Image via Complex Original
About $3 billion worth of sports betting is done every day. A 2008 Gallup poll said that 1 in 6 Americans had bet on sports within the past 12 months, and that didn't even count for the millions of people playing fantasy sports, which can technically be viewed as a form of betting. Sports betting is omnipresent, and part of every sports conversation—there's a reason why newspapers, blogs, and television shows still mention football lines when doing pre-game talk. Every part of sporting culture has its cast of characters though, and sports betting certainly has a unique crop of them. Uncover these bunch of colorful, but sometimes degenerate, and even criminal individuals in the 10 Types of People Who Bet on Sports.
10. The friend who tries to settle every argument with a bet.
Every crew has at least one contentious prick of a friend. He's always arguing or asserting his unwanted opinion on others, so even when he's right, nobody feels good about it. This friend, when fed up that his logic (which is unwavering and 110% correct in his mind) fails to make an impression on his victim, will throw 20 bones on the table and demand a bet. And it's usually over the dumbest, most trivial things too. $20 says Jeremy Lamb will get more minutes than Reggie Jackson tonight! No. Body. Cares. Bro. Not even Jeremy Lamb.
9. The numbers cruncher.
Serious gambling is more of a giant math problem than a subjective art nowadays. As statistical revolutions sweep across all sports, gamblers go with highly-developed prediction models and game simulations over their gut and an eye for the game. Just ask Bob Voulgaris about adapting from basketball knowledge-led bets to bets spit out by a computer. After he lost his "edge" after the bookies caught up to his methods ("he called his entire run "a joke" and that "it was so easy.") he hired a math prodigy to create an entire computer-based system to predict and place over 1,000 individual bets per day. He won't say exactly what his bank roll is thanks to his new geeked out system, but his $12,500 a month rent for a home in the Hollywood Hills is a strong indicator of how he's been eating.
8. The guy who can't sit and watch a game if he doesn't have action on it.
For hardcore gamblers, being this guy isn't possible because they probably bet on all the games. But for the more casual gambling crowd, this is also known as "fantasy football." If there's no gain other than possibly basking in reflective glory, then there's no interest. After all, what's the point of rooting for a team in sports if there's no money on it?
7. The prop master.
These guys have correctly predicted the over/under on the national anthem at the Super Bowl for the past 20 years. They thrive on often nonsensical bets of extremely long length. No less than like 7,000 different actions need to all happen to win. A rookie level prop bet would be something like, "If Jordan Cameron scores the 13th point of the game in the 2nd quarter if it's snowing at 13:00 hours." These guys also sat alone at the lunch tables in middle school.
6. The guy who claims to have a real job but just hangs around the betting shop all day.
This lot will smell like pee, wear the same dark jacket every day, and have at least eight cavaties. They look homeless, and may actually be, but they keep pulling out decent size wads of cash to bet on different horse and greyhound races. They treat the shop employees like friends, and may even hit on the female workers, but their jittery charm screams "crazy, desperate, and unloved." When they make casual conversation with you because that's just the kind of people they are, just smile and nod. Be friendly over starting potential knife fights with someone who just bet $25 on a horse named "One Way Ticket to The Glue Factory."
5. The guy who's actually good enough at it to make a living.
Not to bring up Bob Voulgaris again, but he's living, very public proof that it's possible to carve out a living through only betting. Let's not act like that's a life of total luxury and no stress though. Career gamblers have their own advanced systems like Voulgaris does, which were only created after significant investments of time and money. Even then, one unlucky run can burn through an entire fortune—Voulgaris once lost a third of his bankroll in one month alone. The perks with being a stay-at-home millionaire will always be there, so although life won't be hell, it won't be easy either.
4. The psychopathically competitive man who can't walk away.
Athletes and ex-athletes are prone to this condition. Even if they're not professionals, the rush of endorphins from competing and winning all those track meets in high school is something they constantly chase. Betting just so happens to be an easy, accessible outlet and an expensive one at that.
3. The degenerate gambler.
The "psychopathically competitive man who can't walk away" is one step and a retirement fund loss from becoming this. They'll face destitution and win it all back multiple times, becoming more aggressive and empowered with each fortune made. If you know someone like this, they really belong in rehab, because this is objectively a pathetic and screwed up way to live.
2. The rich guy who likes playing with his money.
This rich guy could use $100 bills as napkins if he wanted to, but since sports betting can turn a possible profit while concurrently enlarging one's ego, they go for it. Make no mistake, however, this man is rich because he's addicted to money, so consistent losing will bother him to the point where he'll buy scratch-offs or lottery tickets for a quick hit.
1. The mafia.
A recent European Union investigation found that 530 soccer matches from 2008-2011 were "suspicious," meaning THEY WERE PROBABLY FIXED BY LARGE INTERNATIONAL CRIME SYNDICATES AKA DA MAWB. Mafias around the world might not be hanging out of Model-T Fords and shooting up bars with Tommy guns, but they sure as hell are doing very illegal things, namely laundering money and betting on sports for income. But since this is the mob and not just some weiner in Hollywood hunched over a computer making bets, they put a gun to some weiner's head to come up with smart bets and then fix the matches.