AIBM Webinar Explores ‘Gamblification’ of American Lives, Culture and Economy

Gambling has rapidly become a part of American life. What that proliferation means for society is still largely unclear, but the American Institute of Boys and Men (AIBM) is aiming to find out.

On a June 18 webinar hosted by AIBM, Fanatics CEO Matt King and Gen Z economic commentator Kyla Scanlon joined AIBM’s sports betting policy lead Jonathan Cohen to ponder the question: What is gambling’s ubiquitousness doing to individuals and society at large? Introduced by AIBM director David Sasaki and moderated by New York Times editorialist German Lopez, “The Gamblification of Everything” panel also explored how far the proliferation might go.

Lopez opened the discussion with a simple query: “How did we get here?”

While the 2018 Supreme Court decision to repeal PASPA “lifted the lid on Pandora’s box,” Cohen responded, it would be “unfair to ascribe all this to sports gambling.”

“I’m sure we’re going to talk about cryptocurrency and gamified investment platforms and video game mechanics that are basically just gambling,” he added. “Clearly that has nothing to do with sports gambling.”

Rather, Cohen suggested, there’s a “big conversation” to be had about the evolution of digital financial technology over recent decades, a discussion that goes beyond sports betting.

Gambling Has Always Been Here, It’s Just Been Digitized

Though he largely agreed with Cohen, King pushed back, referencing two factors at play.

“One is that gambling on almost everything has existed throughout history; it’s just been analog,” he said. 

I actually think what we perceive as the gamblification of everything is actually more of the digital transition from an analog world into a digital world. … The other thing that comes with the digital world is the ease of access to illegal products and the inability to actually shut down offshore sports betting operations, or offshore casino operations, or illicit products.” 

King believes players are “certainly better in a regulated market where you have some protections.”

The issue is not sports betting alone, Scanlon noted. It’s the convergence of economic insecurity, social media, marketing, and a growing interest in speculative risk.

Scanlon sees two very different types of gamblers: people who treat gambling as a way to make money, sometimes instead of a traditional job; and those so spooked by the current economic reality that they refuse any risk at all. In both cases, she said, they are reacting to economic insecurity.

When people tell me about their prediction market habits or their sports betting habits, it’s usually because they lost their job or they weren’t able to find a job, and so they’re trying to supplement income by using the platforms. Sometimes it’s going okay, and then sometimes it’s going very, very poorly.”

All of this, added King, was “accelerated by Covid.”

Shift Requires Common Sense Consumer Protections 

There are “deeper fundamental reasons why people are looking to make wagers on more and more stuff,” King said. The trend isn’t caused by sports betting, and he doesn’t think we can necessarily stop it.

Really, the question is, do you want to regulate it, or do you want to let it just grow without regulations or controls?”

One answer might be to define gambling and speculation broadly and ensure common sense consumer protection frameworks apply across the board

Cohen observed prediction markets have basically “lowered the age of sports gambling in this country to 18,” something “no one asked for.”

Youth who start gambling earlier are “setting themselves up for disaster,” he cautioned, whether they’re playing a Roblox slot at eight or trading on prediction markets at 18.

When Fanatics launched its prediction offering, King stressed, the company applied all its existing responsible gambling tools to trading. That includes its 21-plus age requirement, unlike many of its competitors.

Prediction Markets Roam Free    

Scanlon criticized some prediction markets for predatory marketing: “a way to make your grandchildren safe,” she characterized.

Cohen pointed to an AIBM poll, published in March, that found 41% of prediction market users cited making money as their primary reason for trading. This finding, he said, is an “example of the effectiveness of that advertising.” 

King countered that Fanatics’ data show that the tally of its customers trying to make money through sports betting is “infinitesimal.” 

Drawing on his previous career in finance, King acknowledged important regulatory differences in the treatment of prediction markets compared with other financial products.

When we marketed investment products, there was a lot of disclosures … and frankly, a lot of restrictions on what you can say.” 

He suggested creating a framework that clearly separates products designed for long-term investing from those that are more entertainment-driven.

Cohen said he’d take “anything at this point” if it meant regulated safety requirements for prediction products.

Should Social Media and Shopping Apps Be Treated More Like Gambling?    

King suggested including the “broader sphere” of digital products in the discourse, such as social media and online shopping. All of which he said compete for people’s attention and dollars.

Frankly, sports betting and regulated iGaming are literally the only apps that forcibly log you out and say, ‘Hey, you’ve been on this for a while, maybe you should take a break.’” 

While King said he doesn’t claim sportsbooks do everything perfectly, he believes regulators should do a better job of creating baseline consumer protections, one that breaks some of these digital engagement loops. 

“You can get in just as much trouble, if not more, by spending way too much on a shopping habit as you can gambling on slots.”