WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:05.879 Thank you to our executive producers, Sundean and Aaron. It's 2 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:12.759 getting dark Outside. 3 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:16.559 Tapes from the Dark Side contains descriptions of violence and sexuality. 4 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:19.920 Listener discretion is advised. 5 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:33.359 Fan Duel, DraftKings Bet, MGM, Caesar's Fanatics, Fliff Bet three 6 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:38.439 six y five Underdog, and the Score Bet. Between March 7 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:42.920 twenty ninth and April seventh, I deposited money into nine 8 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:48.039 different sports betting apps. I place bets on baseball, basketball, 9 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:51.200 even hockey. I place bets at three in the morning. 10 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:54.799 I place bets on my lunch break. I placed bets. 11 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:58.560 I don't even remember placing. And here's the part that 12 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:01.320 makes the story different for the one you might think 13 00:01:01.399 --> 00:01:03.679 you're hearing. I was winning. 14 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:16.560 I think everyone has a bit of a fascination with 15 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:17.799 the dark side. 16 00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:22.680 I myself always loved the dark side as well. 17 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:26.879 I think it's something that everyone secretly longs for in walks. 18 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:34.040 The people of this community community need us, and the 19 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:37.239 people with this community wants They want the good ones, 20 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:39.000 and we're going to be the good ones. 21 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:53.079 The dark side. 22 00:01:48.400 --> 00:02:01.000 The day after Yukon beat Duke, I woke up and 23 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:04.719 did something that felt completely rational at the time. I 24 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:07.840 signed up for five more apps. I only know this 25 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:11.120 because I went back through my bank statements for this series. 26 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:16.080 Transaction by transaction. Here's what March thirtieth looked like in 27 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:21.439 my Wells Fargo checking account DraftKings five dollars deposit. That 28 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:24.639 was the minimum to activate their sign up bonus. You 29 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:27.199 put in five and they give you two hundred in 30 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:30.719 bonus bets. I remember thinking that's a forty to one 31 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:35.039 return before I even pick a team. Bet MGM three 32 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:39.319 separate deposits ten dollars, then one hundred, then twenty five, 33 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.039 Each one unlocked a different promotional tier. The app walked 34 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:48.639 me through it, deposit this much, get this bonus, deposit more, 35 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:51.680 get a bigger one one hundred and thirty five dollars 36 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:54.800 in real money, one hundreds more in bonus bets waiting 37 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:58.879 for me. Fanatics one hundred dollars, then another one hundred, 38 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:03.319 BET three six five ten dollars, just enough to activate 39 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:07.800 the three hundred and sixty five dollars bonus, Caesar's two 40 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:12.520 hundred and fifty one dollars, and another four hundred FanDuel 41 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:15.639 on top of what was already in there. Five new 42 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:20.120 apps plus additional deposits into my existing FanDuel account, all 43 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:23.960 in one day. That was over eleven hundred dollars, leaving 44 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.080 my checking account before dinnertime, and every app I opened 45 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:31.400 had a little pile of free bets waiting for me, 46 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:37.400 like chocolates on a hotel pillow. The next day, March thirty, first, 47 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:41.039 I signed up for the score Bet five hundred dollars deposit, 48 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:44.840 then another five hundred, one thousand dollars to an app 49 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:47.919 I had never heard of twenty four hours earlier. I 50 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.680 put another three hundred into DraftKings and another four hundred 51 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:56.439 and twenty five into bet MGM. Then April First, Bet 52 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:59.719 three sixty five again, two hundred and seventy nine dollars, 53 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:04.599 this time on my credit card. Yes, I know, only 54 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:07.719 a fucking idiot would fund their fan Duel account with 55 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:11.400 a credit card. I wouldn't discover this until days later, 56 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:16.680 but Wells Fargo charged me a fee on this transaction. Now, 57 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:19.199 there was no warning in the app that using a 58 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:21.759 credit card would trigger such a fee. Should I have 59 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:26.920 known better? Probably, Yet the reality was the bank charged 60 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:31.160 me a thirteen dollars a ninety five cent cash advanced fee. 61 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:37.439 Wells Fargo like all banks, classify gambling deposits as cash advances, 62 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:42.879 higher fee, higher interest rate, and the interest starts accruing immediately. 63 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:46.839 There is no grace period. Most apps don't even let 64 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:50.360 you deposit with a credit card. Almost every other app 65 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:53.920 I used Apple Pay tied to my debit card. But 66 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:57.519 when I saw Bet three six' five had a credit card, 67 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:01.040 OPTION i, thought why not get some reward points While 68 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:04.079 i'm at. It that's the kind of logic that makes 69 00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:07.839 perfect sense at the time and sounds Looney. Tunes three weeks, 70 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:11.879 later NOW i realized WHAT i was actually, doing which 71 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:14.879 was training my brain to believe that funding bets with 72 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.959 a credit card was a viable. Option it was as 73 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:21.120 easy as tapping a, screen and in the future it 74 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:23.800 would be oh so much easier to reach for the 75 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:27.040 credit card, if, say the bank account was running a little. 76 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:31.959 Dry two days, Later april, third another credit card deposit 77 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:35.959 twenty five dollars to the, score, bet another ten dollars 78 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:39.959 cash advance fee twenty three. Dollars in ninety five cents 79 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:43.680 in total fees across two, deposits not a lot of, 80 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:46.360 money but the bank was sending me a SIGNAL i 81 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:50.800 wouldn't understand until much. LATER i was now using two 82 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:54.639 different funding sources to feed nine different, apps and then 83 00:05:54.959 --> 00:06:01.279 On april, second the stakes were. Upped underdog two thousand dollars, 84 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:05.439 deposit the largest single DEPOSIT i made during the entire ten, 85 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:10.160 days two thousand dollars in one transaction to an App 86 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:13.720 i'd had for less than a. Day here's what The 87 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:18.279 underdog promo looked like on the. Surface deposit two thousand 88 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:22.759 dollars and get a thousand dollars bonus fifty percent. Match 89 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:26.120 here's what was buried in the terms of service THAT 90 00:06:26.199 --> 00:06:29.519 i didn't read until about an hour. Later the thousand 91 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:34.160 dollars bonus could only be played through on, parlays not straight, 92 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:39.399 bets not money, lines parlays, only and the original two 93 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:43.279 thousand dollars deposit also had playthrough requirements BEFORE i could 94 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:47.920 withdraw any of. IT i was locked. In WHEN i first, 95 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:51.879 STARTED i was mostly picking high odd two leg parlays 96 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:55.120 that would be more likely to. HIT i just wanted 97 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:57.720 to churn a couple hundred from the bonus money without 98 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:01.720 thinking too. Hard but NOW i see WHAT i was actually, 99 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:05.040 doing which was priming my brain to see parlays as 100 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:09.240 yet another viable option for making, money and after hitting 101 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:11.759 it big on a dozen of, them my confidence in 102 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:15.560 this area started to grow. Too if you haven't bet, 103 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:19.319 before a parlay is when you chain multiple bets together 104 00:07:19.399 --> 00:07:22.639 into one. Ticket say you pick The brewers to win 105 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:26.360 and the over on run totals and a player to 106 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:29.519 hit a home. Run all three legs have to hit 107 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:33.639 or the whole ticket. Loses the payout multiplies because the odds. 108 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:37.560 Stack say a five leg parlay on a ten dollars 109 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:41.360 bet can pay, hundreds if not, thousands of, dollars but 110 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:45.920 the math is. BRUTAL a straight bet against the spread 111 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:49.160 and you win roughly half the. Time a five leg 112 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:53.519 parlay you win maybe three percent of the. Time the 113 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:57.319 sportsbook's cut jumps from around five percent on a money 114 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.560 line to over twenty percent on same game. Parlays by 115 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:05.839 restricting The underdog bonus to parlay, only the company guaranteed 116 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:09.000 that most of that thousand dollars would eventually come back to. 117 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:14.199 Them the, promo like all, promos wasn't a. Gift it 118 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.800 was a. Primer one more thing About underdog is that 119 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:21.879 it isn't a traditional sports. Book neither Is, fliff WHICH 120 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:27.199 i also used both operate in legal gray Areas underdog 121 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:31.399 runs under Daily fantasy sports. Licensing in states where sports 122 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.600 betting isn't, legal they call their parlay style bets pick them. 123 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:41.039 Contests as For, fliff they operate as a sweepstakes platform 124 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:46.200 using virtual currency that can be redeemed for cash, loopholes 125 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:49.879 and that's what these apps are built. ON i didn't 126 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:52.240 know any of this WHEN i signed. UP i just 127 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:56.080 knew the promos looked. Generous at the end of those 128 00:08:56.200 --> 00:08:59.759 two to three, DAYS i had every sports betting app 129 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:04.240 could legally download in the state Of North. Carolina that's 130 00:09:04.279 --> 00:09:07.480 what acceleration looks like from the inside of a checking. 131 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:11.080 Account it doesn't climb in a straight line and holds 132 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:15.120 steady and then. Jumps one, day you're putting in one hundred. 133 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.360 Dollars three days, later you're putting in two, thousand and 134 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:21.399 you don't feel the jump because each step had a, 135 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:26.320 reason a, promo to claim a, bonus to unlock a, 136 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:29.960 system to, execute and to be honest with, you the 137 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:33.840 deposits weren't the part that kept me. Going the withdrawals 138 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:38.320 were not the kind of withdrawals usually associated with. Addiction 139 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:43.879 i'm talking cash withdraws On april first three days IN 140 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:46.679 i pulled twenty four hundred dollars out of the score 141 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:50.799 bed back into my checking. ACCOUNT i deposited one, thousand 142 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:55.039 fourteen hundred dollars profit on one, app and three days 143 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:59.720 and eight other apps were also. Running that withdrawal didn't 144 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:03.279 feel like a, warning felt like. PROOF i had a. 145 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:08.360 Plan FanDuel's three hundred dollars bet reset token promotion ran 146 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:12.399 for ten days, straight ten, tokens ten days of, bets 147 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:16.559 SO i decided to play it all the way through day. 148 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:27.320 ELEVEN i uninstall, everything cash, out and walk. Away if 149 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:31.559 you haven't used sports betting, apps the promos sound, interchangeable 150 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:36.120 and they're not. EXACTLY a deposit bonus is the money 151 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:39.279 you put in and the app matches. It you deposit 152 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:42.120 one hundred and they give you another hundred and bonus. 153 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:45.919 BETS a profit boost means you make a bet and 154 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:48.759 the app pays out more than the odds normally would 155 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:53.080 allow free upside paid for it by the house odds 156 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:56.600 boost same kind of. Deal the app takes a specific 157 00:10:56.679 --> 00:11:01.039 bet and temporarily improves the. Odds and then there's the 158 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:04.320 one that got me through the. Door the bet, reset 159 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:09.159 sometimes called a second chance, bet sometimes called a No sweat. 160 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.960 Bet here's how it. Works you place a bet with 161 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:17.559 your own, money real. Money if you win. Great if you, 162 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:20.840 lose the app gives you an amount, back not as, 163 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:25.519 cash but as bonus, bets non withdrawable credits that expire 164 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:28.759 in seven to fourteen. Days if you win with those, 165 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:31.919 credits the app keeps the original steake amount and only 166 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:34.919 pays out the. Profit so a three hundred dollars risk 167 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:38.159 free bet at even odds is not exactly worth three 168 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:41.440 hundred dollars if you lose and get the bonus bet. 169 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:45.320 Back that bonus converts to real cash as roughly sixty 170 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:48.159 to seventy cents on the dollar if you play it. 171 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:53.320 Perfectly most people. Don't the term risk free got so 172 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:58.559 misleading that The American Gaming association band member companies from 173 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:01.559 using it as Of JULY, ti twenty twenty, three and 174 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:05.679 that's why the apps rebranded it To No sweat and second. 175 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:11.159 Chance the mechanics didn't, change just the. Label all three 176 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:14.720 types of promos hit your inbox at different rates depending 177 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:17.679 on how the app reads your. BEHAVIOR i THOUGHT i 178 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:20.159 was choosing which apps to bet on based on which 179 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:24.000 ones had the best? Promos what was actually. Happening the 180 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:28.200 apps that liked my behavior kept feeding me. Promos the 181 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:33.720 apps that didn't. STOPPED i wasn't picking, them they were picking. 182 00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:39.960 Me by day, FIVE i was almost exclusively using Fan, Duel, DraftKings, 183 00:12:40.039 --> 00:12:43.480 fanatics And caesar's because those were the ones that were 184 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:47.159 sending me. Offers bet three six' five had, Gone quiet 185 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:50.879 fliff had. GONE quiet i drifted away. FROM them i 186 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:54.679 thought that was. My decision my phone changed during that 187 00:12:54.799 --> 00:13:00.440 Week before march. Twenty ninth my home screen had the usual, Stuff, Messages. 188 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:06.600 Instagram spotify after, the flood there were nine, new icons, 189 00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:12.639 Bright colors DraftKings, IN green, Fandul, BLUE Bet, mgm gold 190 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:17.000 each one with a, notification badge each one sending. Push 191 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:21.519 alerts your bonus bet is waiting tonight's, odd boost you 192 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:25.960 have free bets. Expiring soon, nine apps all competing for 193 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:30.519 the same, real estate all whispering the. Same thing. Open 194 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:34.600 me my phone had become a. SLOT machine i was 195 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:38.039 carrying it in my pocket sixteen hours. A day i 196 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:41.720 was sleeping with it on my nightstand or, more accurately under, 197 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:44.759 my pillow and EVERY time i picked, it up nine 198 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:48.320 sports books were fighting for. The rights you take. My money. 199 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:53.840 We'll be right back after a. Quick break if you 200 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:56.559 want to skip the ads and support, the show you 201 00:13:56.600 --> 00:14:00.240 can do so at patreon. Dot Com slash tape From The. 202 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:12.519 DARK side i usually don't discuss THE work i do outside, 203 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:16.960 this podcast but today that's going. TO change i work 204 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:20.759 second shift at a drug and alcohol rehab center as a. 205 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:24.080 Clinical aid there was a client who came through during 206 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:26.919 that TIME who i took a liking to talk, about, 207 00:14:26.919 --> 00:14:32.320 philosophy recovery. Anything really and this guy used to trade options. 208 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:37.799 Full time he, was smart, understood markets. Probability risk he 209 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:40.720 was THE one i celebrated With when yukon hit that. 210 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:44.840 Buzzer beater we jumped up from the couch. High fived 211 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:48.080 i'd shown him the bet and he'd seen. The payout 212 00:14:48.919 --> 00:14:51.799 one day during, a shift we were talking about the 213 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:56.720 betting apps and he said, three words viable. SIDE gig 214 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:02.759 i immediately shrugged. Him off. I'm out but that's all. 215 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:05.840 It took once someone says it, out loud the thing 216 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:09.679 you've been whispering to yourself starts to. COME real i 217 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:12.879 laughed off. The idea i'm not. AN idiot i know 218 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:16.519 gambling is obviously never going to pay. The bills but 219 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:19.519 that thing in the crawl space doesn't need you to 220 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.799 believe it. Right away it just needs you to not 221 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:27.559 close the. DOOR entirely i, started THINKING if i could 222 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:30.120 make an extra two to three hundred dollars, a night 223 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:33.039 a couple hours, OF work i could just do the 224 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:36.039 podcast thing full time and bed a little on. THE 225 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:41.159 side i subconsciously began to entertain this belief while knowing 226 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:45.559 INTELLECTUALLY everything i told you last episode about dopamine and 227 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:50.320 cross addiction AND the. Dsm five but knowledge doesn't. Protect 228 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:55.480 you knowing the science doesn't. Protect you understanding the math doesn't. 229 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:59.120 Protect you the thing in the crawl space doesn't care what. 230 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:03.519 You know it cares how. You feel AND what i felt, was, 231 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:08.080 competent special like the promos might make an addict out, 232 00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:09.080 of others but. 233 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:09.480 Not me. 234 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:14.960 In nineteen, seventy five a Psychologist Named ellen langer ran 235 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:19.320 an Experiment. At yale she gave office workers. Lottery tickets 236 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:22.679 half got to pick their, own ticket half were handed one. 237 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:26.720 At random before, the drawing she asked what price they'd 238 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:30.720 Sell for the people who chose their own ticket demanded 239 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:34.600 nearly four and a half times, more money, same lottery, 240 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:38.679 same odds but the act of choosing made people believe 241 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:44.120 they had influence over a purely. Random outcome langer called 242 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:48.279 it the illusion. Of control sports betting triggers it harder 243 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:52.080 than almost any other form. Of gambling you're not pulling a. 244 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:57.720 Slot lever, you're researching you're, analyzing matchups you're. Watching film 245 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:02.279 you have. A system a two thousand and four study 246 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:06.960 followed thirty expert hockey betters across a. Full season their 247 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:11.240 actual returns were no better than. Random picks the sportsbook's 248 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:15.880 margin wiped out every bit of. Their expertise the, researcher's 249 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:20.799 conclusion the skills sports betters believe they have are. COGNITIVE 250 00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:25.759 distortions i had, A system i had, A spreadsheet i 251 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.319 had an options trader TELLING me i was good, at 252 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:32.079 THIS and i had nine apps in my pocket confirming. 253 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:38.039 The illusion the dopamine high from winning a bet. IS 254 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:42.359 real i told you about it. Last episode the, mesolymbic PATHWAY, 255 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:46.000 the vta the, nucleus occumbents all. Of IT but i 256 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:48.680 need to be honest about the scale. Of it the 257 00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:51.599 high of winning a bet for me was nothing like 258 00:17:51.640 --> 00:17:55.519 the high. Of alcohol it was nothing. Like oxycodone those 259 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:59.200 were my drugs, of choice or maybe, more accurately drugs of. 260 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:02.799 No choice the FIRST time i took a, real drink 261 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:05.920 the FIRST time i took an oxy my whole body 262 00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:09.000 lit up in a way that gambling never came close. 263 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:14.240 To matching gambling wasn't bigger than my. Old highs it, was, smaller, 264 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:18.599 Quieter duller and that might actually be what makes it 265 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:22.799 all the. More cunning somewhere around day four, OR five i. 266 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:26.319 WAS exhausted i was not. SLEEPING well i was checking 267 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:29.759 odds through my. Work day the rush of each individual 268 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:33.519 wind had. FLATTENED out, i knew on a very, CONSCIOUS 269 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:37.319 level i was not enjoying, this ANYMORE and i still 270 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:42.240 ended UP where i ended up on. Day eleven the 271 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:46.200 flood that hit me didn't come out. Of nowhere somebody built. 272 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:49.759 The river somebody spent a lot of money. Building it 273 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:55.079 in twenty, Twenty, Four DraftKings, fan duel AND bet mgm 274 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:58.599 spend it combined three hundred and fourteen million dollars on 275 00:18:58.680 --> 00:19:04.000 television advertising in a. Single Year john ham's done A Commercial. 276 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:07.240 You'll Never forget BET Him, Gm sportsbook make It Legendary. 277 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:08.960 Lebron james i'm to. 278 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:11.359 Take it to the House, with DraftKings, new customers bet, 279 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:12.119 five bucks get. 280 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:15.279 Three Hundred, Kevin, Hart Yeah kevin hart. SPORTS books i respect, The. 281 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:19.279 Hustle DraftKings Respect jamie fox, in here. 282 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:21.480 Bet him GM's got all the sports betting. 283 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:24.720 And One, Tom Brady, vince Vaughn And wayne gretzky did. 284 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:25.880 One TOGETHER em. 285 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:28.440 Jm is for everyone that loves, sports betting Everyone But. 286 00:19:28.599 --> 00:19:30.160 Tom, brady wait WHAT did? 287 00:19:30.200 --> 00:19:33.839 I DO and i think there's been a. Couple Others, 288 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:39.119 Charles barkley, Shaquille O'Neill, Derek Jeter, Barry sanders Peyton And, 289 00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:43.680 Eli Manning, Vanessa Hudgens, Kevin Garnett, Jalen Rose, Marshawn Lynch, 290 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:48.160 David Artiz, Tony Hawk, Kendall, Jenner Ludacris, RYAN. Seacrest, Jb Smooth, 291 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:52.119 Patton Oswald, Gordon Ramsay, Halle Berry, Rob Gronkouncy, Luis, Kusman 292 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:56.480 Olivia Don, Drew Brees Jerome, Bettis Drake, Neil, Patrick Harris Christian, Ronaldo, 293 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:02.160 Namer Junior, Paris Hill, Nicki, minajen Yes the undertaker that. 294 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:07.640 Doesn't count digital social media, podcast sponsorships, stadium signage or. 295 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:12.599 Influencer deals these are not. Informational ads they're not explaining. 296 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:18.119 A product they're associating gambling, with, laughter, status competition. And 297 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:23.319 friendship they're embedding sportsbook apps into the emotional fabric of, 298 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:27.759 watching sports so that opening DraftKings feels as natural as 299 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:32.279 checking the Score During, march MADNESS while i was downloading, 300 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:37.920 nine APPS every ncaa tournament broadcast had sportsbook ads running. 301 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:41.920 During timeouts every SPORTS podcast i listened to opened with 302 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:45.480 a promo Code Read my instagram feed was serving me 303 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:49.440 targeted draftking ads because my Phone knew i'd visited. Their 304 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:54.440 websites ESPN's scoreboard app had a bet button built into the. 305 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:57.799 Game page you couldn't check a score box without. Seeing 306 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:02.759 odds it was everywhere woven into the experience of being 307 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:06.559 a sports fan so thoroughly that not betting started to 308 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:09.559 feel like the, weird CHOICE like i was the only 309 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:13.640 person at the party without. A Drink in december twenty, 310 00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:17.799 twenty Four The United States Senate judiciary committee held a 311 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:22.759 hearing on legalized. Sports Gambling Senator dick durbin opened with 312 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:24.240 this with. 313 00:21:24.279 --> 00:21:27.599 The advent of online, sports betting everyone's cell phone is a. 314 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:32.880 Sports book LAST night i went to. A reception A 315 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:35.000 fella i didn't know came up to me, and said 316 00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:38.599 thanks for having. This HEARING and, i said what's your interest? 317 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:38.720 In? 318 00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:42.759 It said my son's at An ivy. League school he bets, 319 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:46.720 every day and his fellow students. Do too it has 320 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:51.480 become so common they aren't even think it's a. New phenomenon. 321 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:56.160 What, it is we call it the big con taking, a, 322 00:21:56.240 --> 00:22:00.519 known dangerous an addictive product and then blaming it with 323 00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:03.960 a fraudulent and manipulative financial SCHEME. 324 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:05.519 Some usa how? 325 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:09.480 Is it how is online gambling or big time commercial? 326 00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:11.599 Casino operators how are they different than any? Other BUSINESS 327 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:14.160 if i want to go To A minnesota, VIKINGS game 328 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:16.119 i buy a ticket to. THE game i get. That, 329 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:21.200 experience okay it's a one for. One exchange commercialized gambling 330 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:25.960 is a financial exchange that's mathematically stacked. Against you the 331 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:29.000 longer you participate, in it the more frequently you participate, 332 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:32.480 in participating it's a mathematical guarantee you're going to lose all. 333 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:35.480 Your cash you're driving on, the highway there's a billboard 334 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:37.799 for you're watching, the show there's a commercial for you're on, 335 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:41.039 your phone there's. An, advertisement NO it's, i mean it's 336 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:43.759 probably testibate how much moneys in the industry with it, 337 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:45.160 Right now but it's everywhere. 338 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:49.000 You look the sports books and the commercials and the 339 00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:52.960 leagues themselves are making it look so cool to gamble 340 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:53.319 and risk. 341 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:57.079 And money it's being marketed much more now as like. 342 00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:02.680 Fun play, be happy, sell sports but just be aware 343 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:06.599 that it. Destroys lives gamblers have a highest suicide rate 344 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:10.200 compared to any other. You, KNOW addiction i think that 345 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:16.240 it being so ameshed, in society we're really just at 346 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:17.359 the beginning. OF It. 347 00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:24.319 A landmark uk study analyzed one hundred and thirty nine thousand. 348 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:28.359 Gambling accounts eighty percent of revenue it came from just 349 00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:33.640 five point seven percent. Of. Gamblers addicts the business model 350 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:36.640 doesn't need most people to, lose big it needs a 351 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:41.720 small number of people to. Lose everything have you ever 352 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.960 seen a? Venus flytrap it, sits still it, Doesn't chase 353 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:50.680 it opens its mouth. And waits on the inside of 354 00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:54.759 that mouth is a sweetened nectar that. Attracts insects the, 355 00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:59.480 insect lands and the fly trap, doesn't close, not yet 356 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:03.440 because of its. Snap shut every time something. Touched it 357 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:07.799 it would waste energy on things that weren't, Worth digesting so, 358 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:12.279 it waits and it only closes when the insect crosses a, 359 00:24:12.440 --> 00:24:17.440 specific threshold a exact number of contact points that must. Be, 360 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:22.279 triggered then and only then does the trap. Spring shut 361 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:27.960 three hundred and fourteen million dollars, Of nectar Kevin Hart, 362 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:32.960 lebron James The manning brothers the scents and it gets 363 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:36.599 the attention, of insects and it gets them. To land 364 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:42.160 and once, you've landed there's, free bets, deposit matches. Profit 365 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:47.920 boosts the trap, is open, you're inside, feels, roomy spacious 366 00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:53.079 and then the trap starts analyzing. Your behavior, every bets, 367 00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:58.480 every deposit, every session the trap is. Testing you are 368 00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:02.359 you a profitable customer or a? Bonus hunter are you 369 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:05.599 going to chase losses or walk away with. The promo 370 00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:10.359 the sensors, are firing and once you hit these specific, 371 00:25:10.440 --> 00:25:15.599 pressure points the. Trap closes for, some people that's the 372 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:19.880 first big. Unheedged bet for some it's the first deposit 373 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:22.839 from a. Credit card for some it's the moment they 374 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:26.160 stop watching a game for enjoyment and start watching it 375 00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:30.519 purely for the. Bet outcome different triggers for, different insects 376 00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:34.559 but for every person the industry turns into a long term. 377 00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:38.680 Losing customer there is a specific moment with the trap. 378 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:43.720 Snap Shut carl jacobsen was inside a closed fly trap 379 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:46.720 by the time he. Was arrested i'm gonna show you 380 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:49.559 later in this series exactly when the trap closed. On 381 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:53.799 me the fly trap doesn't have to, chase you it 382 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:54.319 just has. 383 00:25:54.359 --> 00:25:58.920 To exist we'll be right back after a. Quick break. 384 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:10.799 In two thousand, and seven Researchers At Harvard medical school 385 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:14.519 got access to something no gambling study had ever. Had 386 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:21.079 before real. Betting data, not surveys not, self reports actual 387 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:25.319 anonymized account level records from tens of thousands of real 388 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:29.680 customers On, b win A major european. Sports book they 389 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:33.960 could see, every deposit, every bet every win and loss 390 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:37.359 in real time. At scale one of the things they 391 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:42.000 found was simple. And devastating people who experienced a big 392 00:26:42.119 --> 00:26:46.559 early win placed more bets in, subsequent weeks wagered, larger 393 00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:50.480 amounts took on, more risk and lost more money. Over 394 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:56.119 time early winning made them long. TERM losers a separate 395 00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:00.519 study tracked thirty four thousand daily fantasy Sports subscrit greiber's. 396 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:05.119 Same findings big wins led to higher, entry fees, more 397 00:27:05.240 --> 00:27:10.160 contests and greater. Net losses fifty five percent of at 398 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:15.200 risk gamblers recalled beginner's luck as a. Formative memory the 399 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:18.480 memory of winning early isn't just a nice story you. 400 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:22.240 Tell yourself it's a clinical predictor of what. Comes Next 401 00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:27.480