cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1426848/i-deliberately-bet-like-a-problem-gambler-draftkings-made-me-a-vip
- Recklessness Rewarded: I blew $1,800 in one night by chasing my losses with bigger bets, a classic sign of problem gambling. The next day, DraftKings invited me to audition for its VIP program.
- Casino Craze: Sportsbooks want to expand into online casinos, where you can lose a lot fast. I played 500 rounds of blackjack in a weekend — about half of my total bets over 10 weeks.
- Profit Over Protection: The responsible gaming prompts telling me to pump the brakes were no match for the product design and promotions pushing me to do more gambling.
Having just left an online casino AND sportsbook company… yes, the design is SPECIFICALLY to go around the responsible gambling guidelines and encourage reckless behaviour.
We had “responsible gambling” as well as spotting problem behaviour training twice a year, yet every time I pushed back on designs that clearly went against those established policies, I was met with hostility, and I became a “problem person” who got in the way of profits.
Good software engineering practices were ignored and pushed back on, just so we could “deliver faster”. There were times when we had to begin implementing major features without finalised designs, without any kind of product requirements specified, and of course we were discouraged to push back on that. Contact with product people? Fuck no, don’t bother them. Code documentation? Who needs it?
These companies play fast and loose with people, for profits. And regulations do fuck-all.
Casinos have operated like this for years. People who loose lots of money get flown to VIP events with free hotel, meals, concerts, and even mix with movie stars. People are employed as concierge to these gamblers, so it’s not MGM calling and encouraging you to gamble, it’s Beth or Stephen.
Gambling is just theft with extra steps. I’d ban all of it, including the lottery.
The excuse I’ve heard over the years is if it was banned, organized crime would fill the void. Then you still have problems with gambling along with all the theft, fraud, extortion, and violence that organized crime brings.
That’s how it was back before states ran their own lotteries.
“If it was banned, organized crime would fill the void”.
It already IS organized crime. The only reason it’s not considered organized crime, is because it’s not banned, and therefore not a crime.
But really, all thats saying is “If you banned it, they would still continue doing this exact same thing.”
Except now they need to bribe the government to allow them to continue. Thats the only difference.
Having it regulated instead of illegal means you can sue the house if they cheat. It means house profits are taxed. It means you can go through bankruptcy court instead of being found dead in a construction site.
Indeed. And Regulation needs to be strengthened to the tune of atleast how much it costs individuals and society. Thats the hard part.
