I worked on gas stations for 15 years. I’ve had regulars that would spend hundreds of dollars a day on lottery. It was by far the worst part of my job dealing with them.

Not only are we bombarded with sports betting ads during hockey games, but they even have segments dedicated to it during the broadcast. To me, it's annoying and also irresponsible. Then they say, "oh, by the way if you think you need help, call this number". People who have a gambling problem generally don't know they have a problem.

I really like that you are profiling this, Shannon. The tragedy with gambling is that you can measure the revenue pretty easily, but the costs costs are often measured in misery for some families and kids. You can't measure that in dollars, but that doesn't mean it's not valuable.

Sports betting is such a scam. For fun I decided to bet $50 on the Knights in June. I won some money, tried to take it out, but got an email saying I can’t until I hit a certain profit above how much I deposited. Of course they don’t tell you that in the scummy ads. They try to make it as difficult as possible to ever get your money back.

THG’s such a good dude. Could be making money, follows him conscience instead. Keep being you, man. Also, looking forward to the next BetTHG app update 😂

Great take. Thanks for standing up and being a voice of reason.

I absolutely hate the amount of gambling ads that are available now. They are EVERYWHERE watching.

I think the association between leagues and gambling is a slippery slope. Leagues used to avoid gambling associations like the plague, especially with fixing conspiracy and corruption rumors.

When the ad has to have an addiction disclaimer....maybe it isn't a family product. Thanks for this commentary. It needs to be out of sports.

Gambling ads ruin everything.

I listened to Steve Dangle’s podcast regularly until he started promoting betting sites. I didn’t mind the other ads he did, but the gambling ones hit different.

Perfectly timed. As you said, “Aggravating jingle…” KZfaq cut to a commercial for Fan Duel.

Thank you for having this conversation. Whether the big networks or other content creators (SDPN, Spitting Chiclets), it seems like everyone is taking money from these betting companies. I really respect that you've chosen not to follow the crowd on this issue.

I agree completely, It’s frustrating to even watch a broadcast where every 2nd commercial is about Draft Kings, especially on the broadcast when you have someone like Kevin Weekes interrupting to promote it

That should be the senators new logo lol

The sports betting landscape reminds me of Robert de Niro’s monologue at the end of Casino. Everyone expected a grimy, dirty, but exciting (in its own way) gambling scene in the 90s as a way to scare the major leagues from expanding to Las Vegas. The reality is sort of what De Niro complained about what happened to Vegas: corporate, soulless, sanitized, and somehow worse than what people feared.

You know, I've watched the sports betting phenomenon, in its current form, really take off over the years. Honestly, I hate it. It might be providing a ton of revenue to sports leagues, but I've heard folks at various sporting events. A friend was at a Wings game, and saw a guy sitting behind them wearing a Wings sweater, cheering for the team, but also being outwardly disappointed the opposition didn't score another goal, all because they bet $200 on the Wings to lose. Braves fans, here in Atlanta, cheering for the Mets to have a player hit for the cycle, It might be great for revenue, but it's terrible for the atmosphere in the building.

Honestly, your greatest video! Usurers of the gambling industry rely on the level of adult children in society. It’s a taking advantage of very vulnerable people. And it’s a problem that can get worse every generation. So it is nice to see someone in a seemingly unrelated field put up his hand and say “No!” God bless you Shannon

Glad you don't take gambling advertisement. I won't watch the Steve Dangle podcast because of that.

Thank you for staying honest, I'm terrified sports will be only watched for parlays.

In UK every other ad during HT and before sporting events nothing but betting. Sad is an addiction and companies profit from it.

I hate sports gamblings intimate connection to the sports leagues. It won’t end well, but this disaster will be fun to watch.

You have no idea where this ends up. I'm in the UK and it's been sad to see US sports fall down this route

The second you mentioned commercials for the first time, I got an ad interruption from a gambling app lol

Regarding trying to legalize sports betting in California, there was a vote that was trying to get it through last year and the Indian tribes not only did not want the vote to pass, they wanted a decisive no. Apparently, it costed around $500 million in terms of campaigning for the sites that wanted this to pass, and it was voted no 83-17. Sports Betting sites can try to keep pushing for it here in California, but you got to get along well the Indian tribes for that to get any traction, which seems unlikely for the time being.

Despite being less reliant on ticket says, rest assured those prices are just going to keep going up and up.

As partnerships with leagues and stadiums and ownership groups increase, this will probably become difficult for a lot of people. I think Shannon is the real MVP for not drinking from that well, and I hope the gambling boom settles in the next few years

Shannon, thank you for verbalizing something I, and clearly a lot of others based on the comments here, have been thinking in the last couple of years. Sports betting really has infiltrated every aspect of the broadcast. Story time: I'm a Dodger fan, last Friday I had to go to Apple TV to watch Mookie Betts' first game back at Fenway as a Dodger due to MLB's deal with them. I noticed early in the game, there was a live odds chart that would shift one way or the other depending on the outcome of every at bat. It was in small print tucked into a corner at the bottom of the screen, but once I noticed it, it became impossible to not notice and I would end up glancing at it from time to time. They know exactly what they're doing with it, and it's disturbing.

I’ve finished in the top ten for the discord pickem the last two years. That has shown me I’m not accurate enough bet my money on it. I enjoy a friendly card game or sports bet between friends, but there’s a reason that casinos are able make their own chips but won’t accept yours. 😂

The gambling-related scandals will come sooner or later. It's only a matter of time.

You can now place a bet at The Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds, at three betting windows and fifteen self-service kiosks. Just another dagger in the back of Pete Rose.

Great video and I agree with all your points. Would just like to point out that the Ontario government deserves no praise for mildly limiting betting ads. They made sports betting legal in the 1st place, full well knowing the sport betting companies would tap well known athletes to shill their product. That they're not allowing it anymore is either a delayed reaction to an entirely predictable outcome, which makes them look stupid or is a cynical ploy to make it look like they care about citizens well-being. If they actually cared about our well-being, they wouldn't have legalized sports betting.

Don't worry Shannon, I understood your Cheers reference! Great show! (I'm in my 20s btw...)

Great introduction for timely topic & theme. Great dialogue & analysis about potential windfall, appropriateness and messaging of sports betting. Keep up the great work!

0:34 - I also picture that he’s 35 years old, he’s divorced, and he lives in a van down by said river!

Thank you for staying away from the scourge that is sports betting endorsements. I find the ads so annoying and borderline slimy.

Thanks for making this video. The "but at what cost" part is such an important part of the discussion on sports betting. Unfortunately, I think this is going to be one of these things where things will get much, much worse before they get better.

Hot topics!! Nice job Shannon! A common trait amongst gamblers is talking about how much they won...but not how much they lost to get to the point of winning. Like the plus/minus stat is missing. I use to play alot of free rolls of online poker and got pretty good but alot of work/time for some pennies. A stat I heard about hockey is its one of the toughest to gamble on because it has some of the most inconsistent outcomes of all professional sports.

Mad respect for saying what needed to be said and not taking sponsorship from gambleing companies.

Thanks for this discussion. I am not a gambler, but I can understand the leagues need for increased revenue. I try to ignore gambling ads and enjoy the action, but it is getting more difficult to do so. In some ways, this reminds me of the cannabis situation in the States. No matter what your feelings are about marijuana, there is a LOT of money in legalization in some states and they are finding it hard to refuse that tax revenue.

Worst part is watching outside of Ontario and being bombarded by the gambling ads

Glad to see you covering this - honestly as far as I can tell the biggest benefit I see from the gambling is that I can now see all the blacked out games I'm subjected to by finding the pirate betting sites that broadcast them.

Sports sadly draws in a lot of addicts anyway. Drinking at games in Winnipeg has been unmonitored and out of control for years culminating in an unfortunate incident this season where an innocent bystander was badly hurt. Gambling tosses yet another match on the fire. I won’t be surprised to see the Stanley Cup renamed after some Bit Coin exchange before long.

When I was in college, I was one of the few who liked hockey the most out of sports. There were people who gambled small amounts a ton of times on football games, and they came to me to see who to bet for on hockey games. I said who I thought who would win but let them know the sport is more random. Every single game was a loss.

This is a great reflective and insightful video. Thanks!

That jersey reminds me of my idea to make a Seattle Kraken jersey but with Tentacruel on it somehow haha

Always enjoy your videos on sports business 👍 your breakdowns and explanations are without a doubt the best I’ve seen on YT…simple language and still very concise…a BIG thank you for doing this…I truly believe you are doing an important public service by informing the uninformed masses👍👍please continue doing this👈

Thanks shannon for bringing this to the front sick of the ads and know personally the big problems with gambling again a big thank you!,

The setup to this video was really smart, well done Shannon

Im sure that gambling money is appealing and to anyone who takes it, that's their business. But thank you for walking away from it you are the best.

I'd say the amount of gambling ads on TV are about 40% of the ads now.

As a life long compulsive gambler, is been hard to watch in the office of Ontario. I'm seeing young kids getting Fished into betting. Not just sports but online casinos too. The fact that I'm alive is quite a miracle. In 30 years I've watched so many people die to gambling. By taking their life or destroying their health or becoming homeless and dying on the streets. I'm not sure why some get easier addicted and fall into the trap as opposed to others. It's still sad to see it destroy people.

Thanks for your stand on this!

Much respect Shannon.

Might as well drive down the road and throw your money out the window!?! I'm related to and know MANY PEOPLE who are feeling "lucky" they won $1000 and spent $10000. When it WRECKS ENOUGH LIVES they'll try to stop it then!

Thank you for this and for not taking money from the gambling advertisers. Only hockey content I follow for exactly that reason.

Thankyou for standing up for what’s right and using your platform to bring awareness to this issue, Shannon. I’m sure you get offers daily by these predatory gambling companies. It’s shame people like Steve Dangle and SDPN have abandoned morals for the sake of making extra cash.

Thanks for addressing this issue

There's a reason why the city is called Las Vegas and not Win Vegas. You'll come out of gambling with a loss (Las lol) every time, not a win.

Excellent content again

Normal people: 'He makes a lot of good points about the major downsides of allowing this to go unchecked" Me: Kitty!

I got a Draft Kings ad in the middle of this video…it’s honestly getting annoying how much it is advertised.

Thanks for the video. Respect for having principals and not chasing the almighty dollar, [when you consider problem gamblers are 4x more likely to harm themselves].

I really despise sports gambling and all of the lobbying for it. It's a scourge on the masses, and preys on those that cannot afford to gamble.

Love the jersey shannon

So true ! I have stock in Boston Beer Co. Sam Adams since 1995 and its never been affected by down turns or Covid. Its just kept going. People will find money for beer and bets. JD

Excellent timeline perspective

I miss when Sports Betting wasn't legal in certain states. It made watching sports worse by constantly having gambling shoved down your throat.

I have commented this before when you've talked about sports betting but I appreciate so much that you've resisted getting drawn into this and that you don't accept ads from sports betting companies or otherwise shill. It's fundamentally a predatory business that makes its money by exploiting vulnerable people and addicts, and it's shameful that so many of your peers have gotten in bed with them. Every other ad during a hockey game is from a sports betting site, even when they can't legally sell their product to 80% of the audience. That should tell you everything you need to know about who's coming out on top in this transaction - they're outbuying advertising over car companies, restaurants, beer companies, and pretty much everyone else. They're making an absolute killing off the backs of gamblers.

Thanks for doing this, Shannon. Hockey is hard to watch on TV with all the gambling ads.

Great vid

Need a Hockey Guy jingle to get stuck in my head

Got a DraftKings commercial before and during this video

Love this 🎉

THG being stopped by a Score betting ad is just *chefs kiss*

You and I share the "luck of the Irish" ☘️ Shannon. If you've seen it, you know. One of the very many reasons I don't gamble. Stay strong!

Remember the League banned two players for LIFE for gambling on hockey and they didn't rescind it until 1970. You may say that's harsh, but it certainly made fixing games far less tempting, and since man is at least flawed, the players may start getting greedier and think they can make a little more on the side.

I'm so sick of the non stop gambling adds in hockey now. Its worse then the constant Viagra adds we use to get. Its honestly put me off watching most games. Its pretty hard to reconcile the NHLs vision of hoxkey being a family friendly entertainment when they are constantly bombarding my kids with gambling endorsements.

What this video convinced me of, is that Ottawa needs to change its logo!

I can't wait for Sports Bets for kids. It's a weird time

I seriously can't look at another sports betting ad ever again. No, I will not start betting if it's being shoved in my face every 30 seconds. It's getting disgusting.

Great comparison to smoking and alcohol advertising. Another allegory to that old camel ad of yours is that the gambling companies are on a gold rush right now. The companies are betting that customers will have a high level of brand loyalty and we are seeing the highest levels of gambling that we'll see. I don't know if that will turn out to be true. Who knows. Hopefully it evens out soon and we won't see gambling tie-ins at every effing turn. I work at a casino and I'm frankly sick of it. It's like never being able to leave work. Interestingly, our sportsbook hasn't been successfully commiserate to how much effort it took at every level to open it. I used to think that when I retire I would come to work and bet on a home team once a month or so. After watching a lot of people have fun watching games down there, I don't think I want gambling (even a nominal amount) to exacerbate what can be an emotional roller coaster of a hockey season.

The only time I even watch normal old tv these days is to watch hockey with my dad. I find it really helps to hit the mute button every ad cycle makes the ads less memorable. Although draft kings and friends likes to slip in these 10 second ads during every little break in play just to screw with people like me it seems.

THG ... you are so right.

So I have not heard anything from the NHL. How much are they making from sportsbooks and gambling sites and how is this reflected in HRR? (Hockey Related Revenue for those who forgot the last lockout.) Yes, they say the cap it going up, but where is the revenue coming from? I'm sure the NHLPA is wanting to see this as well when they get 50/50 revenue from HRR.

The Simpsons had an episode about gambling and Homer betting on dog racing because he needed to make money for some family expenses. Exactly one of the situations THG described. The Simpsons did get Santa's Little Helper out of Homer's downfall but nothing else and of course the bit of money Homer did have was now gone.

Illegal in California, and a two recent referedums to legalize it (one for First American Casinos, and one for online sports books) failed dramatically.

It's all fine because they mention that you have to play responsibly. *eyeroll*

My husband works for a local bank, and he was head teller of the branch in our hometown grocery store. He had so many stories of people who would come to cash out their paycheck (or their disability, social security, ect) and then take the cash directly to the scratchy lottery machine and spend it all on lotto tickets. Then they'd sit at the bench for HOURS scratching them all-- so addicted they couldn't even wait 15 minutes to drive home!! They'd take their "winnings" back to the bank to get cash or whatever, and then THAT would be their grocery budget. Just absolutely heartbreaking.

The kids (particularly young men when it comes to sports betting) is primarily the reason why these ads need to be banned. I admit I lose a lot of respect for KZfaqrs who take money from gambling companies (from the lowly to a Stephen A. Smith) when the reason the gambling companies partner with you primarily is because of your young male demographic.

The crackdown on advertising gambling to kids will likely come from video gaming. Governments around the world are going after the game companies and when legislation comes they will sweep it broadly across all gaming.

Great video, Shannon. That jersey is absolutely gorgeous too.

"Why? Because you're Kelly Kelly Kelly Kelly K E L L Y." That's the one that immediately comes to mind.

I LOVE GAMBLING I LOVE RISKING MY HARD EARNED SAVINGS ON A FROZEN PUCK

Great video, Shannon. Illicit industries are always recession proof.

Sea monkeys! I remember those ads, as they were all over Marvel comics way back when. I even knew a kid that bought some, and all they were were tiny brine shrimp, or something similar. They did NOT perform tricks and whatnot.

It's escalated since Los Vegas joined the League with the Knights. That was the turning point, and a lot of us knew it was going to happen.

Of all the sports you should never gamble on - the slot machine of a sport known as playoff hockey

BTW got a gambling ad after the video. LOL!

It wasn't until I saw a show on the gambling scene in Britain (W5 maybe?) that I realized how complex the gambling scene can really be. Up until that time, I only knew of betting on which team was going to win or betting on the spread. The show was aired before gambling in its current form was legal in Ontario and it showed how problematic the betting scene could be in terms of addiction as someone could bet on numerous things other than the score while a particular game was still being played. As you also mentioned, one guy talked about betting numerous times during a soccer match in an attempt to win back money he had lost earlier in the same match (so he could at least break even) and it would put him in even more of a hole than he already was. Yes, I usually buy a lottery ticket once a week and that's it. If I were to bet on sports, I'd just bet on which team is going to win (if that's still allowed - lol)- none of this very random shit like who gets the first shot on net, most shots on net during a period, etc..