"I do not bet on sports, but I was and am in favor of legalization. I admit, though, that I didn't foresee just how corrosive the combination of legalized sports gambling and smart phones would be. As dangerous as alcohol or drug addiction is, at least you don't have an unlimited supply of booze in your pocket, like you do with sports gambling, thanks to predatory apps."
"And clearly I was being naive here, but I also didn't foresee well-compensated athletes taking bribes from gamblers. The story of the Black Sox scandal is really a story of labor relations: MLB players were so poorly treated and paid at the time that owners effectively invited gambling into the house. Given the explosion in player salaries that we saw over the next century, I assumed that players of today would no longer be tempted by the bribes of gamblers."
Legalized sports gambling combined with ubiquitous smartphone access has created constant, easy access to betting through predatory apps, increasing addiction risk. Unlimited pocket access to wagers makes gambling more corrosive than traditional substance addictions. Historical labor abuses, exemplified by the Black Sox scandal, previously allowed owners' poor treatment of players to enable gambling influence. The dramatic rise in player salaries was expected to reduce bribery risk, yet recent allegations against two MLB pitchers show even well-paid athletes may engage in gambling schemes for relatively small sums. The situation calls for rethinking regulation and individual responsibility.
Read at Over the Monster
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