I have never been a fan of prediction markets, having, at best, only ever really broken even when I’ve dabbled in it at Predict It. That said, I could not care less what you or anyone does with their money. Of course, I have opinions on how it is reported about what some do with their wealth, however I wouldn’t even entertain the idea of interfering legally, only judging and mocking. That being said, now that professional sports have gotten into bed with these companies, I predict things are going to go south pretty quickly as the remaining trust in sports will be compromised.
If you want to bet on sports, you’re absolutely free to. Like I said, I don’t care what you do with your money. But there’s a question I’ve asked before, often and for years, and I’ll ask it again: Now that it’s so easy to bet on sports, and in some states play casino games on your phone, is life better?
I realize these things don’t have to make life better, freedom includes the freedom to screw up your life. But reports are that calls to gambling help lines are through the roof, because the odds always favor the house. So, while legalized things don’t have to make life better, should we embrace those which make life worse?
The Wall Street Journal reported Major League Baseball “signed a licensing deal with Polymarket, which as the league’s official prediction-markets platform will have exclusive access to its data and iconography. Polymarket also agreed to work with MLB to restrict event contracts that pose ‘integrity risk,’ where outcomes triggered by the actions of, say, pitchers, managers or umpires could be subject to manipulation.”
Soon, you could be able to bet on whether or not a pitch will be a ball or strike, or if someone will strike out, walk or get a hit. Can I just say that if you need that kind of “action,” you aren’t a fan of the game, you’re a gambling addict.
Baseball has already seen pitchers charged with fraud in a betting scandal, and the National Basketball Association has had point-shaving scandals. How much more tempting fate do these leagues want?
If you’re like me, when you first heard of these stories you wondered what kind of idiot would participate in something like this – they’re making millions of dollars and they’re going to put it all on the line for what amounts to a fraction of their regular paycheck? But a friend of mine who has covered sports for decades pointed out to me that, especially the guys who come from poverty, have family members coming out of the woodwork when they make it and friends glomming onto them for dear life…that can get expensive. But if you just miss a shot, throw a ball in the dirt, walk a guy or “feel something” in your ankle and have to come out of a game at the right moment, they can “win” a good amount of money that doesn’t impact your bottom line at all.
Let’s be honest, shots are missed, balls are thrown in the dirt, hitters get walked and minor injuries happen. Nothing about those things, and more, is out of the ordinary. Now they’re also opportunities to make a quick, easy $50,000. The temptation, whether you’re supporting an entourage or not, is there and real.
Earning millions only dilutes the urge, professional athletes love challenges and adrenaline more than most. How many great and fabulously wealthy professional athletes have you heard of having massive gambling habits? Some of the biggest and most famous are among them. Getting away with it is a challenge to people who love challenges and have very few of them on a regular basis.
All of this is about the potential for disaster and ruining professional sports with unnecessary scandal. Why play chicken with fate when you don’t need to. The 1919 Black Sox didn’t ruin trust in baseball because there wasn’t much else to distract or entertain the public and Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs, an astronomical total, the year the scandal broke to distract from it. Home runs are now common, and we’re lousy with distractions – professional sports don’t have the cover they used to.
All they have is the drama and the integrity of the game needed to make that drama real. By inviting the wolf into the hen house, professional sports are risking all of it for a few more bucks and the foolish belief that it will help them keep the temptations at bay. But integrity doesn’t have to actually be compromised to appear to be compromised, and that’s their problem – embracing gambling a little will make every bases loaded strikeout or missed buzzer-beater open to suspicion.
The most damaging wounds are always those that are self-inflicted. Partnering with sports books was bad enough, now with prediction markets those cuts go deeper. I bet you it doesn’t work out all that well in the long run.
Derek Hunter is the host of the Derek Hunter Show on WMAL in Washington, DC, and has a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.