Which isn't to say it's not an issue--both are. But despair driving people to spend increasingly on short-term endorphin hits is universal. The most meaningful metric would be the proportion of income that's saved and invested.
Is burning $100 in a fire really any worse than spending $500 on a real, usable item?
Probably. A bag is an item with utility that can be resold. Typically the person buying the handbag also gets entertainment value out of the time spent shopping for the handbag and also enjoys using the handbag for some period of time.
Sports betting is pure entertainment. I don't know how far $100 goes in sports betting. If that's what you spend in a night, I'd say the handbag is easily a better value for a person who likes handbags. If $100 is what you'd lose in the aggregate over a month, with several hours a day spent enjoying sports betting, maybe the sports betting is the better value. I guess it depends on how good of a gambler you are.
For both, I say if you can afford it and it gives you enjoyment, go for it: that's the reason to have money. If you can't, don't do either.
Despair is certainly an issue.
Or you could lose it all, whereas buying a designer hand bag has a 100% chance of you ending up with a designer handbag afterwards.
But, you say, it gives me pleasure! Well, so does gambling. And spending money for pleasure is fine, so long as you can afford it. And if you can't, it's equally bad.
The relatively utility of a $500 bag is no more than a $50 one, that’s for sure.
The effect on pleasure between gambling and a handbag are immeasurable and maybe equal so in some sense you’re right.
I’ll never buy one, but it seems like you’re distorting reality to make your point.
Yes, simply because the risk of addiction is higher with sport betting than handbags.
You could easily rephrase this as "It's just entertainment. Is blowing $100 on heroin really any worse than $500 on a designer handbag?" to illustrate the absurd case where this is obviously true.
No it is not. If it was, people wouldn't have those sad face and wouldn't look like zombies when gambling.
Usually fans aren't really into the sport itself if they can't enjoy a good game/race and be happy for the winner whoever it is. It is usually more dubious and akin to nationalism or religion.
You can argue anything with made up numbers.
Is more money in the US spent on gambling, or on prestige goods?
> Americans wagered a record $119.84 billion on sports betting in 2023
> Slots and table games across the U.S. generated $43.79 billion