I can't find the original source, but I remember reading a study showing that this rise was closely correlated to states which had legalised or loosened laws on gambling!
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/04/nx-s1-5773354/legal-sports-be...
<https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kalashi> is best I can find, doesn't seem relevant.
after smart money then moves to predicting the period of the oscillations, …
"Work hard all your life and retire with a pension." - fantasy in 2026.
"Invent something new and capitalize on it." - not realistic in the face of gigantic, powerful, all-owning corporations who will squash you.
"Buy an existing business and live off the proceeds." - impossible without existing wealth.
"Become a famous pop star or sports hero." - as improbable as ever.
People have no hope anymore, and hopeless people turn to random chance as the last and only remaining option.
Also, "traditional wealth-producing ladders have all been pulled up" is nonsense. The stock market is available to all comers, and long investing is a traditional path. There was a story here a few years ago about a black janitor in NYC who died and left $7 million to the MoMA (or some such); he had invested $10k a year in the stock market. People in the trades still make good money. People on this site also tend to be in the making good money careers. I saw a bunch of young couples--and not the techy-looking ones, either--at the open houses this spring in the midwest. Also, one should not extrapolate one's situation at 25 to be the same at 45; if you've done reasonable savings, 45 should looking wealthier.
Usually what it comes down to is that the ladder hasn't been pulled up if you've got a step ladder to the new starting point, or have already been a tradesperson with a scarce skillset in a low cost of living area that only exists because it's cheap (midwest) for long enough to not have to destroy your body doing it on an ongoing basis.
COVID and the subsequent two years have literally halved the value of money, which was great for people who already owned homes or had a huge amount in the stock market, but otherwise many will be waiting another 5-10 years before income from work catches up with what it used be worth. Major layoffs have been happening every year since.
It's even more improbable. For both of those, your starting to see more and more of the current generation that are children/nieces/nephews of the already famous. They have the financial comfort to pursue it, and the family connections in the industries.
And for sports, the level at which you have to be competitive is getting younger and younger. So much more sports science/nutrition going in at the middle school/high school level.
Those were two fields that seemingly were still meritocratic, but that is fading fast, if it ever existed at all.
For endurance-based sports, online coaching has really accelerated this as well.
For skills, you still really need in-person coaching.
I know it's unpopular to ever say statistics show this generation is fine, because of course there's always a bunch of other troubling statistics, not to mention always people that are actually struggling.
But honestly, many people that feel hopeless can afford to put a few thousand in an ETF every year. That would likely be millions even adjusting for inflation after many years.
Multi-state lotteries seem to be far more of the “hopeless” case where there is actually a life changing amount of money up for grabs. But far less consistent dopamine hits. The regular low stakes sports gamblers who piss away their paychecks in small chunks over time are doing it for those small wins and chasing the next one.
That’s not to invalidate the point people feel hopeless, I just don’t think the average “degenerate” Fanduel bettor really is chasing that sort of thing.
Where you get in trouble is where you're cycling through multiples of your paycheck on wagers, recycling your bets. Then you're getting eaten for multiples of the house take on your income.
Is that really so? It's a get-rich-quick scheme and absolutely no one is under any illusions otherwise, including the people gambling their rent money. They know it's a very long shot and that most people don't make bank, but they hope it'll go different for them.
WallStreetBets, just another form of gambling, is filled with posts of people losing everything but it doesn't seem to stop newbies.
The gap between troubled/problem/addicted and "desperate" has to be paper thin, if it exists at all.
Having a gambling addiction kinda requires that you operate under a lot of illusions in your reasoning.
Not to say it shouldn't be viciously punished, to be clear.
Low-effort complaining, not interested.
That being said: I'm more likely to believe inflation to be the cause; and I think it's a bad idea to use this to fan moral panic
based on what?
(This is generally the cause that economists blame for increases in bankruptcy)