INFLUX Magazine Spring 2024

Riley Nelson, Alex Le, Sreeman Talatam and Ryan Bondoc look at their phones at the University of Minnesota<br />

Huntington Stadium in Minneapolis on February 28. Photo by Rosalind Ding<br />

Though such platforms escape the label<br />

of “gambling,” Susan Sheridan Tucker,<br />

executive director of the Minnesota<br />

Alliance on Problem Gambling, said they<br />

still fit the definition of gambling. Those<br />

using daily fantasy sports platforms may<br />

research player statistics for their bets, but<br />

success is not solely determined by skill,<br />

as sports are unpredictable and anything<br />

can happen during a game.<br />

“The gambling industry has done<br />

a great job in massaging the messages<br />

with regard to what is gambling or not,”<br />

Sheridan Tucker said. “Unfortunately,<br />

I think this is an instance where this is<br />

absolutely gambling, and it should not be<br />

legal based on our definition of gambling.”<br />

“You click on the face, and then you<br />

click on how much money you want to<br />

put on it,” Valentin said. “They should’ve<br />

never made it that easy to spend your<br />

money betting.”<br />

Sports betting and daily fantasy sports<br />

have boomed over the past five years.<br />

PrizePicks alone has seen<br />

its revenue grow 3,712%<br />

over the past three years.<br />

— INC MAGAZINE<br />

PrizePicks alone has seen its revenue<br />

grow 3,712% over the past three years,<br />

according to Inc. <strong>Magazine</strong>.<br />

Sports betting commercials and<br />

endorsements can now be found<br />

interwoven into live sports broadcasts, and<br />

some major professional sports teams have<br />

even partnered with the companies.<br />

Nothing has been more indicative of<br />

the boom in sports betting than this year’s<br />

Super Bowl. Around 68 million Americans<br />

were expected to have bet over $23 billion<br />

on the sporting event, according to the<br />

American Gaming Association.<br />

The bets were hardly limited to the<br />

game on the field. Bettors could wager<br />

money on everything from Kansas City<br />

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce proposing to<br />

Taylor Swift to whether Usher would take<br />

his shirt off during the halftime show.<br />

Valentin said he could even bet on<br />

which would be higher: the points scored<br />

by the San Francisco 49ers or President<br />

Joe Biden’s approval rating by the end of<br />

his term as president.<br />

While many are focusing on the boom<br />

in tax revenue from sports betting, which<br />

could bring in an estimated $18 million<br />

annually for Minnesota, it’s also raised<br />

concerns from some over the potential<br />

for addiction. Sheridan Tucker and others<br />

across the country have been working<br />

to raise awareness around gambling<br />

addiction, which they say has gone largely<br />

ignored on a state and national level.<br />

Much of daily fantasy sports<br />

companies’ advertising consists of<br />

promos, which lure new users in with the<br />

promise to match the money they deposit.<br />

Liam Cronin looks at his phone at the University of Minnesota Huntington Stadium<br />

in Minneapolis on February 28. Photo by Maya Modelli<br />

18 <strong>INFLUX</strong> MAGAZINE SPRING <strong>2024</strong> Liam Cronin poses, looking SPRING at his phone, <strong>2024</strong> at the <strong>INFLUX</strong> University MAGAZINE of Minnesota Huntington 19<br />

Stadium in Minneapolis, on February 28, <strong>2024</strong>. Photo by Maya Modelli