Sports betting and advertisements have become legal in Canada for a couple of years now and IMHO it has ruined the viewing of sports. Intermissions between periods in the NHL broadcasts have betting segments, pop-ups during game play and between whistles. It's beyond annoying. I can only imagine the harm that this is causing folks with gambling addictions.
The question, which will now be answered quite publicly, is how courageously will sports leagues, teams, and clubs address sports betting that is illegal and/or against organizational ethics and policies. Alas, given the state of our society, I would imagine that there are bookmakers giving odds on that right now.
I could go on for hours about this. Not just sports, but the just ubiquitous nature of all gambling everywhere now. Lotto, scratch offs, pull-tabs, Kino, even these digital slots / poker machines that are popping up in bars mixed in with the various Draft Kings of the world tells me there is a problem. Several billion dollar lotto jackpots tells me there is a problem. And yeah, this recent bit with Ohtani tells me there is a problem. I am almost certain this new evolution will be looked back on just like we look at the steroids era in baseball. There will be a new Black Sox scandal and it will come out just how many sports orgs, and their players are involved, and everyone will act shocked about it. Not to mention some new ham-fisted legislation so officials can wash their hands clean after collecting all that grubby money from folks. But I guess, whattayagonnado. :D
Sports betting and advertisements have become legal in Canada for a couple of years now and IMHO it has ruined the viewing of sports. Intermissions between periods in the NHL broadcasts have betting segments, pop-ups during game play and between whistles. It's beyond annoying. I can only imagine the harm that this is causing folks with gambling addictions.
The question, which will now be answered quite publicly, is how courageously will sports leagues, teams, and clubs address sports betting that is illegal and/or against organizational ethics and policies. Alas, given the state of our society, I would imagine that there are bookmakers giving odds on that right now.
I could go on for hours about this. Not just sports, but the just ubiquitous nature of all gambling everywhere now. Lotto, scratch offs, pull-tabs, Kino, even these digital slots / poker machines that are popping up in bars mixed in with the various Draft Kings of the world tells me there is a problem. Several billion dollar lotto jackpots tells me there is a problem. And yeah, this recent bit with Ohtani tells me there is a problem. I am almost certain this new evolution will be looked back on just like we look at the steroids era in baseball. There will be a new Black Sox scandal and it will come out just how many sports orgs, and their players are involved, and everyone will act shocked about it. Not to mention some new ham-fisted legislation so officials can wash their hands clean after collecting all that grubby money from folks. But I guess, whattayagonnado. :D