The explosion of sports betting in the US has been nothing short of astonishing. Now, almost half of all Americans live in states where sports betting is legal. And that number is expected to continue to rise. But while sports betting has grown into a major industry, it’s also raised questions about gambling addiction and how the industry should be regulated. But there are other issues, too – including whether or not the media is taking part in this new reality by reporting on it and, in some cases, even promoting it.
Sports betting is a complicated issue and there are many different ways to bet on sports. There are traditional moneylines and spreads, as well as prop bets that allow you to place a vested interest in more specific outcomes like how many points a player will score. But the most important thing to remember is that there’s no such thing as a guaranteed win in sports betting. Even the best bettors only win around 55%-56% of their wagers. And that’s because there are so many factors involved in putting a bet, from past performance to injuries and weather. Luckily, there are tools available to help you calculate your chances of winning and avoid making unprofitable bets.
One of these tools is called “value betting.” It’s a way to make better bets by calculating the true odds of an event happening and then comparing them to the odds that are being offered by a bookmaker. The goal is to find bets that offer a positive expected value, or +EV. But it’s not a guarantee that you will win, and it takes a lot of research to be successful.
Another way to make better bets is to bet on futures. These are bets that won’t be settled until a later date, such as the Super Bowl or NCAA Basketball National Championship. They can offer hefty payouts, but they can be risky because they’re locked up for a long time and things can go wrong.
LIPTON: One of the things about this whole thing is that sports leagues are embracing it and there are now, for example, teams and players being sponsored by betting platforms and there’s even some media companies that take cuts on the bets they promote. So the sport of sports itself has become a kind of a betting enterprise that’s growing all the time and it’s hard to regulate.
There are some people who say that this is a problem because it could lead to gambling addiction, but I think the bigger concern is that it’s becoming a lot more prevalent and there are a lot of different ways for people to bet on sports, and they may not be aware of all the options that are out there. And that can lead to people making poor decisions about the games that they’re betting on and potentially losing a lot of money. And that’s a serious concern.