicious habits, unfortunately this is an industry that profits from vulnerable populations, and, studies have shown that the small proportion of people who are problem gamblers are the source of the largest share of profits for the platforms.

BC

[BostonCard]

A few updates:

The NCAA has put the proposal on hold, in light of, well, what happened in the NBA.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-footba...criticism/

Greg Sankey, the NCAA commissioner, sent a letter to the NCAA begging them not to do it.
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/stor...ts-betting

The problem is that sports leagues in general are completely hypocritical on this matter.  Here’s an editorial calling out the NBA for going all in on sports gambling to revise interest.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/opini...&smtyp=cur

Lots of quotable from the editorial

For years, the leagues, networks and sports books have pretended that gambling is just another way to “engage fans.” Officials pointed to last week’s arrests as proof that the system is catching bad actors. But the rising frequency of these scandals, and the public’s fading trust, points to an industry rotting from the inside — one that rewards corruption, punishes transparency and treats addiction as a business model. The same institutions that claim to protect the integrity of the game have built an economy dependent on its erosion. And the deeper the rot goes, the more it misleads fans that gambling isn’t just part of sports, but part of being American.

There are some common sense solutions in there.  I don’t think we will ever get the genie back into the bottle, and I know plenty of people whose enjoyment of the game is enhanced by putting a bit of money on the line, but don’t wager more than they can afford to lose.

But like a lot of pernicious habits, unfortunately this is an industry that profits from vulnerable populations, and, studies have shown that the small proportion of people who are problem gamblers are the source of the largest share of profits for the platforms.

BC