Danny Funt
Appearances
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
People think of it as a side hustle or even in like an investing strategy. 80% of American adults who bet on sports think they can make money doing it.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
There's also just a kind of financial desperation that seems to be at play. Turning sports betting into more of a lottery type than a little for the chance at winning a lot is so appealing. Just like crypto where you're sort of saying, I know I'm probably going to lose money, but if this is a way that I could win a ton of money, I'm so desperate, I'll take that shot. This is Money Troubles.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
Yeah, well, when you said that brand makeover, which is such a good way of putting it, when ESPN partnered with a gambling company to launch ESPN Bet, one of the on-air hosts got in some trouble for saying this is basically a risk-free investment if you bet on ESPN Bet. I mean, there's just so many ways subtly and in a more heavy-handed fashion that ESPN
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
present this to people as a money-making venture. And survey results of sports bettors bear that out. I mean, again, just last year, there was a survey that said 80% of American adults who bet on sports think they can make money doing it. In reality, maybe one in 100 people make money betting on sports long term.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
So it's always existed, but more on the margins. But the idea that you could construct one of thousands of different forms of same game parlay on every single game day after day after day is a total invention of the online sports betting era. So much so that even
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
A company like DraftKings that's number two nationally behind FanDuel, their executives have told me like, we never anticipated just how much this would catch on, that this would be our biggest moneymaker. The margin is so much higher on those bets. The odds are basically cranked up in the house's favor that you're going to long-term lose like 20 to 30% of your money on same game parlays.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
Whereas if you're just betting on the Lakers to win, or the Lakers to go over a certain point total, the more conventional types of betting, on those you're going to lose like $5 or $10 for every $100 you wager. So way more easy to burn through your money doing same-game parlays.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
Yeah, the celebrity advertisers has such a big impact. I'm always a little hesitant to make the tobacco analogy for sports betting, just because it's such an inflammatory one, you want to be careful there. But
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
If you were to draw a comparison, the way that A-list celebrities marketed cigarettes in the 1950s and made it seem cool to young people is totally reminiscent of the way that Kevin Hart and Jamie Foxx and LeBron James and all these icons now advertise sports betting. But just the way that it normalizes it among young people especially is such a big part of this story. Coming up.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
Honestly, the way people talk about sports sometimes is the way that like owners of teams are criticized of these guys are just chips on a board for them. And it's, you know, who's making me money? What have you done for me lately? How sports betting has changed the meaning of sports.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
It's only been seven years since the Supreme Court decision opened the floodgates for legal betting outside Nevada. In that time, Americans have wagered nearly half a trillion dollars.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
Yeah, there is that like bro-y hustle culture that you're describing that seems bigger than this. There's also just a kind of financial desperation that seems to be at play.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
Like when we're talking about the appeal of same game parlays, you know, why turning sports betting into more of a lottery type bet a little for the chance at winning a lot is so appealing, just like crypto, you know, investing in crypto or other types of retail investing where you're
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
you're sort of saying, I know I'm probably going to lose money, but if this is a way that I could win a ton of money, I'm so desperate, I'll take that shot. And it's the easiest way to spise up a night when you're sitting at home and watching mid-season basketball or week seven NFL football.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
And the ability to just swipe your finger and it's suddenly the most intense game you've ever watched because you've got a lot of money on the line is irresistible to a lot of people. It's
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
Yeah, I mean, the cynics say it's made sports more transactional, where you used to, in an ideal world, have a very sentimental bond with your home team or your favorite player. And there are ideals that draw you to sports of determination, discipline, teamwork. It sounds sappy, but honestly, we waste a lot of time watching sports. It's usually for those sorts of aspirational reasons. But
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
Honestly, the way people talk about sports sometimes is the way that like owners of teams are criticized of these guys are just chips on a board for them. And it's, you know, who's making me money? What have you done for me lately? I don't have that emotional bond to this game. It's just numbers on a page as I'm trying to, you know, get wealthy. So that to me is honestly depressing.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
You mentioned the WNBA, and when I got into it a while back, it felt like it wasn't quite as toxic. Of course, these are world-class athletes playing at the highest level, but it felt a little less toxic than some of the male professional sports, which I love too, but it just was something refreshing, like going to the games or watching the games. It felt different. Yeah.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
In other forms of gambling, like slots or playing the lottery, a lot of women traditionally play that. The gender divide is so stark in sports betting, like perhaps 80-20 men who like this sort of adrenaline rush of... high-risk, high-reward games, sports betting is pretty appealing to them.
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
in this past year, there are a lot of reasons, you know, the polarization of, you know, the Caitlin Clark phenomenon, some new rivalries in the league. Like there were a lot of reasons why it was just a little bit more intense than in past years. But I do think,
It's Been a Minute
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game
that the money being bet on the WNBA last year versus previous years may have played a part in making the fan base a little more toxic, a little bit more aggressive in just how they consume the sport. So again, when we talk about the trade-offs of legalization, that's a huge one.