08/16/2025
The PREDATORY Behavior Of Sportsbooks NEEDS TO STOP!
As a therapist, I can tell you that I can only help so much. It is an uphill battle when sportsbooks are constantly engaging in deplorable behavior. Politicians so often roll out new legislation with little thought about the potential consequences or simply fail to anticipate the effects. And so is the case with the legalization of gambling.
Legal gambling here in New York and elsewhere right now is the wild, wild west. Sportsbooks are getting away with truly despicable behavior. It is now common practice for them to TARGET the vulnerable...those with serious gambling addictions. And it is very easy for them to identify them: frequency of bets (especially "live bets"), the size of their wagers (especially when they increase over time), and most obviously how far in the "red" they are or more simply the amount they've lost in a given time.
So they can easily identify the compulsive, problematic gamblers. Of course this information could be used to help them, such as sending these folks communications about available resources to help them, but these are businesses with no scruples. It is all about the money. Not so different from BIG PHARMA who addicted 100s of thousands on Oxy... The sportsbooks are hell bent on making money AT ANYONE'S COST.
As any compulsive, addicted gambler has experienced, if they try to stop and take off from gambling for any extended amount of time, they will soon receive an e-mail from the sportsbook enticing them with FREE money they can use to gamble. It is as if the fisherman has thrown out the line hoping to catch the big fish...and the big fish are the addicted, vulnerable, out-of-control gamblers.
All of these sportsbooks have analysts working for them who have figured out if they give away X amount of money to their target audience, compulsive gamblers, they will not only net a profit but a HUGE RETURN ON INVESTMENT. You see...compulsive gamblers view their winnings and this "free" money given to them by the sportsbooks as THEIR money...like money they earned. People without a problem do not view this kind of money the same way. We view it the same way as if we found money on the street. So when a compulsive gambler gets this "free" money, places a bet (or several), and eventually loses all of it, they have an extreme emotional reaction. They react as if they lost their hard-earned money!
Can you guess what happens next? You got it. They start chasing...chasing the free money!!! And of course to chase this money lost they MUST deposit their own REAL, HARD-EARNED money. Then what happens?? Right again. Before long, the "free" $1000, $5000, or even $10,000 (yes it can be that much depending on the "target"), has turned into $10,000, $ 20,000, $50,000 or more profit for the sportsbooks. That little minnow bait just caught a shark or a whale! And compulsive gamblers who spend inordinate amounts of money on gambling are actually called...wait for it...BIG WHALES!
As I stated before, this behavior is despicable and deplorable. But it won't stop unless either the politicians do something about it OR you sue them. If you have a serious gambling problem and have experienced this predatory behavior, then you want to slam the door shut so you are no longer a target or "mark". Send the sportsbook a STRONGLY worded message. "I have a serious gambling addiction, and I want to be permanently excluded and banned from your site." But don't stop there...that's NOT ENOUGH. Many times sportsbooks will just cavalierly "un-ban" you eventually after your request. You need to add the following statement: "and if you contact me again in any way, shape, or form or un-ban me, I will seek LEGAL ACTION against you. I will sue you and hold you accountable and culpable".
It is so unfortunate you need to take such drastic measures, but it is a MUST if you ever stand a shot at overcoming a potentially devastating gambling addiction. It's time to fight back - ENOUGH IS ENOUGH...
