Being a Sports Fan Without Gambling

Being a Sports Fan Without Gambling

As we’re sure you’ve experienced, you can’t turn on any sporting event these days without being bombarded by gambling ads.  While each gambling advertisement may feature a different celebrity, bonus structure, or type of bet, the way that gambling on sports is positioned is always the same:

The message is that gambling enhances the overall experience.

Does it really?  For those experiencing gambling harm, the answer is no, it doesn’t.  

In this lesson we’ll unpack this idea, and see what’s really going on.

Gambling and the Fan Experience

Ads, sportscasts and pop culture deliver the narrative that sports gambling adds an extra layer of excitement to the game.  However, for someone struggling to control their gambling, betting on a game sets into motion a spiral of the behavior we’re trying to avoid.  It can also take away from the experience of enjoying the social or competitive aspects of the game.  Let’s look at an example:

An Illustrative Example: Meet Ricky

Ricky is a life-long fan of the Oakland A’s.  Despite their terrible record, Ricky can’t keep himself from placing bets on them.  He attends a game with his Dad, but unfortunately, he’s really distracted from the quality father-son time.  He keeps tuning out his Dad’s banter, getting up to pace around, and buying more beers because he feels anxious about the bets he’s placed.

Suddenly the crowd goes wild as the A’s make a great play! Ricky misses it, because he’s head down in his sportsbook app.

“Geez, son,” his Dad says. “Get your head outta that phone, you missed an absolutely seamless double play!”

Does this story sound familiar?

For Ricky, placing bets led to anxiety and stress during the game, as he worried about his bets.  The pressure to win his bets becomes a distraction, making it difficult to enjoy the game's ups and downs.  Even sadder, he wasn’t really present at the game, and missed an opportunity to spend quality time with a person he cares about.

Sports sWithout Gambling

If you don’t want to experience sports as a distracted, urge-inducing, anxiety-producing scenario, what can you do?  We have a few suggestions:

Decide that sports aren’t for you…right now.

As you attempt to craft a new relationship with gambling, you may find it’s too hard to watch or talk about sports.  It is OK to remove yourself.  This doesn’t mean that you can never watch sports again!

Tip: Be clear with people in your social network about your desire for space away. 

Try to establish a new relationship with sports, not return to your old one.

You may still feel connected to certain teams or sports, or you may be afraid to lose the social connections you maintain through sports.  If that’s the case, you can try to watch games, just take note of how it makes you feel.  If you experience unwanted feelings, step away.

Tip: Take note of what you enjoy about sports, as well as what increases your discomfort.

Find alternative activities to replace sports betting

If gambling and sports have been a form of escapism or social connection, you may feel like, what will I talk to my friends about, if not sports?  It is true that gambling can be a force for social connection, but it is not the only one.  And if you’re experiencing harm, it is definitely not the force for you.

Tip: Use Evive’s Alternative Activities suggestions to identify something different to do with friends

Let's Reflect

Recall an experience where betting enhanced your experience.  What aspects did it amplify?  Do you think you would’ve felt significantly different had you not bet?

Now what about an experience where betting detracted from your experience?  What happened?  How did you feel after the game?

Closing Thought

It’s important to be critical of the narrative being sold to us by gambling operators.  The more we dismantle the popular image of sports betting as purely an enhancement to the experience, the more we start to see how gambling really affects us.