Is legalized betting hurting sports?

Photo montage of football and baseball players surrounded by gambling icons such as dice and betting chips

(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

Sports betting is everywhere these days. Now the backlash is too, said The Wall Street Journal. Recent investigations involving MLB megastar Shohei Ohtani and NBA bench player Jontay Porter are part of a “building avalanche of gambling scandals” that raise questions about the integrity of our games six years after the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for states to legalize gambling on athletic competition. 

That ruling led to a “deluge of ads” for gambling websites, The New York Times said. Americans watching NBA and NHL games “are exposed to three gambling ads a minute” which has led to a 12-fold increase in revenues for commercial betting operations since 2019. But bettors aren’t just wagering on the outcomes of games — they’re also making so-called “prop bets” which “try to predict how an athlete will perform in a given game.” 

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Joel Mathis is a freelance writer who has spent nine years as a syndicated columnist, co-writing the RedBlueAmerica column as the liberal half of a point-counterpoint duo. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic, The Kansas City Star and Heatmap News. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association. 

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