Honestly, I don't follow predictions of the said sports gambling experts but I do read their analysis about the game. It's really helpful to see who are missing in the game and who might play that could be a big impact to the game.
After that, I do my own analysis and I'd be happy to predict the results of the game on my own rather than relying on someone else who thinks they are good at predicting the game. Reality is, there's no assurance with their own predictions because the game cannot be controlled by anyone unless there are circumstances where they need to lose because of an important reason. i.e. Draft picks lottery (tanking)

Yes, keep on hodling. Not just the halving expect a lot of things might happen because of the Bitcoin ETF. These two events combined might take the demand at heights that we are not expecting. Today, we are already witnessing FOMO and investors keeps on buying and selling trying to increase the amount of Bitcoin they can keep before those events come. It's not wrong but it's scary so if we are not up to that challenge of trading it and have a fear to just lose more then don't do it. Just keep it in our wallets and accumulate more thru different means.

No doubt about that. Two of the best players in the league playing, it's the games that I don't want to miss as much as possible.
Lebron James and Steph Curry are the players that can dominate even if they are down by 10 or 20, they can still get and try to force a win because of their experience.
In the Lakers team, it's Anthony Davis that I always to step up his game just like what he did in the In Season Tournament. I hope he can always play as competitive like that. Next to him is Austin Reaves, I think that guy has a lot of future in this sport.
When it comes to the Warriors, Kuminga is the next player to Steph Curry that I want to witness. Someday he might become an All-Star so he better perform like there's no tomorrow every game.

It just means more profits for them. I have one gambling site that I traditionally used for casino games only and I was also surprised that they are adding sport betting in their platform. I think it also means they are upgrading and they can now afford to add more services in their platforms which I believe is a good thing. For those who likes both, they don't need to have two websites to remember, everything they will need for their gambling habits is combined to one. As of to why they are doing this, perhaps we should ask those gambling sites but I seriously doubt it's for us, it's for their own benefit.

The first thing that I noticed is the "Bitcion". Was this spelled right or are they trying to build a hype by spelling it wrong?
I read about this BONK thing somewhere in the Altcoin Discussion, I think one forum member made a thread about it.

"Getting dumped by a Chinese Grandma." Hilarious. That will be disrespectful for the traders of this ordinals listed by Binance.

I've just read this recently so I think I gotta share it.
https://news.bitcoin.com/coinbase-2024-outlook-marks-end-of-crypto-winter-ordinals-leading-nft-shift-heralds-era-of-prosperity
Coinbase 2024 Outlook Marks End of Crypto Winter, Ordinals Leading NFT Shift, Heralds Era of ProsperityNFT was not a successful project and I think that's the reason why investors will switch to something different but near same the project they supported and those are Ordinals. But I have big doubts that it will be successful  just because of that. There's a chance it will end the same way as NFT's.

I recently lose at slots before the end of the year and when I say lose, everything is gone. Rekt. Erased. Zero Wallet balance. So, if I have a New Year Resolution, I want to stop playing those types of games because it's too harmless on my balance and I was not able to play sports betting due to that mistake. I know it's difficult especially for a gambler that had been playing those games, we will always miss it. But, if there's no returns coming from them then I think I am better off without them.
Sports betting had been good to me this year so I believe I should stick with that.

^ Quoting from your link.

I like this, it's simpler.

Here is another news about the Bitcoin ETF.
Bitcoin ETF Approval Tipped to Be 'Sell The News' Event: CryptoQuant
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/12/28/bitcoin-etf-approval-tipped-to-be-sell-the-news-event-cryptoquant/

Nah, I don't think so.
But, the thing that they don't see is the increase in demand. If ever there's a correction I don't think it will go as far as $32k. We have been there. With an added hype and the ETF, $32k might be history. Then, they are forgetting about the halving.

They also forgot about the holders who are FOMO. They won't sell, many will do. Then the added new investors will have the same phenomena, the terrifying belief that if they sell now, they might miss the boat.
I am optimistic that Bitcoin's bottom will stick with $35k up! Better. $40k

IMO, how it is categorized now is fine. The main problem is because it's played nationally mostly. I have not seen a worldwide or international lottery yet. Gambling sites are international so it will be difficult to inject it with them.
The problem falls to the prizes that are given and I do believe something could go wrong if it's not the government who is collecting the money or giving out the prize. I have serious doubts in gambling sites when it comes to large amounts of money.
What I think should be done is the ease of betting in lotteries. Up until now, if you want to bet you need to go physically in the lottery outlet which I think is not how this era works today. Everything should be made online for ease of access.

@rdbase About the network congestion and high transaction fees. It actually divided Bitcoin supporters because there are still investors who would like to keep Bitcoin blockchain clean and I am actually one who supports that idea.
It sucks when you are a Bitcoin user, what more without those merchandise are being transacted with the use of Bitcoin? How about El Salvador? It will be difficult to say Bitcoin is really a currency if these things are happening. It will be kept as an asset like gold which I don't think is a good thing.

About those fees, here is the recent experiment of the article I bumped into and they are also blaming it to the ordinals which I believe is a fact.
https://decrypt.co/210168/bitcoin-fees-continue-to-surge-thanks-to-ordinal-mania


It's too high and it's an eyesore to see this kind of expensive fees.

Before the halving? Hmmm, yeah that seems right. I think a pump is inevitable even if the approval on January will not happen yet.
I don't believe on whatever news they are scattering all over X or other social media network. It will be approved and SEC will have no choice but to do it. They didn't won against Grayscale which is a big punch to the face and it just says how great a chance for Bitcoin ETF to be passed.

Speaking of Grayscale, here is another news about them.
Grayscale refiles Bitcoin ETF application as Barry Silbert departs
https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-bitcoin-etf-application-barry-silbert-departure

One of the tweets said that his resignation is a Christmas gift to them.  

That may be right. We will see on the upcoming updates about this.

January it is.

Because of the high expectations that Bitcoin ETF should be approved at the first month of next year, many are optimistic that it should happen. No doubts.
So I guess this is the reason why articles with results on the "what if it didn't pass?" are coming out.
But, it's Bitcoin we are talking about here. Many investors will still FOMO, and I highly doubt that they would sell their Bitcoin just because of one approval failing.
There are more dates that it could happen and I bet it will next year. I still believe that Bitcoin investors are the most patient people because they have been on ups and down of the market so a rugpull will not happen. But maybe it will in Altcoins.

Here another article about that which was recently posted.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs could ‘completely destroy’ Bitcoin: Arthur Hayes
https://cointelegraph.com/news/spot-bitcoin-etf-could-completely-destroy-bitcoin-arthur-hayes


Let's be ready because articles like this might come out more often until the day the Bitcoin ETF approval comes.

I highly doubt this could happen. Transaction fees will be their saving method to continue their work.
I hope we have a miner to help us understand these things. I lack the knowledge when it comes to mining.

Don't trust them if they don't have any originality. An obvious copy can easily be seen and if I were you, I would avoid them. This can lead to scam attempts and who knows how much money they will take especially if newbies start using them.

They are taking the easy road which means they don't really have any developer in their midst, if not, they are trying to be cheap and just copy everything from a not popular gambling site so that they won't be sued by copyright or whatever case can be filed on them.
This are the types of business which purposes are short term, most of the time to steal money by preventing cashout by using the wager requirements.

Yes, that's possible and we have seen it when PEPE was on the hype. We don't want something like that to happen in Bitcoin blockchain anymore because it might ruin it's reputation.

Trying to mimic that pet game Axie Infinity maybe? It worked out for them, but I don't think it can be repeated. Yes, according to the tweet it was made at that time, so they will be using a revived coin. Crap.

Phantom adds support for Bitcoin, Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens
I don't know if this is good news or not because somehow it invites more investors to buy Ordinals even the stupidest ones.

https://www.theblock.co/post/268707/phantom-adds-support-for-bitcoin-ordinals-and-brc-20-tokens

BlackRock, Nasdaq, SEC Met Regarding Bitcoin ETF
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/12/20/blackrock-nasdaq-sec-met-regarding-bitcoin-etf/


It seems SEC is trying all they can to make this longer and so they want more detailed information about the applied ETF. Something an elementary student would also understand.
Thankfully, BlackRock is patient enough to answer all of it and provide all the information needed so that SEC won't have any doubts anymore. Manipulation risk. BlackRock is a known investment firm so I don't think that could happen. And regarding manipulation there so many projects out there who does this kind of trick, maybe SEC should also focus on them.

This is Sports Discussion but I don't think we have such a thing in the forum. This has nothing to do with gambling at all.

You are right though. Football has grown today and many fans are watching it. I am not sure about the hereditary thing but I think it's more of a tradition thing. But there's a sad truth about football too, some countries cannot join in because they are not supported by their government and it's difficult to climb the top level if there's no field to play.

Keep it in Bitcoin as much as possible. If you can afford to buy $50 of it everytime you have the money then I think it will go far someday. It looks small today because of the recent surge of Bitcoin price but you will never know if it will happen again so in my opinion, just buy as much as you can but also keep it within your budget. Something that won't ruin your other investment or your daily needs and other types of savings.
For me, I'd rather keep it in Bitcoin than investing it in banks where the interest is slower than a turtle. 

Username: Reid
Have you placed a sports bet in the last 60 days? Yes.

If it's time to rest then even if I am at lost I will wrap it up. There's always be another day to gamble. Gambling sites will not be gone in a blink so better take care of your health first and rest as much as possible to avoid the stress that is being given by the bad habit.
I remember last month when I was trying to chase my losses and I didn't even notice the time. When I looked at it, it was already 2AM and I felt so bad that I instantly shut down my computer because that's just not right.
Being disciplined in gambling is a hard task to do, I know that. But at least keeping it in control should be our main goal to avoid getting addicted in the long run.

No, I won't blame anyone for introducing me to gambling. As a kid it became part of our lifestyle like every fun we will have there's a bet that was included so I can say it was part of growing up. It will depend on each person with how he will absorb it. Some people are too absorbed in it that they forget it's a high risk kind of game that needs some careful handling while others do think it's just an addition to their entertainment.
There are cases of addiction but like I said, it depends on an individual with how he can control it.
I don't regret knowing about gambling because it somehow improved the entertainment factor of the sports that I love. But I bet as moderate as possible so that I won't get too hooked with it.

^
January! Yes, I have high expectations that will be the time.
So, using this graph, we have 10 ETF's that have deadlines ending in mid-January. But I doubt all of them will be passed by SEC. They are not that foolish to just let it all go wild in one swoop.

After reading this one article, this is what makes me worry.
Futures will be the best crypto game in town even after a Bitcoin spot ETF
https://cointelegraph.com/news/futures-best-crypto-game-even-after-bitcoin-spot-etf
Demands will be high due to institutional money coming in, but it has to be balanced by liquidity or else we will not see a currency but more a pure asset.
When value keeps growing it will hurt those who are doing transactions every day because of the large fees, just like today.
Well, I don't want to speculate further than that yet because we have not really experienced yet how the Bitcoin ETF will affect the market. This will be a new ground for us after it is approved.