Whether you see it or not professional sports have had a big part in changing gambling all over the world. No one bats an eye when adults use terms such as ‘over’ and ‘odds’ while watching a sporting event but it has gotten to the point where kids are doing the same thing. In Australia, it has gotten so bad that the Australian government has banned the showing of live odds during sporting events and have encouraged parents to talk about the difference between sports and sports betting.
With the rise of smartphones over the last decade, they no longer have to leave the house and go to a small building in the shady part of town to place bets all they have to do is download the App and gamble on the game without ever having to leave the couch. That’s not counting just sitting around watching the game with some friends and putting small amounts on the local game.
People don’t have to just bet on who they think will win either. The criteria people can use when placing bets are endless, from how many total goals will be scored to whether or not there will be a penalty in the early part of the game and everything in between.
A big reason people gamble is the allure of that big pay day. In an industry worth anywhere between £435 billion to £625 billion that can translate to money for the little people adding their money to that huge total.
In the not so distant past people could only watch and bet on the local game that TV companies played in their area but with the rise of satellite television and sports packages on both satellite and cable, people can watch sports all day, every day and bet on as many games as they want.
Whether people gamble on their phone while they’re waiting for the dentist or from the comfort of their home while watching a game of football, there is no denying the fact that people will never stop no matter if they spend £10 per bet or £1,000.
