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A Gambling Wave has Taken Over the Sports World- Final
December 4, 2023 | | Leave a Comment
Sports betting has recently been popularized, and has changed the sporting experience as a whole.
Betting on both college and professional sporting events has been going on for a long time, mostly “under the books” so to speak. In 2018, the Supreme Court passed a law that allowed each state to create their own sports gambling laws. Some states legalized all forms of betting, some only allowed casino betting, and some only allowed online betting.
The online form of betting has become particularly popular. Websites like Fanduel, Draftkings, and BetMGM are some examples of online forms of betting. They allow anyone over the age of 21 to place bets on all sporting events at the click of a button.
For many, its just a fun hobby that makes the games more interesting to watch. For others, its a lifestyle and things can turn bad in a hurry. Some people become so addicted to betting that they take out loans to place bets that they can’t afford. This is part of the reason why this topic is so controversial. Some argue that it helps the economy and some argue that it hurts it.
Justin Sitti, who is new to the betting world, had this to say on his experience. “I just turned 21 and have only been betting for about a month. I don’t put much money on the games, but I also can see why some people do. That feeling when you hit a bet is honestly pretty addictive.”
Sports betting’s main audience is the casual fan who is looking to enhance their game watching experience, but there are many cases of athletes getting caught gambling on games. This has happened both on the college level as well as professional level.
Iowa and Iowa State University athletes have made national headlines because of student athletes wagering money on games. Athletes allegedly used accounts on online sports books that were under the names of their friends or family. This violates the NCAA rules, and all athletes that were under investigation were either suspended or kicked off the team.
Many believe that this is happening everywhere, and Iowa and Iowa State were just the first to get caught. Iowa head coach Brian Ferentz told Sports Illustrated that, “We’re the lucky ones”, referring to his athletes getting caught gambling.
Former Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers admitted to wagering around $2,700 on events, including ones that he played in. Some sources have said that the actual number is near $50,000, but either way there is clearly a problem here. The whole online sports betting landscape is very enticing for these student athletes. “I think its happens on every team in America, and NIL money definitely isn’t helping this problem,” said Landon Graver, an assistant basketball coach at Morningside.
The NFL has also cracked down on its players gambling on events. Former Atlanta Falcons player Calvin Ridley was suspended an entire year for betting on games. Many were confused why he was punished so harshly for betting, when the NFL as a whole promotes various forms of betting. The NFL also caught flack for punishing Ridley like that while they let some guys get sexual assault charges and they only get one game suspensions.
When asked about this sports betting phenomenon, Ethan Alfers said, “I understand the harsh punishments for the college kids, but I don’t think NFL players should get punished.”
https://www.si.com/college/2023/09/08/iowa-state-iowa-athletes-sports-betting-scandal-only-ones