The most anticipated first-round series of the NBA playoffs is underway, pitting the Lakers against the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. LeBron James’ team swept Denver in the last few playoffs, and Los Angeles hasn’t beaten the Nuggets since December 2022. , which is why the Lakers are the losers, according to online gaming site DraftKings.
Sounds like a smart bet, or at least fun? That’s the vibe DraftKings is looking for.
One of the site’s recent promotions features comedian Kevin Hart selling “sweat-free chips” alongside this message: “Place an NBA SGP or SGPx bet today and get a side bet if you lose!It’s the closest thing to a win-win scenario. “just like anyone else, whether or not you’re familiar with the game or in a game.
It all sounds and fun.
So are sugary cigarettes.
Even after the surgeon general opposed smoking in 1964, sugary cigarettes were still on the market and tobacco corporations still lent their logo to candy manufacturers. A government study found that 88% of current and former smokers started with sugary cigarettes and that “smoking increases as sugary cigarette consumption increases. “Nearly a million people die every year from cigarette smoke in the United States, and guess what’s left on the market?
Like cigarettes, gambling should never be portrayed as innocent or fun. It can be fun, which is why Hart is a wonderful pitcher. But legalized sports betting is no more innocent than promoting sugar bars shaped like cigarettes.
It’s not just the personal and societal devastation caused by out-of-control gambling that we want to fear. The sports industry is not in a position to evolve in a world of legalized betting. Ippei Mizuhara, the artist accused of stealing more than $16. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani’s millions for betting on sports, and Jontay Porter, who recently earned a lifetime ban from the NBA for violating its game policy, aren’t the only ones.
They’ve been caught.
Last year, we learned that more than 180 professional tennis players were part of a global match-fixing network that began in 2014. Not even one player was the one to pitch it. According to the Washington Post, it all started with a law student. in Brussels, who discovered how little tennis players earned at the beginning of their careers. In some cases, winning a name paid less than the bribe a player could receive if they intentionally lost a set. Keep in mind that this network started after the game was rocked by a gambling scandal involving a very sensible 10-year-old player in 2007, suspected of having ties to the mafia.
Cute classified ads and “sweat-wicking tokens” are one of the faces of sports gambling (and are quite harmful to the public), but there are other aspects to this threat. Today, tennis alone is estimated to generate more than $50 billion. all over the world. This is also a component of sportsArray and I don’t know how to prevent the two from getting confused.
Athletes themselves would arguably be tempted by the promise of simple money, but LeBron James and Shohei Ohtanis aren’t the concern. The concern comes from the low-level player or coach who is slightly outperforming and would possibly be tempted to break the rules of the game to get monetary help for his career. Or even officials from the periphery. Tim Donaghy, the NBA referee who wagered tens of thousands of dollars on games over two seasons before being caught, was a stark reminder of this just a few years ago.
If there’s one league that has had time to recognize the dangers, it’s the NBA. In 1954, Jack Molinas, a player for the Fort Wayne Pistons, was suspended for betting on NBA games. In 1961, he was arrested for club at a playschool. network that had affected 27 schools, 43 games and 476 players. In 1975, he was shot in the head while on the lawn of his home in the Hollywood Hills. Police said they believed the murder was similar to that of the mob.
This also applies to sports gambling.
It’s simply about captivating spokespeople and “sweat-free chips. “There’s an addiction. There is greed. There is corruption and crime. The sports industry is ready for this, and neither is the United States.
LZ Granderson is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times (latimes. com).