The Bitter Truth about Sports Betting No One is Telling You
Sports betting and gambling is popular nowadays among many youths in most parts of the world. The life of a gambler is one that hangs on a loose thread with hopes of winning after staking.
Betting and lottery have majorly gained popularity in Africa with many gamblers hoping for that one big win that will earn them big money to solve all their problems. But the biggest question is, can betting really change lives and solve financial problem that many face across the globe and Africa in particular?
While on Christmas vacation I happened to meet my cousin who had gained popularity in the village after winning a Ksh.1 million two years ago from one of the popular local sports betting company. His win was seen as an inspiration and hope for many who were trying their lack through the Sports betting industry.
While his big win inspired many, to a point of those who had never tried it to start betting, my cousin happened to have the right Idea on how to spend the money. Being a business oriented individual, he expanded his business and the money was well enough to help him launch more other business ventures.
So, I paused the question when I met him. “How are your businesses doing?”. To my surprise he told me he had closed majority of the businesses he had started and only a few were operational but still, they were struggling.
I was quick to point out the current Covid-19 pandemic as having a negative effect on many businesses but my cousin was quick to shift the blame elsewhere.
He told me his businesses started to nose dive way before Covid-19 was a vocabulary in a dictionary. So, I sought to find out from him what really happened.
But his response took me a back. “I won money from these guys but they have taken away from more than what they gave me” he stated angrily
Apparently, when my cousin won the Ksh 1 million, his love for betting never stopped. He raised his game and started staking bets with more money than he used to in the name of winning more money than ever before.
The worst part of his story is that he uses money he from his business to keep up with his betting habits.
So why is betting a bad a idea for anyone?
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The bitter truth about sports betting.
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Betting companies makes profit not losses
Show me any sports betting company that is making losses? Am yet to come across one.The reality is that betting companies are making abnormal profits each day . Each months popular sports betting firms make millions in profit. These companies do not sell any products, they take the money from you, Studies show that 70% of gamblers lose their stakes placed on bets while only 30% take home something. In short many people are profiting betting companies and less are gaining from them. It is never a 50-50 situation.
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Betting deprives you of creativity and hard work
Anyone who survives on betting is leaving on wishful thinking and luck. The expectation that one day you will wake up and win a lot of money from betting or lottery eliminates the drive for one to think creatively, work hard and make a change or earn. When you depend on a winning fairy tale and not earning reality, you definitely under utilize your potential. You see no need to work to earn, and even if you work hard and earn, your earning goes up in smoke through gambling.
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Gambling is addictive
Gambling has now been termed as one of the First World Problems. Any form of gambling is addictive in nature. There is nothing like ‘I am disciplined’. If you are disciplined, then you will know that your hard earned money cannot be thrown up in the air with expectations that the money will multiply and come down to you.
At one point, your appetite for betting will grow to a point you will not be able to control it. The lust for winning more and chasing losses slowly drives you to a monster call addiction.
Addiction has sung many deep into the dark hole of poverty while they were trying to get out of it, addiction has also turned many into zombies and many have been driven to the dead end leading many into committing suicide.
Many health problems have also been associated with gambling addiction, lack of sleep and depression have all been associated with gambling addiction. Family relationships have also been strained thanks to gambling.
All these are vices that any responsible individual should avoid.
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Conclusion
With many betting and lottery companies coming up every day and promising big wins, its individual’s responsibility to resist the temptation to get into the loop and live independently. It’s quite obvious that gambling only stands to profit companies that run them and not the individuals they lure into gambling.