Sports Betting is “Ruining Lives”

Gambling,

A growing body of evidence shows sports gambling is hurting Americans.

Writing in The Atlantic last week, Charles Fain Lehman said,

The evidence is convincing: The betting industry is ruining lives.

Over the weekend, millions of Americans watched football. They cheered, they ate, and—more than ever—they gambled. The American Gaming Association expects $35 billion in bets to be placed on NFL games in 2024, about one-third more than last year’s total.

If you follow sports, gambling is everywhere. Ads for it are all over broadcasts; more than one in three Americans now bets on sports, according to a Seton Hall poll. Before 2018, sports gambling was prohibited almost everywhere. Now it’s legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia, yielding $10 billion a year in revenue.

Readers may be quick to dismiss these developments as harmless. Many sports fans enjoy betting on the game, they say. Is it such a big deal if they do it with a company rather than their friends?

A growing body of social-science literature suggests that, yes, this is in fact quite different. The rise of sports gambling has caused a wave of financial and familial misery, one that falls disproportionately on the most economically precarious households. Six years into the experiment, the evidence is convincing: Legalizing sports gambling was a huge mistake.

Lehman is not alone. Research is making it clear that sports gambling is anything but a good bet.

Studies indicate people who gamble on sports may be twice as likely to suffer from gambling problems.

Young men are particularly hurt by sports gambling. Twenty-year-old males account for approximately 40% of calls to gambling addiction hotlines. Upwards of 20 million men are in debt or have been in debt as a result of sports betting.

And the Arkansas Problem Gambling Council says it has seen a 22% increase in calls for help with problem gambling — a spike largely driven by sports betting.

Sports betting is out of hand, and some gambling companies have actually produced ads that seem to promote problem-gambling behavior — like commercials that show people so fixated on sports betting that they ignore everyone else around them or ads encouraging people to take every opportunity to gamble.

In light of all of this, it seems accurate to say that sports gambling is “ruining lives.”

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Canceled on Campus: Maggie DeJong’s Story

Video, ,

Maggie DeJong became a victim of “cancel culture” at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville after she shared her beliefs online and in class.

Maggie’s beliefs on topics like religion, politics, critical race theory, and COVID-19 differed from many of her classmates. Instead of engaging in meaningful discussions about these topics, some of Maggie’s classmates said her speech was “harmful” and constituted “harassment” and “microaggressions.”

After some students reported Maggie to SIUE officials simply because she shared her beliefs, the school issued three no-contact orders against her, prohibiting her from having “any contact” or even “indirect communication” with three of her fellow art therapy graduate students. Officials were not able to tell her a single law, policy, or rule she had violated—because she hadn’t violated any.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a lawsuit on Maggie’s behalf, and after a favorable ruling from a federal district court, SIUE agreed to settle the case. As part of the settlement, SIUE agreed to revise its policies to protect free speech and require the professors who violated Maggie’s rights to undergo First Amendment training.

Learn more by watching the video below.

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Planned Parenthood Endorses Candidate for Arkansas House

Abortion, , , , ,

Planned Parenthood recently updated its list of campaign endorsements to include a candidate running for House of Representatives in Arkansas.

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider and a major proponent of transgender ideology. The organization has a history of endorsing and donating to candidates who share its values.

According to its website, Planned Parenthood has endorsed Cortney McKee (D) who is running for House District 85 this year.

Early voting in Arkansas begins Monday, October 21, and Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.

According to the most recent reports filed with the Secretary of State’s office, Planned Parenthood’s political action committee has been largely inactive in Arkansas for 2024.

Planned Parenthood’s political action committee reportedly has a little over $11,000 that it could spend influencing elections in Arkansas between now and November 5.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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