A huge ruling was made by the Supreme Court today that will make sports gambling legal in the United States. Each state can now decide whether or not to offer sports gambling. Here is a link to an article on ESPN giving many more details than what I can provide.
Obviously, there are many pros and cons. The first couple of positive aspects that come to mind are that this will generate a ton of revenue for sports teams and create even more interest in sports than there is today. Being able to regulate and increase security in sports betting should, in theory, be an upgrade over the illegal wagering that has taken place up to this point. The clear downfall of legalizing sports betting is that it will make it much more accessible and mainstream to the public, which could result in more people becoming addicted.
Again, I’m not here to break down the smallest gains and problems of this ruling. At times like this, what I prefer to do is go to Twitter and see who is freaking out. It’s very likely this will become an ongoing series, and I’ll make these posts when big events happen in the world of sports. These tweets are just the latest in what I’m sure has been a lively day on Twitter… Let’s begin!
With sports gambling legal..lets see how long it takes for Pete Rose to get in the HOF. @OmarMiller @Eyeconz
— Kevin Lynn (@DoIt4thaTipper) May 15, 2018
Starting out hot here. Kevin doesn’t really seem to understand that the Baseball Hall of Fame has nothing to do with American law. Even if betting is legal, Pete Rose still possibly affected the outcomes of his games and the integrity of baseball, which is what is keeping him out of the Hall of Fame in the first place. This is an alarmingly popular take from what I’ve seen, although I think many people said this sarcastically… I don’t get that sense from Kevin.
fantasy and sports gambling are a perfect marriage and those that do not think so are missing the concept-they are both games of skill and expertise-
in order to be successful in either you need to be able to process information as it pertains to the particular game or contest— Joseph Lisi (@GOFORTHE2) May 15, 2018
I see where Joseph is coming from, but he’s definitely wrong. Fantasy sports are where you compete against other individuals on an even playing field (obviously, different managers have varying degrees of knowledge, but the rules are the same for everyone). Sports gambling is where you bet against a bookkeeper who takes 5-10% of your money by default if he/she is adequate at the job. This is the kind of guy that is very capable of losing large amounts of money by betting on sports. His perception of how simple it is to gamble is concerning.
Sports Gambling is leagal in all states now! I’m placing all bets in school now!
— AFTER GODS OWN HEART (@deseanskii) May 15, 2018
Now we are getting to a couple of my favorites. Love the misspelling of the word legal. Even if he hasn’t been gambling in school up until this point, as his tweet suggests, he’s clearly not paying the necessary attention if he can’t spell basic words.
Finally legalized sports gambling 💰💯, yall know where to find me in the summer
— joey b (@jerseysfinest14) May 15, 2018
I’m guessing this tweet flew under the radar, but it’s my favorite. It poses many more questions than it answers:
#1: Now that gambling is legal, Joey B thinks it is automatic money in his pocket. However, isn’t any elite gambler already doing it illegally?
#2: Is summer a big gambling season?
#3: Is he going to be betting strictly on baseball and WNBA?
#4: Has it been well-documented in the past where Joey likes to do his gambling?
#5: If gambling is legal, shouldn’t it work in the opposite way where he doesn’t have to travel in order to do it?
That’s just the tip of the Twitter iceberg on a day like today, and I wish I would have had been online when the news broke to see the hot takes flow in. Stay tuned for future sports bombshells and the tweets that will inevitably follow!
I really appreciate you posting this kind of content. It helps us amateurs a lot. Thanks!