A Different Approach – Same Result

No matter what the game, gamblers have one thing in common – they love to gamble. To most individuals laying their money down for entertainment, the object is always to win.

Of course, psychologists and others have linked compulsive gambling to the adrenaline rush of, say, a skydiver, and compulsives are all about the thrill of the chase. In short, they’re addictive personalities, not really gamblers. Your run-of-the-mill betting enthusiast wants to actually win money when placing a bet, and to that end they’re always on the lookout for the best odds.

Unlike most games you’ll find at the best online casinos out there, sports betting takes a little bit of the chance factor out of the game and incorporates a bit of skill. This is undoubtedly one of the biggest reasons that NFL lines are held onto like religion around this time of year. And you’ll find the same enthusiasm for the genre crossing over into every major sport and even on the collegiate level – NBA, NCAA, NHL, MLB, MLS, etc.

What is it about sports betting that’s so appealing to so many gamblers out there?

Well, you have to look at it through the eyes of someone wanting to win money. Unlike internet slots, for example, the pure luck—chance—is removed, or at least it creates the illusion that it’s not there.

Sports betting, using NFL lines as an example, can ironically be easier quantified in the minds of betters – e.g. the New England Patriots are a better team than the Buffalo Bills, due to both the sum of their parts and the individual pieces, so betting the Pats can win by a touchdown if favored by six doesn’t seem as risky, per se, as flipping a coin.

Blackjack, poker, roulette, etc – these games are also flat and fixed. There’s no probing into the nature of the bet as with sports betting. See fantasy sports for an accurate example of how important it is for people to be involved with teams and their athletes.

Although a missed field goal, an unforeseen injury, a sporadic storm, or any other one of a million factors can cause “luck” to take over and decide your bet, the appeal of sports betting is that you’re in a higher degree of control, because you can be more involved and because you can watch the actual game and its players evolve.

At the end of the day, games of pure chances like found in casinos will always be popular. But it’s no secret why sports-betting is gaining popularity every year. It’s a billion-dollar-plus industry that shares equal footing with other forms of gambling.