Sports Gambling And Stereotypes

Competitive and professional sports is a cardinal fixture in the lives of billions all across the globe. Sport is cherished and idolized by many as it gives the viewers loads of entertainment as well as a sense of pride. Sport has the ability to unite entire nations as there is a mutual sentiment attached to the desire of wanting your team to outperform the rest, it is all based on the notion that an athlete or team is representing you as an individual and an entire country. Professional athletes often have a certain stigma attached to them - they make tons of money, drive exotic sports cars, live in fancy houses, travel all over the world, they have achieved this by doing what they love day in and day out – by playing sport.

Gambling has an adverse impact on the individual athlete's or coach's integrity. Reputation diminishes, and the athlete becomes better known for participation in gambling activities than for athletic feats and career accomplishments. Gambling scandals can ruin careers, and permanently mar the individual's ability to participate in the sport again. As Finley, Finley & Fountain (n.d.). point out, gambling also has the potential to ruin the integrity of the entire team, league, or whole sport. "Ensuring an honest and uncorrupted game has been one of the biggest challenges facing sport," (Finley, Finley & Fountain, n.d., p. 41). Baseball in particular has been plagued by gambling scandals. However, other professional sports have also revealed the prevalence of widespread corruption. Finley, Finley & Fountain (n.d.) also note that gambling on college sports has been a problem since the CCNY point-shaving scandal of the 1950s. Point shaving proved lucrative enough for high-profile black market gambling syndicates to flourish. Although most players, coaches, and teams are not corrupt, the few that are have sullied the image of all sports.

One of the biggest reasons opponents of sports gambling are opposed to wagering on sporting events is because of the potential for sports gambling to result in fixed sporting events and ultimately undermining the integrity of professional and amateur sports in the U.S. As Thompson (2008) explains, sports gambling remains illegal and heavily regulated by the government “because of the potential for events to be fixed, or illegally influenced (using bribes or other forms of compensation)” (p. 2). It is not that difficult to see how this might happen, since numerous sports gambling scandals have occurred in the past. The 1919 World Series was fixed by Chicago White Sox players. Pete Rose was banned from baseball and denied admittance to the Baseball Hall of Fame because of his admission to gambling on sporting events while he

Basketball, football, and hockey are considered the most popular sports in America as of today. However, sports in the early 1950s were not as popular as they are now. According to “An Exercise in Subtleties and the Transmission of Racism: An Analysis of Sports Illustrated Covers” by Eric Primm, Summer DuBois, and Robert M. Regoli, they stated that American love their sport and that “each year they would spend billions of dollars on sports-related items and activities.” The media help promote the popularity of the sports in America. Consequently, sports media “plays a key role in perpetuating the types of racial stereotypes about minority athletes in sports” (Ismond, 115). The thesis of this writing project is with some racial stereotype reinforcement

There are many jobs to have in the National Football League (NFL), but who are the people that own those job titles? When people think of the NFL the general perception of the league is men that hit other men really hard. If one is to really look into depth of the NFL one could see the dramatic differences between a team owner, the starting quarterback, to the ticket sales manager, and even the athletic trainers. An inequality occurring in the NFL today is that these positions are not diverse and have somehow created stereotypes and expectations for the people that should occupy them. These images between people that should work in these specific positions varies from race, socioeconomic classes and gender.

Gambling is perceived in very different ways by its participants and affected parties. There is a stricter and no tolerance view practiced by the National Collegiate Athletics Association [NCAA] whose role is to govern college athletics. A study conducted by (Nelson, LaBrie, LaPlante, Stanton, Shaffer, & Wechsler, 2007) points out that “…the NCAA membership adopted bylaw 10.3 that prohibits athletics department staff and student-athletes from engaging in gambling activities that relate to intercollegiate or professional sport events.” As stated earlier, the individuals mentioned in The NCAA’s bylaw are not the only people participating in sports related gambling activities. Furthermore these individuals, consisting of college students (student-athletes and non participants), and fans also partake in gambling activities unrelated to sports. Their perception of gambling seems less strict than the NCAA. Previously stated, it is viewed as fun, a way to win money, for excitement or entertainment for student-athletes. This view is also shared by college students that are non participants and fans. Another perspective of a non participant or fan on sports gambling suggested by (Nelson, LaBrie, LaPlante, Stanton, Shaffer, & Wechsler, 2007) states that there are some “…sports fan who might gamble on sports as a way of “being in the game.” In addition, (Nelson, LaBrie, LaPlante, Stanton, Shaffer, & Wechsler, 2007) mentioned that this attitude may stem from there being

Native American names and symbols can be seen in many different facets of North American society from the “Mohawk” Carpet Company, to the women on the “Land-O-Lakes” butter container, and sports teams like the Washington “Redskins” all have an American Indian rendering incorporated in their brands. The history of the NFL (National Football League) dates back to the early 1920s, where the league was started in Canton Ohio. Teams like the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Washington Redskins are considered charter members, because of their early inception into the professional sports league. The Washington Redskins, located in Washington D.C., are known for their distinctive burgundy and gold colors and Native American head

In 2015, almost every time you turned on your television, you saw a commercial for DraftKings or FanDuel. DraftKings and FanDuel are two separate companies that operate daily fantasy sport leagues. Some of the sports that are featured with the fantasy leagues are baseball, with Major League Baseball, football, with the National Football League, hockey, with the National Hockey League, and basketball, with the National Basketball Association. To get into one of these daily fantasy leagues that DraftKings and FanDuel offer, you have to pay an entry fee. That entry fee determines how much you could possibly win. Daily fantasy sports sites DraftKings and FanDuel shouldn’t be allowed to operate because it is not a game of skill, gambling sites were banned in 2006 by the U.S. Federal Government, and even though it creates money for the economy, many people lose money and sometimes their possessions.

The vast majority of non-gamblers saw it as a crime and deeply feared possible downfalls and side effects. A 2016 survey by the Mellman Group found 66% of the people polled felt states could run clean sports betting systems (American Gaming Association). Negative perceptions of betting, particularly sports betting, have largely eroded as the government has ample resources to combat any accompanying pitfalls. Viewing sports betting as a crime is flawed because it rarely harms other consumers and can benefit an economic market. A 2010 study done by Paul and Weinbach discerned that the two biggest influences on betting volume are team quality and television coverage (Sports Marketing Quarterly). Its ability to damage the "integrity" of sports is minimal in this era filled with performance-enhancing drugs and various other cheating scandals. Sports betting popularity is rising with media coverage of betting material and news being vast and constantly available at my fingertips; it undeniably trumps fans' emphasis on the integrity of the

Nash Weitzman lost almost $500,000 by betting continuously on fantasy football. On websites like Fanduel and Draftkings, People can join one week leagues to earn money by drafting teams and betting money. If the team that these people draft win, then the person receives money. Should it be legal to bet on this? Forbes.com says that “Playing fantasy football for money is very likely illegal.” In some states, it is illegal to gamble, but not illegal to bet on fantasy football websites. There is also an argument on why betting on fantasy football should stay legal.

Sports gambling is legal in all the countries besides the United States. As Zak Lutz said in the article, Should Sports Gambling be Legal?, sports gambling, for the most part, is illegal in the United States with the exception of four states, which include Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, and Montana. We gamble when we buy state lottery tickets, go to the horse tracks, and spend money at casinos. The federal law is doesn’t support gambling, but the states do. Lutz argues, “If betting for the states is legal, why can’t we just

According to Derevensky (2014), “gambling remains one of the fastest growing industries in the world, with multinational corporations investing billions of dollars to attract customers.” Sport betting has been around since the beginning. Although it was never legal, it never stopped people from participating in the activity. Colonists were known to place bets on fights and horse races. As soon as baseball become known in the 1920s, gambling starting to become more popular in various sporting events. Gambling is a skill one must work on to become successful. It’s like live poker in that it doesn’t rely on luck. It relies on knowledge. Today, gambling in sports has continued to grow becoming legal and becoming a sport

Then there are the race tracks. They are now legal in over four fifths of all the states in America. The owners of the track take 18 to 21 percent of money wagered. The bettor has a likelihood of winning only a 0.41 to 0.44 probability of winning. That is about one half of one percent! But, it is a well-known fact that when a man wins at gambling, he is very likely to stay in for another game—and then lose his winnings! It is no wonder that it is called “gambling fever.” It is almost an insanity which grips a person.

Political and legal factors are those controlled by ‘governments, local authorities, or other trade or activity orientated regulatory bodies' (Brassington and Pettitt, 2000). Gambling legislation is put in place in order to prevent consumers been taken advantage and also help control consumers with gambling problems. The internet is open to great abuse in all areas of the internet and gambling is no exception. Within five minutes it is possible to be gambling on the internet at as high stakes as one desires, this obviously has its dangers. Companies have recently been pushed to be more responsible for caring for their customers. Some of the companies now have a system which its customers can use. The system offers the customer control of how much they can deposit in a designated time period, this helps the customers control their spending. Though this may affect profits for a company, it gives the impression that they care for their customers, which promotes their company. The laws for online gambling are reasonably relaxed and with it been a worldwide market that anyone from any country can access it is hard to control such a market. There have been recent worries about illegal gambling carried out on Betfair with trainers and owners regarding the running of a horse to lose. Many bets would be taken on the specific horse resulting

Most of us have heard of fantasy football. Online fantasy has risen in popularity over the past couple of years, due to advances in technology. With this rise in popularity, it has raised eyebrows at the state and federal government levels. There are many grey areas when it comes to gambling online, that many people still don’t understand. Many questions are being asked, such as legal transactions with credit cards, is online gambling causing a problem with a rise in gambling addiction? Over the course of this report, I will go over the good and the bad of making online gambling legal and regulated.