Legalizing sports betting in Tennessee has become a debate on whether the economic benefits outweigh the morality concerns that are associated with gambling addictions. Democratic Representative Rick Staples has sponsored a bipartisan bill that would allow online sports gambling. He claims that Tennessee has lost $3 billion to states with legal gambling.
Not everyone supports sports betting in Tennessee. Lawmakers opposing the bill have cited multiple concerns. These reasons include comparing gambling to cocaine, the state not funding enough money for individuals with addictions, athletes fixing games, and the impact it would have on religion. One lawmaker indicated that he was against it because, if even one person suffered addiction, then it was not worth it.
Tennessee bans most forms of gambling. An exception involves the lottery. A state lottery was established in 2003. Residents are allowed to buy Powerball and Mega Millions tickets. The lottery program has created nearly $5 billion for educational programs. It paid for nearly all of my marketing and business administration education fees. Via the TN lottery website:
Since inception, the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation has raised more than $4.8 billion for education programs in the state. More than 1.3 million Lottery-funded scholarships and grants have been awarded to Tennessee students, including HOPE Scholarships, Wilder-Naifeh grants and the Drive to 55 initiatives. Dollars are also used to support after-school programs and an energy-efficient school initiative.
A surprising development happened when former Governor Bill Haslam signed into law a bill that legalized daily fantasy sports websites such as DraftKings and FanDuel. The State Senate passed it with a 27-2 margin. The House of Representatives passed it with a 67-17 margin. Daily fantasy sports provide a game where users can spend a few dollars, hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars per night on projecting stats via player budgets. While it’s gambling at heart, the argument is that it requires enough skill to offset the chance elements that turn gaming into gambling.
Anyone supporting sports betting in Tennessee—or any state having similar discussions—should study the daily fantasy sports landscape. Can supporters prove that playing money lines and spreads requires more skill than chance? Doing so will change the gambling narrative. Prove that it’s a game. This increases the likelihood that legalized sports betting happens sooner than later.
My limited experience with these ventures occurred when I wrote a picks against the spread column that was published on Yahoo! Sports website (via Yahoo! Contributor Network) during the early 2010s. Since 2016, I’ve played about 5-10 DraftKings lineups per week. This has given me enough knowledge to know that both formats require skills to advance beyond the competition. There’s a reason that people are labeled fish and sharks.
How do travel schedules affect sports teams? How will the weather affect the pitcher’s grip or the potential distance of flyballs? Do sabermetrics suggest progression or regression? Do the opposing team’s lineup splits (vs LHP/RHP, etc) suggest that it’s a bad matchup for pitcher? How do underdogs fare at home in rivalry games? Is there enough sample size to determine a trend? These are just a few things that expert handicappers consider.
I support sports betting in Tennessee. Let’s defuse some of the aforementioned arguments and myths that were mentioned in The Tennessean report.
* Anti-gambling advocate Charles Armistead compared sports betting to cocaine
Comparing cocaine with sports betting is too extreme. Cocaine addiction is deadly to its users. Anyone associated or physically close to that individual is at risk. Cocaine makes its users mentally deranged. Nobody benefits from its existence.
Sports bettors can make positive use of their hobby. They can make money and have fun. Its encourages socialization among peers. It progresses the economy. It’s unfair to deny them that right just because of a few people who misbehave. Let’s not pretend that cocaine addiction poses the same dangers as gambling addiction.
* Democratic Representative Jason Powell suggested an amendment that would prohibit sports betting on Sundays.
Most major sports events occur on the weekend. Sundays are heavy with NFL games. Even if placing bets were allowed days before a Sunday game, bettors are at a huge disadvantage because their bets may change based on information leading up to the start of a game (e.g. weather, injuries).
The other problem is that this isn’t a theocracy. “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy” doesn’t mean doing cocaine the other six days of the week. Don’t force religious rituals on the uninterested. To atheists, Sunday is just like any other day of the week. If sports betting is bad one day, then it’s bad everyday. Plus, if we want to get religious with this, then I’ll go with free will.
Either legalize it completely or don’t at all. Six days a week is a horrible precedent. It was stupid with liquor. It’s even dumber with sports betting.
* Democratic Representative Johnny Shaw suggests that athletes would fix games.
Players could do this anyway. If they’re immoral enough to fix games, then they’ll do it regardless of legalization. Any fixing would likely stay hidden from the public.
* Shaw suggested that folks would play while they’re sitting at church
…Who cares? People already do that with their cellphones. As long as they aren’t interrupting anyone else who wants to listen to the sermon, they can do whatever they want. Free will.
* Finally, Shaw stated, “Some things we just don’t do, and money is not everything. The state of Tennessee, if we can save one person, it’s much more important than making a million dollars, is the way I see this.”
Nearly three years have passed since Tennessee legalized daily fantasy sports. Call it gaming or call it gambling. Either way, users spend large sums of money on this hobby. The state hasn’t collapsed. Notice how legalized sports betting in Tennessee has continued to gain traction?
Critics are too obsessed with their fears of gambling stereotypes. Consider FanDuel and its responsible play policies. Tennesseans face a deposit maximum of $2,500 per month. In Massachusetts, it’s $1,000 per month. FanDuel allows for self-exclusions, personal deposit limitations, and third party exclusion requests.
There are ways to protect users from becoming their own worst enemy. Require periodic limitations. If a user loses x amount of dollars over that time period, then they’re restricted from playing. Increase limitations as users prove responsibility.
You save one person from gambling addiction? Maybe you prevented another person from making a living. Continuing with the logic, then we need to ban 5-hour ENERGY or any energy beverage to save that one person from having a heart attack. Ban cellphones to save the hundreds of people whose lack of attention will cost them their lives. Keep going…
How far does society go toward denying and removing the rights of the majority of people who can handle themselves simply due to the select few who are too careless and ignorant to behave?
Test the waters. Set low limits. As the general public becomes more acclimated to a sports betting culture, keep growing and promoting it.
*Republican Representative Rush Bricken demanded that his state spends more than approximately three cents per year on those who have gambling addictions.
Now that’s a real topic. Already mentioned was that Tennessee has lost out on $3 billion. If sports betting brings that much money into the economy, then use some of that funding on education about sports betting, addictions, etc.
I’d hope these issues are tackled thoroughly before sports betting in Tennessee becomes legalized.
….
Conclusion
Sports betting is not the same as sticking a quarter in the slot machine. Yes, chance is involved. An in-game injury can change everything. But there are ways to get ahead of the crowd. Number gurus and people with risk assessment skills (e.g. poker players) excel at these games. A sports betting culture has the potential of helping people learn to implement risks in their daily lives, e.g. businesses.
Legalize sports betting in Tennessee. Legalize it everywhere. Don’t let a select few who’ll likely pursue it illegally anyhow ruin the opportunity of continued societal advancement for America.
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Joshua Huffman was born and edumacated in Middle Tennessee. He has published content for Yahoo! Sports (via Contributor Network) and Titan Sized, among other venues. At SoBros, he’ll provide Daily Fantasy Sports suggestions and broad sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter (although I rarely use it).
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