Sports Betting in OK

[jedicurt]

"These aren't Jayhawks. They're not ours," Goff wrote. "Driven by gambling and hate. They've never competed a day in their life.

i mean gambling probably does make these kind of comments more frequent, but lets not pretend that terrible people were already saying awful and hurtful things to sports players online, even without betting. it's all just terrible and i wish it didn't happen, but it wasn't created with just sports gambling

[Pete]

i mean gambling probably does make these kind of comments more frequent, but lets not pretend that terrible people were already saying awful and hurtful things to sports players online, even without betting. it's all just terrible and i wish it didn't happen, but it wasn't created with just sports gambling

Of course, but there have already been studies about this showing threats have become much worse and are increasing.

Remember, we are still in the infancy of sports betting in the U.S.

[PoliSciGuy]

i mean gambling probably does make these kind of comments more frequent, but lets not pretend that terrible people were already saying awful and hurtful things to sports players online, even without betting. it's all just terrible and i wish it didn't happen, but it wasn't created with just sports gambling

No, it has absolutely taken off with the rise of sports gambling. This isn't a mere continuation of previous bad behavior, it's a whole other realm of personalized, targeted threats against athletes and their families. The threats have risen both in sheer number and the targeted, personalized nature of them. This has led to significant mental health strain on both college and professional athletes.

[jedicurt]

No, it has absolutely taken off with the rise of sports gambling. This isn't a mere continuation of previous bad behavior, it's a whole other realm of personalized, targeted threats against athletes and their families. The threats have risen both in sheer number and the targeted, personalized nature of them. This has led to significant mental health strain on both college and professional athletes.

death threats against athletes have been made for many more issues than just sports gambling. i would think that we actually probably see fewer death threats directly against athletes than black athletes did in the 40's-70's. the online nature allows for it to be significantly easier in todays world yes. but it imply that stopping the spread of sports gambling or even banning gambling would stop people from being ignorant and taking a game too far, is just plain wrong.

[Pete]

death threats against athletes have been made for many more issues than just sports gambling. i would think that we actually probably see fewer death threats directly against athletes than black athletes did in the 40's-70's. the online nature allows for it to be significantly easier in todays world yes. but it imply that stopping the spread of sports gambling or even banning gambling would stop people from being ignorant and taking a game too far, is just plain wrong.

Nobody said sports gambling is the ONLY reason for threats, but it has already been documented it has increased threats and sports betting is still in the early stages in the U.S.

[gjl]

Is Oklahoma not getting sports betting going to stop any of this? I think the horse is already out of the barn.

[Pete]

Is Oklahoma not getting sports betting going to stop any of this? I think the horse is already out of the barn.

There will be much more sports gambling if legalized here.

[gjl]

But it won't stop athletes getting threats is my point because sports betting is already out of the barn is my point.

[PoliSciGuy]

But it won't stop athletes getting threats is my point because sports betting is already out of the barn is my point.

It will increase the threats even more as more bettors flood the market. OU and OSU athletes in particular will likely see an increase in threats against their lives and a decline in their mental health. That's worth keeping our own Oklahoma horses in the barn for.

[jedicurt]

It will increase the threats even more as more bettors flood the market. OU and OSU athletes in particular will likely see an increase in threats against their lives and a decline in their mental health. That's worth keeping our own Oklahoma horses in the barn for.

but that doesn't stop people in other states from betting and making those threats. we are talking about trying to limit something because of a few bad eggs that already exist and are doing bad already. threats are a separate issue from gambling, that is what i have been trying to say. and it is something that we should put a stop to. make harsher punishments to discourage, etc. perhaps even stop the ability to be completely anonymous on the internet. that would go a long way to help cyber bullying, no matter whether they are athletes or not.

saying that cyber bullying is going to get worse with sports gambling, isn't a reason to not have sports gambling, it further signifies the importance of a massive issue that is already happening to probably millions of Americans, and would just be expanding it to athletes more as well... it means we need to find a way to deal with cyber bullying... period.

unless the statement that we as Oklahomans want to make is that cyber bullying only crosses the line when it happens to athletes.

[PoliSciGuy]

but that doesn't stop people in other states from betting and making those threats. we are talking about trying to limit something because of a few bad eggs that already exist and are doing bad already. threats are a separate issue from gambling, that is what i have been trying to say. and it is something that we should put a stop to. make harsher punishments to discourage, etc. perhaps even stop the ability to be completely anonymous on the internet. that would go a long way to help cyber bullying, no matter whether they are athletes or not.

saying that cyber bullying is going to get worse with sports gambling, isn't a reason to not have sports gambling, it further signifies the importance of a massive issue that is already happening to probably millions of Americans, and would just be expanding it to athletes more as well... it means we need to find a way to deal with cyber bullying... period.

unless the statement that we as Oklahomans want to make is that cyber bullying only crosses the line when it happens to athletes.

I never said it would stop others. I merely said it would prevent folks in our own state from adding to the stress these poor athletes face. And I would argue that threats against the lives of college students (which is well beyond mere "cyberbullying") is absolutely a reason in and of itself to not have sports gambling. Let's invert this here: what is the good that legalizing sports betting would bring in? What are the benefits?

[jedicurt]

I never said it would stop others. I merely said it would prevent folks in our own state from adding to the stress these poor athletes face. And I would argue that threats against the lives of college students (which is well beyond mere "cyberbullying") is absolutely a reason in and of itself to not have sports gambling. Let's invert this here: what is the good that legalizing sports betting would bring in? What are the benefits?

except it doesn't prevent any folks from our state from doing it. that's the point. if they get mad enough because of a missed Field goal, or free throw, then they can and might be doing it now already. and if we as a society seem to think that when a child is bullied online so much that they commit suicide, it's just cyber bullying, then it isn't anything beyond it... that seems to be okay with us as a society, sadly...

the good that it brings is that those that want to sports bet, already are... making it legal means another stream of income for our extremely underfunded schools. right now, we are missing out on that money

[PoliSciGuy]

except it doesn't prevent any folks from our state from doing it. that's the point. if they get mad enough because of a missed Field goal, or free throw, then they can and might be doing it now already. and if we as a society seem to think that when a child is bullied online so much that they commit suicide, it's just cyber bullying, then it isn't anything beyond it... that seems to be okay with us as a society, sadly...

the good that it brings is that those that want to sports bet, already are... making it legal means another stream of income for our extremely underfunded schools. right now, we are missing out on that money

Yes but there is a quantitative difference in the number and type of threats from betting versus regular fans venting their frustrations. Studies show this. Athletes report this. This is not just more of the same but a wholly different level of threat, and one that is having very real consequences for the mental health of athletes.

As for the money, I don't really think that the ~$20m or so it generates would be worth the broken families, destroyed lives, and shattered mental well being it would produce in Oklahomans and others.

[jedicurt]

Yes but there is a quantitative difference in the number and type of threats from betting versus regular fans venting their frustrations. Studies show this. Athletes report this. This is not just more of the same but a wholly different level of threat, and one that is having very real consequences for the mental health of athletes.

As for the money, I don't really think that the ~$20m or so it generates would be worth the broken families, destroyed lives, and shattered mental well being it would produce in Oklahomans and others.

so we only care about cyber bullying when it happens to athletes. got it. i'll see myself out on this thread then, because I personally see it as a much more massive issue than just sports betters saying hateful and harmful things to student athletes.

[PoliSciGuy]

so we only care about cyber bullying when it happens to athletes. got it. i'll see myself out on this thread then, because I personally see it as a much more massive issue than just sports betters saying hateful and harmful things to student athletes.

Please don't put words in my mouth. Cyber bullying is awful in general and should be stopped, and we shouldn't be making it worse by legalizing sports betting. I don't see how you can be so aghast at cyberbullying and then want to legalize gambling and thus subject even more people to even more hateful conduct.

[jedicurt]

Please don't put words in my mouth. Cyber bullying is awful in general and should be stopped, and we shouldn't be making it worse by legalizing sports betting. I don't see how you can be so aghast at cyberbullying and then want to legalize gambling and thus subject even more people to even more hateful conduct.

because that hateful conduct is already occurring. and at a large enough scale that it should be dealt with. someone at OU threw a beer can at a Kansas player after the game. all of these types of actions need to be taken care of with a much more aggressive effort. just because legalized sports betting seems to make it more prevalent, it doesn't fix the actual issue if we just don't allow it. but what will happen is that we will just stop sports betting in the state, and say we fixed the issue, when we haven't really done anything. i personally don't care if sports betting is legal or not. i am just tired of it being the scapegoat for much bigger issues that we as a society refuse to address.

[PoliSciGuy]

because that hateful conduct is already occurring. and at a large enough scale that it should be dealt with. someone at OU threw a beer can at a Kansas player after the game. all of these types of actions need to be taken care of with a much more aggressive effort. just because legalized sports betting seems to make it more prevalent, it doesn't fix the actual issue if we just don't allow it. but what will happen is that we will just stop sports betting in the state, and say we fixed the issue, when we haven't really done anything. i personally don't care if sports betting is legal or not. i am just tired of it being the scapegoat for much bigger issues that we as a society refuse to address.

Literally no one is saying that stopping sports betting will stop cyber bullying. I am all for a more expansive role against cyberbullying; I have two kids myself who are a few years from being on social media and I am very concerned about how their exposure to it will impact them. If you're reading my arguments and somehow think that I'm saying stopping sports betting is a panacea that will end online hatred then I strongly recommend you re-read what I'm saying, since I'm not arguing that.

And, again, I don't see how making this problem worse is somehow the solution, even with the ~$20m it would generate.

[bamarsha]

Has anyone studied the differences between sports betting and the lottery? Both are taxes on the mathematically challenged, but can be fun if done in moderation.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Has anyone studied the differences between sports betting and the lottery? Both are taxes on the mathematically challenged, but can be fun if done in moderation.

Again the lottery is done in person and requires some sort of movement to get to it and use. Sports Betting on apps is a completely different animal. I'd wager it is way more addicting.

[bamarsha]

Again the lottery is done in person and requires some sort of movement to get to it and use. Sports Betting on apps is a completely different animal. I'd wager it is way more addicting.

I mean in more general terms. The lottery could potentially go online or the law may only allow in person sports better (while attempting to block it online). Both are a form of gambling. I was just curious if anyone has any real data on this or just made assumptions.

[Oklapatriot]

Literally no one is saying that stopping sports betting will stop cyber bullying. I am all for a more expansive role against cyberbullying; I have two kids myself who are a few years from being on social media and I am very concerned about how their exposure to it will impact them. If you're reading my arguments and somehow think that I'm saying stopping sports betting is a panacea that will end online hatred then I strongly recommend you re-read what I'm saying, since I'm not arguing that.

And, again, I don't see how making this problem worse is somehow the solution, even with the ~$20m it would generate.

I really glad that you're teaching your children about the evils of cyber bullying. Forums and message boards are a good place to witness such events. I've been on forums whereby folks found it entertaining to call others names such as maybe "boomer", or even criticizing them for being patriotic. As a 77 YO senior I don't think that's humorous or kind. What do you think?