An anonymous former U.S. online sportsbook employee has written a harrowing account urging others in the industry to quit. They called gambling apps “parasites with us in our pockets.”
“Though the damage I did while at the company cannot be undone, I can sleep a little easier now knowing I am no longer a part of that rotten business,” they wrote. “I encourage everyone else working at these companies to do the same as I did, and quit. The job can be walked away from; the [online] casino, on the other hand, follows you everywhere.”
In the Defector article, titled “Why I Got Out Of The Gambling Business,” the person said they worked in customer service, “at first directly with customers and later in a more behind-the-scenes role.”
Their first-person account, which I highly recommend reading in full, of what they called a parasitic online gambling business, reminds me of my time in the industry before launching GamblingHarm.org.
I never worked for an operator, but I was an analyst and editor for industry trade publications funded by affiliate marketing. I covered online gambling for content companies earning commissions from users who signed up and deposited on a platform after clicking our links. My salary was not tied to the number of signups from each article.
I was more removed from actual bookmaking than the author of the exceptional Defector article. Nevertheless, I grew very uncomfortable with my role over the years. I sometimes covered the industry critically, but nothing like what I do now for my publication GamblingHarm.org, which receives no funding whatsoever from the industry.
I also had a problematic relationship with poker, the game that got me into this industry in the mid-2000s. Famed Las Vegas bookmaker Michael “Roxy” Roxborough recently described poker as his “biggest detriment to happiness: a time black hole and mood changer.” I can relate.
After years of relatively healthy poker playing, my relationship with the game worsened in the mid-2010s. Ultimately, I found myself identifying with Roxborough’s perspective and stopped playing 10 years ago. This experience also motivates my current work.
It’s an extraordinary coincidence that the Defector article was published the same week that online sportsbook VIP hosts were named as defendants in a lawsuit for the first time. I’m not sure if potential liability for individual sportsbook employees will make some people quit the industry, but I suspect it could have an impact if this case has legs.
The author of the Defector article said they feel remorseful about their role in the industry. I believe these feelings are important, but it’s best not to dwell on them. Legal online gambling is a massive $27-billion-a-year industry, and switching careers to another industry is often challenging.
Non-executives deserve less blame than industry leaders. Public scorn should focus more on executives and industry principals such as Jason Robins (DraftKings), Denise Coates (Bet365), Neil Bluhm (Rush Street Interactive), Michael Rubin (Fanatics), and Barry Diller (MGM), among others.
If you think about it, it’s quite shocking that these billionaires or near-billionaires are virtually never mentioned in debates about the industry’s harm, such as in a recent PBS special on the betting addiction crisis. Their almost unfathomable greed and wealth hoarding are not contested.
“Formerly, gambling executives had to build great temples to which the willing made pilgrimage, and from which they were able to leave after taking their beatings,” wrote the anonymous former sportsbook employee. “Now these CEOs are in our living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and cars. They sit on your hip wherever you go, with a hand waiting over your wallets and purses. And we have let them do it.”
I believe they can be stopped. Public health reform can address the out-of-control technology, and a grassroots movement could encourage abstinence for non-gamblers, as with cigarettes. No more “responsible gambling” as PR. Some people will smoke, and some people will bet online, potentially in moderation without harm, but everyone should know the extreme risks.
