In the U.S., about 2.5 million people have a severe gambling addiction, and 8 million people have a moderate gambling addiction.

It’s not new. Gambling has been around for years. Casinos have sprawled across the U.S. for many decades, but sports gambling has revolutionized how quickly one can become addicted.

Quick, simple bets can be placed in a matter of seconds. The amount you spend can pile up real quick, and the bets themselves are predatory in nature.

If you or anyone you know has a gambling addiction, please call the National Problem Gambling Hotline at 1-800-522-4700.

Finnley’s thoughts

Sports betting is ruining the landscape of sports.

Advertisements for the various sports betting sites infect broadcasts on a daily basis. Whether it’s pregame, postgame, in a commercial break or even during live coverage, sports betting is everywhere.

Sports media outlets are now switching their coverage to adhere to which players have the best betting lines, instead of covering the actual facts of the game.

Instead of dissecting how the Lakers match up poorly against the Nuggets, viewers are forced to listen to Kendrick Perkins’ “best” lines for the ESPN Bet app.

Sadly, this type of coverage is what some “sports fans” are looking for these days. Watching a game isn’t enough anymore.

These people have to put their own money on the line in order to have any type of enjoyment during a broadcast. Which is ironic when their bet doesn’t hit as they’re met with extreme disappointment, no matter the actual result of the game.

Then there’s the reaction to losing, which people do a majority of the time.

If Nico Collins doesn’t hit his line for receiving yards, he’s suddenly a horrible person. Or maybe the bettors turn it against his quarterback and blame CJ Stroud for not getting him the ball enough times, despite the Houston Texans winning the game.

A common response is something like, “But I was one leg off an eight-leg parlay.”

This doesn’t justify anyone attacking an athlete for not hitting a bet.

So before you leave that hate comment under a professional athlete’s Instagram post, understand that they do not deserve that. If you can’t handle a missed bet without bashing the athletes on social media, you shouldn’t be gambling to start.

Another problem is how “easy” it is to win.

You just have to click a couple of buttons and then wait for your bank account to double.

The commercials always show a simple process, but continue to slap their users in the face. Using words like “just” or “simple” is subliminal messaging that hooks users every day.

The strings attached to betting are somehow never seen.

If the bettor loses, there’s a million other opportunities to waste their money on new lines. It is an endless cycle of excitement, to anger, to regret and back to excitement.

People wake up on Sunday for the morning slate of the NFL and place a bet. If that doesn’t hit, there’s the afternoon slate. If that doesn’t hit, there’s the Sunday night game.

Suddenly, people are down hundreds of dollars without even realizing it. But don’t worry, there’s always the Monday night game.

Ask yourself how much money you’re bringing in from sports betting. The answer will surprise you.

In the long term, there are less than 5% of sports bettors that actually profit. Over 90% of bettors don’t actually win, yet the United States spends billions of dollars on sports betting each year, simply handing these sports books more money.

Lastly, sports betting puts the sports industry in an ethical dilemma.

Why does ESPN have a betting app?

Why do broadcasters, who regularly communicate with athletes before and after games, get to advertise betting lines?

Former NBA player Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA and faces criminal charges due to violating gambling policies. Different sports media outlets ran that story when it broke. At the same time, their websites and broadcasts were filled with ads for the many different gambling outlets.

Since it brought in money, it apparently wasn’t a conflict of interest or unethical.

Sports betting isn’t bringing in new sports fans. It’s bringing in degenerate gamblers that need help.

So, the next time you make a parlay, ask yourself if it’s really worth it.

Nolan’s thoughts

Betting, in general, is stupid. In the long run, the house always wins. Sports betting is dumber than your uncle who uses Downy Wrinkle Releaser on his brain.

As a sports fan, I already take years off my life screaming at my TV to my team to “shoot the damn puck,” to “stop running up the middle” or to “swing the fu*king bat.” Why would I want to add my own money to the melting pot of stress I already have?

Growing up and waking up on Sunday morning was a special feeling. Parking myself in front of the TV for 10 hours while putting off school assignments is the epitome of a football childhood.

This feeling was accentuated at 9:55 a.m. when CBS or Fox would cut to the morning game’s broadcasters to set the stage for the long day of football ahead. The electric, cinematic theme songs would play. To this day, nothing quite scratches my ears like that.

As I grew up, I lost interest in these pregame shows. Maybe it was because I started waking up after the 10 a.m. games began, but I hadn’t watched one in a long time.

For some reason, I was compelled to watch this weekend’s pregame show on Fox. The Las Vegas Raiders were playing the Indianapolis Colts at 10 a.m. I guess I was ready to watch my team play in Week 5. (What a horrible decision that was.)

Around 9:50 a.m., Fox flashed a FanDuel graphic as former New England Patriot tight end Rob Gronkowski talked about his “best bets” for the day.

I watched the Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills Thursday Night Football game on Sept. 17. The amount of graphics, teasers and promotions that were presented by FanDuel or DraftKings was appalling.

This doesn’t even take into account the countless TV advertisement spots for other betting sites like PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy Sports, giving fans promotions for player prop bets.

Now, ESPN even has its own platform to bet on.

The issue is not exclusive to the NFL; it permeates the entire sports world.

On any given national broadcast for the NHL on TNT, analyst Paul Bissonnette will give “Bizzy’s bets,” presented by DraftKings. It’s been a staple on the pregame show before any game in the regular season or playoffs since Turner Sports received broadcasting rights in 2021.

FanDuel, the largest sports betting platform, has naming rights with 18 professional sports teams across the NBA, NHL and MLB.

The NBA had to permanently ban a player for performance manipulation. The NHL had to suspend Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto for 41 games — half of the season — for using a friend to place bets on his behalf. The NHL had not suspended a player for gambling since the 1940s. MLB is currently investigating two pitchers on the Cleveland Guardians for gambling.

Who would’ve thought that mass advertising of gambling leads to people normalizing the behavior? The cognitive dissonance these leagues exhibit is astonishing.

Whatever makes you money, I guess.