Brendan Dwyer

But then those that are at the highest level, the ones that consider themselves almost predictive analysts, are consuming so much sport because they want to find that edge.

Sports bettors are not disengaged.

They're over-engaged.

And those highly involved sports bettors, they are part spectator, part day trader.

The scoreboard is no longer where you put the final result.

It's a balance of open bets.

Now we have games sometimes starting at 9 a.m.

and ending at 2 a.m.

That means the book is always open, creating a perpetual loop of deposit, wager, outcome, repeat.

And when loyalty, attention, and money become so intertwined, so do the incentives at every level, the league, the team, fans, even the athletes.

The question isn't whether sports betting enhances engagement.

It clearly does.

The question is what type of engagement is it?

My students would later tell me they remember the corner kicks.

They don't remember who won the game.

It was Morocco, by the way, 2-0.

And that is the trade-off.

We've quickly monetized the moment and we've lost the meaning in the process.

Well, I think it's sad in a couple different ways.

I think this is an issue for our entire society, but I don't like seeing people at sporting events in particular, but even when they're watching sporting events with their friends, staring down, looking at their phones, because it is a shared experience.