"Americans Spend More Money Betting On Sports Than Investing In Stocks"

[Wind_FURY]

"Americans Spend More Money Betting On Sports Than Investing In Stocks"

Yes, the news you mentioned is accurate, I've read about it, America has the highest record level of income in sports betting reaching $10.92 billion, as I read in one of the sources that mentioned.

Following the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to overturn the federal ban on sports betting, states have rapidly adopted both in-person and online betting options. This shift has led to explosive growth in the industry, with the American sports betting sector reaching a record $10.92 billion in revenue in 2023, according to the American Gaming Association.

Americans Spend More Money Betting On Sports Than Investing In Stocks.

America is different from China, on the one hand, China is more likely to carry out investment activities, while American society is more dominant in sports betting. It is not surprising and doubtful that in America there are hundreds of online or physical casinos operating there, This shows that sports betting is more dominant in America than investment. I'm sure the growth of sports betting activities continues to increase there and that's something out of control.

Are you telling is that Chinese society is "more responsible"? Do you have the data to support such an assumption? Because there might not be enough data on Chinese society and gambling because probably most of them are participating in illegal gambling.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Chinese society, gambling is something that's deep-rooted in their culture. The biggest Asian gamblers probably live in mainland China and we merely don't know anything about them.

[Jawhead999]

Because modern world forces people to make quick decisions, prefer quantity over quality, short and quick has priority over everything. Imho social media can be blamed for that. We have news feeds that we scroll - get lots of short info in a short period, we have short videos in TikTok or Instagram, we prefer movie or tv-series brief description over watching them fully. Because people drawn to get more and new. That is why investment looses against few tap instant bet and finding out results quickly.

Yeah many people are obsessed with instant money due to high social expectations created in social medias. Investment looks working if you're have a lot money and can wait for at least 4-5 years in order, your money will compounding over and over. Even though Bitcoin doesn't have such kind interest, but gains can overtake the compounding interest from other assets.

[Fortify]

This popped up on one of my news feeds or somewhere on social media earlier today and was a bit taken back, to say the least.  As someone who works in finance, I'm all too aware of the lack of proper money management as well as a lack of proper investing.  I would say of my clients, your average American citizen, 90% of them are completely clueless when it comes to the most basics of proper finance.  It's pretty crazy how little people are willing to invest (both time and money ) in to their future.

As an advisor, and this topic has come up here before but this new study made me want to revisit it a little, I HIGHLY recommend not gambling if you're struggling financially.  It's one of the absolute worst things you can do.  It's also NOT a good alternative to the stock market, nor is "investing" in bitcoin (don't take my word for it, moderator, cypher punk, former bitcoin dev and one of the leading names in cryptocurrency Greg Maxwell agrees, as he had a sizable write up in a thread I made here 2-3 years ago discussing this very topic..so if you won't take it from me, maybe take it from a guy who knows more about cryptocurrency than most all of us.  I LOVE bitcoin and I love gambling, but be responsible.

Regardless here's the link to the article- https://secretnyc.co/americans-spend-more-money-on-sports-bets-than-stocks/

Here's the link to the paper/write up " Gambling Away Stability: Sports Betting's Impact on Vulnerable Households" - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4881086

This article seems to misconstrue and intentionally mislead the viewers. It actually describes falls in stock market investments, not that Americans are spending more on betting than investments. It looks intentionally engineered into a clickbait article but I highly doubt Americans are only spending $10 billion a year on investing, which is the revenue it claims that gambling companies are making. It also ignores the fact that all pensions are effectively invested in the stock market and will be making many multiples of that for the owners. As someone who claims to be involved with finance, surely you could have picked up on these obvious discrepancies?

[madnessteat]

Investing assumes that you are willing to wait several years for a profit. Investing in government bonds doesn't really yield much when you take inflation into account. Investing in stocks is riskier than investing in government bonds, but you can make good money. Cryptocurrencies are super risky investments that can bring very good money. But no one ever gives any guarantees, besides, all risks are borne only by the investor. I think many people choose gambling because they do not want to understand all this and are not ready to invest for such a long period. In addition, they see gambling not as entertainment, but as an opportunity to make a quick buck. But we know that they are mistaken.

[Findingnemo]

Because modern world forces people to make quick decisions, prefer quantity over quality, short and quick has priority over everything. Imho social media can be blamed for that. We have news feeds that we scroll - get lots of short info in a short period, we have short videos in TikTok or Instagram, we prefer movie or tv-series brief description over watching them fully. Because people drawn to get more and new. That is why investment looses against few tap instant bet and finding out results quickly.

Yeah many people are obsessed with instant money due to high social expectations created in social medias. Investment looks working if you're have a lot money and can wait for at least 4-5 years in order, your money will compounding over and over. Even though Bitcoin doesn't have such kind interest, but gains can overtake the compounding interest from other assets.

It's not just instant money we need everything instantly, if you want an appliance now you can just pay a small amount and pay the remaining instalments, we don't even have the patience to watch long videos that's why tiktoks, and youtube shorts are getting more vies than 5-10 mins videos on average.

It looks like people don't have time but in reality they have a lot but they are spending them on wrong place instead of where to focus.

[wiss19]

I LOVE bitcoin and I love gambling, but be responsible.

Still people treat these two similarly? Bitcoin has been recognized almost equal to gold. After ETF, I am seeing significant percent of bitcoin investments in smart people's portfolio. It means nowadays you may invest in bitcoin like another stock or gold, subject your risk appetite. But, gambling is different and it is definite injurious in all means.

There is a kind of classification worldwide like 'spending economy' and 'saving economy'. USA falls into spending economy and such people will never find differences between bitcoin and gambling which means they may use bitcoin for gambling like believing that bitcoin was created for that purposes.

In saving economy, I again think that people will never treat gambling and bitcoin for same agenda.

[Insanity]

Investing assumes that you are willing to wait several years for a profit. Investing in government bonds doesn't really yield much when you take inflation into account. Investing in stocks is riskier than investing in government bonds, but you can make good money. Cryptocurrencies are super risky investments that can bring very good money. But no one ever gives any guarantees, besides, all risks are borne only by the investor. I think many people choose gambling because they do not want to understand all this and are not ready to invest for such a long period. In addition, they see gambling not as entertainment, but as an opportunity to make a quick buck. But we know that they are mistaken.

You have made a reasonable point, from my small knowledge here I would like to say that one should gravitate towards investing rather than gambling to earn more money. Because gambling is not seen well by any person in the society. There are people around us who are addicted to gambling and have destroyed all their money. As far as I know very few people are successful in gambling. Gambling is more about losing than winning. Although there is some risk involved in investing, I still think it's better to invest aggressively

[mirakal]

Investing assumes that you are willing to wait several years for a profit. Investing in government bonds doesn't really yield much when you take inflation into account. Investing in stocks is riskier than investing in government bonds, but you can make good money. Cryptocurrencies are super risky investments that can bring very good money. But no one ever gives any guarantees, besides, all risks are borne only by the investor. I think many people choose gambling because they do not want to understand all this and are not ready to invest for such a long period. In addition, they see gambling not as entertainment, but as an opportunity to make a quick buck. But we know that they are mistaken.

I see your point. Investing may take a longer time to see your returns, while if you get lucky with gambling, you will gain instant profits more than your investment is capable to give. However, we all know gamblers aren’t lucky the whole time and so losing is highly inevitable. So if these people do gamble only with their spare money, there’s nothing wrong with it, at least they come to enjoy both, investing and gambling without putting too much pressures on theirselves.

[shinratensei_]

Investing assumes that you are willing to wait several years for a profit. Investing in government bonds doesn't really yield much when you take inflation into account. Investing in stocks is riskier than investing in government bonds, but you can make good money. Cryptocurrencies are super risky investments that can bring very good money. But no one ever gives any guarantees, besides, all risks are borne only by the investor. I think many people choose gambling because they do not want to understand all this and are not ready to invest for such a long period. In addition, they see gambling not as entertainment, but as an opportunity to make a quick buck. But we know that they are mistaken.

Americans (mostly younger) are choosing to gamble on sports betting rather than invest in the equity market. They know that investing in the stock market is like gambling. But, it gives you long-term returns. So, they're choosing the simplest way to gamble on sportbook. It's sometimes gives you a decent return on your money in a short time.

Those youngers aren’t too concerned with long-term investments. They're seeing stock as pretty much the same as gambling, but it's in a legal way. Also, the trend of doom spending among these youngers makes it even worst.

[Jody.Drummer]

Investing assumes that you are willing to wait several years for a profit. Investing in government bonds doesn't really yield much when you take inflation into account. Investing in stocks is riskier than investing in government bonds, but you can make good money. Cryptocurrencies are super risky investments that can bring very good money. But no one ever gives any guarantees, besides, all risks are borne only by the investor. I think many people choose gambling because they do not want to understand all this and are not ready to invest for such a long period. In addition, they see gambling not as entertainment, but as an opportunity to make a quick buck. But we know that they are mistaken.

Americans (mostly younger) are choosing to gamble on sports betting rather than invest in the equity market. They know that investing in the stock market is like gambling. But, it gives you long-term returns. So, they're choosing the simplest way to gamble on sportbook. It's sometimes gives you a decent return on your money in a short time.

Those youngers aren’t too concerned with long-term investments. They're seeing stock as pretty much the same as gambling, but it's in a legal way. Also, the trend of doom spending among these youngers makes it even worst.

Some young people who gamble must have benefited from the winnings they got and I think this can influence other friends where maybe other friends can think that they can also benefit from winning in gambling, therefore young people prefer gambling that seems easy and fast in its benefits. In fact, I think it's not only young people but also some people who may be old have had thoughts like this. I agree with you, indeed the younger generation tends not to be too interested and care about investment, because most likely they only want things that are instant and gambling is one of the things they choose. Now if examined more deeply by asking them whether they gamble or not, I'm sure most young people definitely do it.

[laijsica]

Investing assumes that you are willing to wait several years for a profit. Investing in government bonds doesn't really yield much when you take inflation into account. Investing in stocks is riskier than investing in government bonds, but you can make good money. Cryptocurrencies are super risky investments that can bring very good money. But no one ever gives any guarantees, besides, all risks are borne only by the investor. I think many people choose gambling because they do not want to understand all this and are not ready to invest for such a long period. In addition, they see gambling not as entertainment, but as an opportunity to make a quick buck. But we know that they are mistaken.

You have made a reasonable point, from my small knowledge here I would like to say that one should gravitate towards investing rather than gambling to earn more money. Because gambling is not seen well by any person in the society. There are people around us who are addicted to gambling and have destroyed all their money. As far as I know very few people are successful in gambling. Gambling is more about losing than winning. Although there is some risk involved in investing, I still think it's better to invest aggressively

Yes making money through investing is more important than making money through gambling but I think we should look at these two mediums separately. Short term investment is very risky which many compare to gambling but people invest only to get profit. There are many people in the world who consider gambling not only as a means of making money but also as a means of entertainment. The reason gambling is frowned upon in society is that many people become addicted to it and it creates social disruption, but if you can manage it in an orderly manner and with the money allocated, it can be positive.

However, it can be concluded that gambling and investment should be considered separately because investment is a relatively reliable means of earning money, on the other hand gambling is an uncertain means of earning money and gambling should be considered as one of the means of entertainment.

[FortuneFollower]

Investing assumes that you are willing to wait several years for a profit. Investing in government bonds doesn't really yield much when you take inflation into account. Investing in stocks is riskier than investing in government bonds, but you can make good money. Cryptocurrencies are super risky investments that can bring very good money. But no one ever gives any guarantees, besides, all risks are borne only by the investor. I think many people choose gambling because they do not want to understand all this and are not ready to invest for such a long period. In addition, they see gambling not as entertainment, but as an opportunity to make a quick buck. But we know that they are mistaken.

Americans (mostly younger) are choosing to gamble on sports betting rather than invest in the equity market. They know that investing in the stock market is like gambling. But, it gives you long-term returns. So, they're choosing the simplest way to gamble on sportbook. It's sometimes gives you a decent return on your money in a short time.

Those youngers aren’t too concerned with long-term investments. They're seeing stock as pretty much the same as gambling, but it's in a legal way. Also, the trend of doom spending among these youngers makes it even worst.

You can invest S&P 500 (SPX) and see it grow in the long term, but you are right - most people choose the thrill of gambling, the one which is understandable for them and is short-term, so to speak.
It's the truth.

[Crypt0Gore]

The thrill of gambling is like taking cocaine.

Once you have a taste you won't mind ending up in the street, I guess this is the American dream these days, crazy people living in Las Vegas, spending all they in the casinos just to hit the jackpot and never work again.

Things don't work this way, you will never know what's in store for you, to find out how lucky you may get you need a solid foundation, whether you are a gambler or an investor wannabe, you need to put them aside first and set up your life, make money the hard way and build yourself some solid income stream.

From here on you can start to use part of the money you make from your income stream to invest in crypto, stocks, or casinos, your income stream is what will keep you going if something bad happens, you can easily start all over again because you have income streams.

Nothing else matters, your income stream comes first before any investment or taking risks on gambling.

[davis196]

Decades ago, many people in my country were thinking that the Americans know how to make money and grow their wealth. 
That was a dumb lie. Most Americans are as dumb and financially uneducated as the rest of the world. Most people around the world have debt and are living paycheck to paycheck, the majority of the American nation is no different. I'm also convinced that that gamblers are usually the most financially uneducated and low IQ demographic. I can assume that this is a result of the collapse of public education systems in the developed world. 90% of the people don't know how to invest their money properly, so they just start spending money at the casino/bookmaker.

[bakasabo]

Investing assumes that you are willing to wait several years for a profit. Investing in government bonds doesn't really yield much when you take inflation into account. Investing in stocks is riskier than investing in government bonds, but you can make good money. Cryptocurrencies are super risky investments that can bring very good money. But no one ever gives any guarantees, besides, all risks are borne only by the investor. I think many people choose gambling because they do not want to understand all this and are not ready to invest for such a long period. In addition, they see gambling not as entertainment, but as an opportunity to make a quick buck. But we know that they are mistaken.

Americans (mostly younger) are choosing to gamble on sports betting rather than invest in the equity market. They know that investing in the stock market is like gambling. But, it gives you long-term returns. So, they're choosing the simplest way to gamble on sportbook. It's sometimes gives you a decent return on your money in a short time.

Those youngers aren’t too concerned with long-term investments. They're seeing stock as pretty much the same as gambling, but it's in a legal way. Also, the trend of doom spending among these youngers makes it even worst.

I would say that they would investment in stock also, if the whole process will take them few clicks. I dont think that to start investing, you just need to open first link in google, register and deposit within a minute, and you are ready to go. A person must find a broke, analyze asset (even though when placing a bet some analysis also needs to be done, but it is very simplified), go to bank account (is it possible to invest by using a credit card? I dont think so). I.e. whole process from start to end take a lot of time, when on the other part of scales we have few clicks only.

[Adbitco]

Investing assumes that you are willing to wait several years for a profit. Investing in government bonds doesn't really yield much when you take inflation into account. Investing in stocks is riskier than investing in government bonds, but you can make good money. Cryptocurrencies are super risky investments that can bring very good money. But no one ever gives any guarantees, besides, all risks are borne only by the investor. I think many people choose gambling because they do not want to understand all this and are not ready to invest for such a long period. In addition, they see gambling not as entertainment, but as an opportunity to make a quick buck. But we know that they are mistaken.

Americans (mostly younger) are choosing to gamble on sports betting rather than invest in the equity market. They know that investing in the stock market is like gambling. But, it gives you long-term returns. So, they're choosing the simplest way to gamble on sportbook. It's sometimes gives you a decent return on your money in a short time.

Those youngers aren’t too concerned with long-term investments. They're seeing stock as pretty much the same as gambling, but it's in a legal way. Also, the trend of doom spending among these youngers makes it even worst.

I would say that they would investment in stock also, if the whole process will take them few clicks. I dont think that to start investing, you just need to open first link in google, register and deposit within a minute, and you are ready to go. A person must find a broke, analyze asset (even though when placing a bet some analysis also needs to be done, but it is very simplified), go to bank account (is it possible to invest by using a credit card? I dont think so). I.e. whole process from start to end take a lot of time, when on the other part of scales we have few clicks only.

You know one thing about gambling is that it's very easy and simple to gamble especially when it comes to online be it local gambling shops it's very easy to go with than the rest and, most young people thinks  gambling is the quickest way to make money without knowing that is another way to easily lose money if not carefully followed. Of course there are people who are making waves through gambling and they are earning and aiming big from game the thing is everyone luck must not be the same in gambling and, when luck is far from the gambler he would keep gambling and losing without even winning for one single day.

[passwordnow]

However, it can be concluded that gambling and investment should be considered separately because investment is a relatively reliable means of earning money, on the other hand gambling is an uncertain means of earning money and gambling should be considered as one of the means of entertainment.

The problem with the generation today is that they're concluding that gambling is also something compared to investment. But that's off with the comparison because gambling will never be an investment not unless, you're someone that invests on these casinos like what they have for giving those dividends and returns. I think with that narrative, we can say that gambling certainly is a good investment for that person. However if it's the actual gambling activity, we would all agree that it's not really what it is.

And to those that are relying to their type of living and they'd say that life is a gamble so why not gamble? They probably have given up on this life even if the opportunities are knocking on their doors, they're ignoring it. There is more to do not only to gamble and to invest but to enjoy every cent that you're earning whether it's from your salary, from investment profits, from gambling or whatsoever. You only need to find yourself comfortable with the things that you do and as long as it's legal and you're not troubling other people's lives.

[Hatchy]

You have made a reasonable point, from my small knowledge here I would like to say that one should gravitate towards investing rather than gambling to earn more money. Because gambling is not seen well by any person in the society. There are people around us who are addicted to gambling and have destroyed all their money. As far as I know very few people are successful in gambling. Gambling is more about losing than winning. Although there is some risk involved in investing, I still think it's better to invest aggressively

Both can make one rich on then long term but then investing is much more advicible. The reason why most people fails to see how investment is better is because the want to make a quick profit and enjoy their fortunes. Building wealth takes time and experience. It doesn't actually matter how you do it, but if you are able to build your wealth, you become a master at what you do. I've heard of lot of people who made it through gambling and some others who got ruin because of gambling. Investment also has its own risk that why you have to find what best works for you., you don have to follow the crowd

[knowngunman]

You can invest S&P 500 (SPX) and see it grow in the long term, but you are right - most people choose the thrill of gambling, the one which is understandable for them and is short-term, so to speak.
It's the truth.

Emphasis on the long-term , how long are you going to wait to take your profit? That's where the problem lies. You can not just assume to have invested in a certain stock without certainty of when your profit is due to harvest while you have a similar way that gives results in a blink of eyes. Patience and risk are the two things to take note here. Investing in stocks requires a lot of patience for as long as possible but the risk is very less. The recent generation choose to risk over patience not only in America but almost every part of the world. Gambling is easily accessible and can transform your life from nothing to something if you hit the jackpot. On the other side, you can also fall from hero to zero if care is not taken.

[bakasabo]

You know one thing about gambling is that it's very easy and simple to gamble especially when it comes to online be it local gambling shops it's very easy to go with than the rest and, most young people thinks  gambling is the quickest way to make money without knowing that is another way to easily lose money if not carefully followed. Of course there are people who are making waves through gambling and they are earning and aiming big from game the thing is everyone luck must not be the same in gambling and, when luck is far from the gambler he would keep gambling and losing without even winning for one single day.

When you have written young people, I remembered that at my youth it was popular, modern and you looked cool if you say that you play poker. Does not matter if you go to offline poker tournaments, play online or offline among friends - if you play poker, you are cool. I think the same thing goes with gambling and youth today. If you say you gamble, people might think that you are cool and rich, because you can allow yourself to spend (or probably lose) money on it. But if you say that you are an investor, some might even start to smile and laugh, because you are acting like a successful adult with a large yacht.

People measure success by the way you look and accessories you have. If you say that you are an investor, they might ask where is your huge house with pool, yacht, private jet and etc. People might think you are a liar. But if you say you gamble, and show latest mobile, dress in branded clothes, have a golden chain. People want to be like you. That is why today being a gamblers means be cool.