Mobile sports betting has made gambling even more accessible
If you’ve watched any of the National Football League playoff games, you’ve likely seen commercials advertising online sports gambling. Starting on Jan. 8, 2022, New York State legalized online sports betting for the first time, and companies like DraftKings and Caesars have been offering major incentives for first-time bettors. At the beginning of the launch, sites gave hundred-dollar rewards as sign-up bonuses, but even still, there are new benefits to entice individuals to join. Subsequently, New York has become the sports-betting capital in less than two months.
It appears that the advertising paid off for these online companies; within the first month of January, New Yorkers placed $1.6 billion worth of bets on sports gambling apps. The online rollout came at a critical time in sports as the NFL Playoffs aired, giving new players a chance to win big on the biggest games of the year.
Although sports betting isn’t a new invention to New Yorkers, the accessibility of the format has led to an increase in the practice; the $15-million placed on in-person betting now seems miniscule in comparison to the aforementioned $1.6 billion.
Sports betting may be a new concept for beginner players, but the incentives from these companies make it seem that all you have to do is place a bet. During the 2022 Super Bowl season, experienced players could bet high odds for the Bengals on the money line, or complete an elaborate five-way parlay, but beginners could join the high-stakes race as well and bet on a series of prop bets, independent of the actual football game.
Betting options available for the prop bets include the beginning coin toss, which is essentially a 50/50 chance (though some theorists might tell you otherwise) or an arrangement of Gatordate colors that is dumped on the winning coach: orange (+250), none (+350), blue (+400), clear (+450), yellow or green (+450), red or pink (+600) or purple (+1000). Blue wound up being the winning color.
In order to accommodate these new mobile users, companies are paying large amounts of money for their startups. In an attempt to afford all the new bonuses and promotions, mobile gambling companies have lost an estimated 200 million dollars to facilitate new customers. The same report claims that Caesar and DraftKings lose $100 per customer in their efforts to get new customers to become regular users.
Given the growing number of recurrent users, the harmful effects of mobile betting must be addressed. With such an addicting platform newly accessible to anyone over the age of 21, resources are also being allocated to awareness for gambling addiction services and hotlines. It is still unclear what the long-term effects of accessible mobile gambling will be, but raising awareness and establishing support services is a step in the right direction.
Sources:
https://nypost.com/2022/02/04/new-yorkers-wagered-1-17-billion-on-sports-betting-in-january-2022/#