The entire landscape of sports in the United States has been impacted by the introduction of legalized sports betting. As profitable as the industry is, the ethics involved are highly questionable, as gambling companies encourage their least profitable customers to keep betting and limit their most successful ones.
Now, one prominent right-wing personality is letting the world know how he feels about it.
“Why not just say it’s disgusting and it’s predatory?” Tucker Carlson said, according to Awful Announcing. “And by the way, they’re preying … on the frustration and sadness of young men who know they’re never going to be able to afford a wife, kids, and a house.
“Business wasn’t always this sleazy in the United States,” Carlson continued. “There were self-restraints. I mean, I’ve never been that into business, or never participated in business, actually, in my whole life. But, I have been here awhile and I remember people had, like, there was a feeling of, ‘Well that’s just wrong, we’re not going to do that.’ Taking advantage of people was bad, especially poor people.
“Why are people paying their gambling debts?” Carlson later asked. “Why are people paying their credit card bills? I don’t understand. I mean, it’s so one-sided. It’s like, you’re a college student and you get credit card offers, free credit cards, and you get lured into something like this. You get destroyed by it, but you still have to pay your debts; so it’s all upside for them. And then people wag their finger in your face like, ‘Oh, you’re a communist.’ Am I a communist? No, no, I’m not. If you say, ‘Why would you pay your debts? Why would you ever?’… [the companies are] the ones who should be ashamed.”
People reacted to Carlson’s statement on social media.
“I’m not sure what this is about but it may be the first time I am in sync with Carlson. The worst part is the leagues and broadcast platforms are in lock step with them,” one person wrote on Twitter.
“Betting is for suckers. Save and invest your money. Find your dopamine hit on something that doesn’t lose you money,” someone else added.
It’ll be interesting to see if more regulation is introduced to protect people from these predatory companies.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.