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Is the Media Promoting Gambling on the SUPER BOWL
Bradley Beach, NJ
Thursday, January 10, 2008
If you are doing a story on the SUPER BOWL you might want to look at betting on the SUPER BOWL AND GAMES LEADING UP TO IT and the issue of compulsive gambling.
With the SUPER BOWL AND GAMES LEADING UP TO IT the media hype about odds and betting lines there is an explosion of betting on these games.
It is easier today to place a bet than it is to buy cigarettes or a can of beer.
You would not expect to open your local newspaper and get a price list of illegal drugs for sale; But that's just about what you can get today when you open your local newspaper to the sports pages all over the country. True, you don't see drug prices but you do see lines and point spreads on sporting events. Illegal drugs can't be bought, legally in any state. You can't place a legal bet in America, except in Las Vegas.
There are ads in newspapers for 800 and 900 numbers that sell information to gamblers. Some of these ads read : "Get the game of the month free", "We pick 75% winners", "Last week we went 11 for 12", and " Get our lock of the week".
I still can't believe that newspapers carry ads from these so called handicappers, who are really scandicappers. It's also interesting to note how often the information is incorrect or a real gamble.
I remember when Skip Ballis then of the Dallas Morning News had a gorilla in the Dallas Zoo make football picks for them. The gorillas' picks were doing better than the sports writers.
I think the responsible thing to do would be for newspapers and tv shows to -
carry a public service message (Need Help For A Gambling Problem? Call: 1-888 LAST BET).
Picture the following scenario: A young man uses the lines and odds from his local newspaper and uses it to set up a bookmaking operation in the local town pub. A law officer comes in and arrests the bookmaker and players. The next day the headline in the paper says: " John Doe Arrested For Bookmaking and Hank Smith Arrested For Illegally Betting". Hypocrisy you say? The very newspaper that carried the lines, now is carrying this headline.
Years ago i was on a TV show that Howard Cossell hosted (ABC Sports Beat). The topic was: Does the media encourage the public to gamble? Bobby Knight, Indiana basketball coach, said: "A newspaper who published point spreads should also publish names and addresses of services that render to prostitutes. They practically have the same legality in every one of our states, and I can't see why one is any better than the other" On the same show former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn said: "Anything that encourages gambling on team sports bothers me. We all look hypocritical but than why are we putting up the odds unless we are trying to encourage it" David Stern, NBA commissioner said: "We don't want the weeks' grocery money to be bet on the outcome of a particular sporting event"
I would like to pose a few questions:
• Do point spreads in newspapers cause a proliferation of gambling?
• Do people see point spreads in the newspaper and think it is legal to place a bet?
• Does the media entice people to gamble?
• Does the media have any responsibility for the increase in numbers of compulsive gamblers in America?
• Does the media give the appearance that it promotes and condones gambling?
Compulsive Gamblers are very vulnerable, at this time of the year, says Arnie Wexler.
The National Gambling Study Commission said that there are "5 million compulsive gamblers and 15 million at risk in U.S".
Get the real scoop -- talk to Arnie Wexler who is one of the nations' leading
experts on the subject of compulsive gambling and a recovering compulsive
gambler himself, who placed his last bet on April 10, 1968.
He has worked with college & professional athletes who had gambling addictions. And has spoken on many college campuses over the years.He has been involved in helping compulsive gamblers for the last 39 years. Through the years, Wexler has spoken to more compulsive gamblers than anyone else in America.
Arnie has spoken to students who gamble in college day and night. They even gamble during class, and it even goes on in high school lunch rooms. According to a Harvard study a few years ago, 4.67% of young people have a gambling
problem. Experts tell us that the earlier a person starts to gamble, the greater the risk of them becoming a compulsive gambler. In another survey, 96% of adult male recovering gamblers stated that they started gambling before the age of 14.
Data from National Hot lines show:
Forty eight percent of the people who gamble, bet on sports.
33% of calls came from youth under 25 years of age
12% of calls came from senior citizens
40% of calls came from female gamblers
Anyone who needs help for a gambling problem can call our 24 hour national help line
1-888-LAST BET
Arnie is available to speak with you on this subject.
He and his wife Sheila have presented compulsive gambling workshops
nationality and internationally. They run a national help line for gamblers
seeking help..1-.888 LAST BET
To call Arnie----954 -788 3825
or his cell 954 -501 5270
With the SUPER BOWL AND GAMES LEADING UP TO IT the media hype about odds and betting lines there is an explosion of betting on these games.
It is easier today to place a bet than it is to buy cigarettes or a can of beer.
You would not expect to open your local newspaper and get a price list of illegal drugs for sale; But that's just about what you can get today when you open your local newspaper to the sports pages all over the country. True, you don't see drug prices but you do see lines and point spreads on sporting events. Illegal drugs can't be bought, legally in any state. You can't place a legal bet in America, except in Las Vegas.
There are ads in newspapers for 800 and 900 numbers that sell information to gamblers. Some of these ads read : "Get the game of the month free", "We pick 75% winners", "Last week we went 11 for 12", and " Get our lock of the week".
I still can't believe that newspapers carry ads from these so called handicappers, who are really scandicappers. It's also interesting to note how often the information is incorrect or a real gamble.
I remember when Skip Ballis then of the Dallas Morning News had a gorilla in the Dallas Zoo make football picks for them. The gorillas' picks were doing better than the sports writers.
I think the responsible thing to do would be for newspapers and tv shows to -
carry a public service message (Need Help For A Gambling Problem? Call: 1-888 LAST BET).
Picture the following scenario: A young man uses the lines and odds from his local newspaper and uses it to set up a bookmaking operation in the local town pub. A law officer comes in and arrests the bookmaker and players. The next day the headline in the paper says: " John Doe Arrested For Bookmaking and Hank Smith Arrested For Illegally Betting". Hypocrisy you say? The very newspaper that carried the lines, now is carrying this headline.
Years ago i was on a TV show that Howard Cossell hosted (ABC Sports Beat). The topic was: Does the media encourage the public to gamble? Bobby Knight, Indiana basketball coach, said: "A newspaper who published point spreads should also publish names and addresses of services that render to prostitutes. They practically have the same legality in every one of our states, and I can't see why one is any better than the other" On the same show former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn said: "Anything that encourages gambling on team sports bothers me. We all look hypocritical but than why are we putting up the odds unless we are trying to encourage it" David Stern, NBA commissioner said: "We don't want the weeks' grocery money to be bet on the outcome of a particular sporting event"
I would like to pose a few questions:
• Do point spreads in newspapers cause a proliferation of gambling?
• Do people see point spreads in the newspaper and think it is legal to place a bet?
• Does the media entice people to gamble?
• Does the media have any responsibility for the increase in numbers of compulsive gamblers in America?
• Does the media give the appearance that it promotes and condones gambling?
Compulsive Gamblers are very vulnerable, at this time of the year, says Arnie Wexler.
The National Gambling Study Commission said that there are "5 million compulsive gamblers and 15 million at risk in U.S".
Get the real scoop -- talk to Arnie Wexler who is one of the nations' leading
experts on the subject of compulsive gambling and a recovering compulsive
gambler himself, who placed his last bet on April 10, 1968.
He has worked with college & professional athletes who had gambling addictions. And has spoken on many college campuses over the years.He has been involved in helping compulsive gamblers for the last 39 years. Through the years, Wexler has spoken to more compulsive gamblers than anyone else in America.
Arnie has spoken to students who gamble in college day and night. They even gamble during class, and it even goes on in high school lunch rooms. According to a Harvard study a few years ago, 4.67% of young people have a gambling
problem. Experts tell us that the earlier a person starts to gamble, the greater the risk of them becoming a compulsive gambler. In another survey, 96% of adult male recovering gamblers stated that they started gambling before the age of 14.
Data from National Hot lines show:
Forty eight percent of the people who gamble, bet on sports.
33% of calls came from youth under 25 years of age
12% of calls came from senior citizens
40% of calls came from female gamblers
Anyone who needs help for a gambling problem can call our 24 hour national help line
1-888-LAST BET
Arnie is available to speak with you on this subject.
He and his wife Sheila have presented compulsive gambling workshops
nationality and internationally. They run a national help line for gamblers
seeking help..1-.888 LAST BET
To call Arnie----954 -788 3825
or his cell 954 -501 5270
Arnie Wexler
Arnie & Sheila Wexler Associates
Bradley Beach, NJ
954- 7883825
