13 Comments
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Bryn's avatar

this is the kind of well-researched article that makes this app so worthwhile. thank you for this!!

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moomin's avatar

A few days ago, I left my ex because of his gambling. Your piece was incredibly validating to read, and thank you for writing it.

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Aria Vega's avatar

Seeing the proliferation of sports betting apps and their advertisements fills me with profound dread. Thank you for this incredible writing and research on the topic!

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Nefertari PL Bien-Aimè's avatar

I was just thinking about sports betting addiction among men - great to have come across your writing. “Casino in your pocket” is spot on.

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jani's avatar

beautifully written and researched

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moxie mills's avatar

fascinating omg

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Dr. Uma Sharma's avatar

Wow!!! Very well written and true.

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Alex Khalifa's avatar

I’m an avid fantasy sports player but not a gambler, and this piece felt like vindication.

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Pavan Rikkula's avatar

Excellent article Maalvika. Except you haven't acknowledged the fact that most human progress has come out of the male tendency to gamble (Numbers, probability, steam engine, capitalism, insurance and even medicine!). It's terrible yes, but most great inventors have been gamblers.

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Maalvika's avatar

hmmm not really... i can't tell if you're commenting in good faith or just indulging in a bit of whataboutism... your argument oversimplifies history & conflates two very different things: risk-taking for innovation and gambling as an addiction.

yes, risk-taking is often necessary for progress (scientists test hypotheses, entrepreneurs invest in uncertain ventures, inventors pursue ideas that may fail, etc.) but gambling, in the way it’s industrialized today, is a system designed to extract $$ from individuals by leveraging psychological vulnerabilities, not a mechanism for discovery or progress.

innovation thrives on strategic risk. gambling thrives on desperation. big difference.

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Pavan Rikkula's avatar

Nope. Read the most famous papers in history of finance and they all talk about gambling, (they even have the word in their titles). Gambling was always terrible for individuals and destroyed families, but the most addictive gamblers laid the foundations for probability and industrial revolution. Gambling was risk taking. I am not supporting it, but you need to admit you don't know what you're talking about here. That's also the reason why you forgot to mention why women are far better than men at risk management.

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Max Bessler's avatar

Thank you for sharing. This is amazingly troubling lol

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michael mclaughlin's avatar

Gambling is an addiction, yes, for men. How many shoes you got girlfriend? Money and materialism is the addiction in the US of A.

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