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Tag: betting
How Right-Wing Grifters Promote Online Sports And Crypto Gambling To Kids

How Right-Wing Grifters Promote Online Sports And Crypto Gambling To Kids

Right-wing influencer and Andrew Tate fanboy Adin Ross sits behind his computer and streams brightly colored slot games, blackjack, and roulette to his audience of loyal fans. Ross has blown through gargantuan sums of money while gambling on his livestreams and has won big jackpots.

“You have like tons of different emotions throughout your whole entire body,” Ross said about the euphoria of online gambling during an interview. “It’s just dopamine release.”

If Ross’ audience members are interested in following in his footsteps, he is setting them up to fail.

Ross is an example of influencers and right-wing figures who are promoting crypto gambling and sports betting ventures to their young audiences. Many of these figures, including Ross, have landed major sponsorship deals with gambling companies and are sometimes given house money to gamble with, removing the actual risk associated with online gambling.

Influencers are promoting these games to young viewers as gambling addiction rises among adolescents and horror stories about streamers and followers draining their bank accounts are popping up across the internet.

Meanwhile, a number of streamers have enormous and devoted followings across social media, and the lucrative industry is constantly evolving. Teens and young adults in particular have a fondness for watching livestreamers. According to a report in Wired, 21% of the users on Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch are between 13 and 17 years old.

Twitch has had a complicated relationship with gambling and casino streamers on its platform and has placed limits on the kind of gambling that is allowed. Some influencers have spoken out about the unrealistic expectations that gambling streamers create for their fan bases.

Influencers promoting gambling and betting companies

High-profile streamers, influencers, and celebrities have aligned themselves with gaming organizations like Stake, a crypto gambling and sports betting website. These figures share videos and pictures of themselves using Stake, gamble while livestreaming, promote the website, and sometimes share gambling earnings on social media.

For instance, rapper Drake has become an official partner of Stake, and the site has sponsored a handful of other influencers.

One of the most high-profile Stake-sponsored streamers is Ross, who has a “huge, dedicated fanbase” and exclusively streams on Twitch rival Kick. Kick is a new streaming platform that is reportedly backed by Stake and is a safe haven for white nationalist-linked content creators. The website features various gambling categories that viewers can join and watch streamers play.

On Kick, Ross labels some livestreams with “#AD,” appearing to indicate that the gambling he is doing on his stream is part of a sponsorship deal. At one point, Ross was reportedly making nearly $1 million a week from his Stake sponsorship.

An 11-year-old Ross fan reportedly admitted to gambling on Stake after watching Ross’ streams.

Ross has publicly acknowledged that young kids watch his gambling streams and that past projects he has sponsored have been scams.

“By the way, that MILF token shit that I did a while back, I already told you guys, don't buy that shit,” Ross said during a livestream about a past crypto project he promoted. “I got paid a bag to do that shit. Like, I don't give a fuck. I hope none of you guys actually bought it."

During an interview on the H3 Podcast, Ross was told about the potential harms that could come from promoting crypto gambling.

“I’m learning a lot, bro,” Ross said after hearing about the potential harms gambling can have on his audience. “I’m honestly overwhelmed right now in my life. Because it’s just — it’s so new to me.”

“You make me rethink about it now, bro. …. It’s just something I — that just doesn’t click right for me,” Ross later added.

But following this interview, Ross did not stop working with Stake and airing gambling streams.


Some of Ross’ sponsored streams are bombarded with racist and antisemitic comments, which could also have a negative impact on young viewers.

Ross recently sat down with UFC president and Trump superfan Dana White for an in-person gambling event. Following their meeting, Ross claimed that White hopes to connect Ross with Trump for a stream closer to the 2024 election. (White’s UFC also has an official partnership with Stake as well.)

Jake Paul, a right-wing influencer and professional fighter who has a massive following on social media including many young fans, co-founded Betr, a “microbetting-focused gaming company” that allows users to make monetary bets on specific plays or events, rather than betting on a team losing or winning a game. Paul appears to be hoping that the instant gratification of making money on small bets drives his young audience to Betr. Additionally, Paul has previously been accused of promoting gambling to kids.

Betr also appears to be targeting users on social media platforms that are frequented by young people, including TikTok and Instagram. The company has large followings on both platforms.

Other right-leaning influencers, including professional poker player Dan Bilzerian and gambling streamer Trainwreck (real name Tyler Niknam), have worked as sponsors for gambling companies in the past.

Major media companies are getting in on the sports betting action

Other outlets and platforms in the right-wing media ecosystem have aligned themselves with the gambling and sports betting industry.

Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News and Fox Sports, is associated with Fox Bet, a mobile app and website that allows users to make monetary bets on professional sport competitions and play casino games.

Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch has boasted about Fox’s foray into the sports betting world, describing the venture as “a huge opportunity” for Fox Sports’ portfolio.

And in 2021, Fox acquired right-wing sports website Outkick, which includes sports wagering and betting infrastructure. During a 2021 quarterly meeting with investors, Murdoch celebrated Outkick as an outlet that “will deepen our investment in the sports wagering ecosystem.”

The right-leaning media company Barstool Sports, founded by misogynist Dave Portnoy, operates Barstool Sportsbook, a sports betting platform and mobile app that is associated with Hollywood Casino.

Adolescent gambling addiction on the rise

Reports indicate that gambling addictions are increasing among teens and children, and experts are sounding the alarm.

The legal age to gamble in the United States is 18 or 21 years old depending on the state. This has not stopped influencers and gambling and sports betting companies from promoting their products and games to adolescents.

The earlier kids are exposed to gambling, the more likely they are to become addicted to the practice, according to a gambling treatment organization. Gambling addiction has the potential to “completely derail a person’s life,” cause mental health complications, and become a “gateway drug” to other adrenaline-inducing and potentially dangerous activities like drug use.

According to research from the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors, four to six percent of high school students are addicted to gambling. Compared to the one percent of adults addicted to the activity, this is a worrisome trend.

Researchers point to adolescents' underdeveloped brain functioning and emotionally driven decision making to understand why teens and children fall victim to gambling addiction.

Some sports betting and gambling groups have been fined for targeting their offerings to people under the legal gambling age.

While speaking with ABC News, Gary Schneider, a national board member of Stop Predatory Gambling, explained that these companies are targeting young users. “They want the next generation. They label it gaming,” Schneider said. “It's really gambling."

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

'Keep America Great' flag

Oddsmakers Made A 'Killing' Off Trump Chumps During -- And After! -- 2020 Election

Offshore oddsmakers made a "killing" off of far-right Trump loyalists betting on the 2020 election, even after it ended, according to a Slate analysis.

Yes, even after Trump was declared the loser of the 2020 election, money from MAGA-touting Republicans kept pouring in, making the 2020 election the "biggest online betting event in at least American history," said the magazine.

"It was like taking candy from babies who deserve to have their candy stolen," said John Gruber, popular blogger and UI designer.

Exact numbers are not available because the offshore betting industry doesn't share its finals with the public, but Slate tells readers to "imagine how much money is wagered on the biggest sports events, and then go much bigger," in describing how much money came in to bookmakers via Election 2020 gambling.

The news comes after a weekend when Trump not only didn't concede, again, but went as far to host a screaming match in the White House, with far-right attorney and conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell facing off against Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney. Meanwhile the president mulled the possibility of imposing martial law, as suggested by his former national security adviser and convicted felon Mike Flynn, whom he recently pardoned.

Fantasy Sports Bet On The Legislature In Florida

Fantasy Sports Bet On The Legislature In Florida

The red-light district that masquerades as the Capitol building in Tallahassee, Fla., is bustling as always with the Legislature in session.

It’s the annual festival of whores, when many Florida lawmakers sell out and roll over for high-rolling special interests, if the price is right. And the price is seldom wrong.

Buying one legislator doesn’t cost that much, but getting an entire bill passed to benefit your industry requires buying (or at least leasing) a bunch of them, which adds up to big bucks.

As an example, fantasy sports companies have spent more than $220,000 to recruit top Florida legislators on behalf of FanDuel, DraftKings and other daily fantasy leagues. These are online gambling operations that desperately don’t want to be regulated like gambling operations.

The companies insist their pay-to-play games reward skill over chance, but that’s a joke. Putting down cash on a quarterback’s Sunday performance is no different than betting on a race horse or a greyhound.

New York is seeking to ban fantasy sports companies from that state because the attorney general says they violate the gaming laws. Nevada, the galactic mecca of gambling, says that FanDuel and DraftKings promote wagering, plain and simple. The attorney general of Texas calls it “prohibited gambling.”

Florida, of course, remains wide open for business. No matter how you feel about online betting, the strategy of the competing companies offers a prime lesson on how to game a polluted political process.

Sen. Joe Negron, who’s next in line to be Senate president, is pushing a law that the daily fantasy sports sites have been fantasizing about. It legalizes play, and essentially grants exemption from gaming laws.

Online companies would pay $500,000 up front to operate in Florida, and $100,000 annually to renew their licenses. Minors would be barred from playing, though the companies wouldn’t be regulated like casinos or pari-mutuels. There would be no criminal penalties for violations.

By now you’ve already guessed that Negron is taking money from the industry. A political action committee connected to the Stuart Republican received $10,000 from the Fantasy Sports Trade Association in September.

Another productive $10,000 donation went to Rep. Matt Gaetz of Fort Walton Beach. He is dutifully cheerleading a similar bill through the state House, piously declaring, “Government should have little to no involvement in the recreational daily lives of Floridians.”

Does that mean Gaetz also supports legalizing marijuana, which millions of Floridians use recreationally? Nope. Evidently the pot growers haven’t written him a big enough check.

Fantasy sports operators have laid down big bets on key lawmakers besides Gaetz and Negron. Their lobby group donated $30,000 to a political committee run by Rep. Richard Corcoran, the House appropriations chairman and future speaker of the House.

The current Speaker, Steve Crisafulli, has a PAC that took at least $10,000 from the industry. So did a committee associated with Senate Appropriations chairman Tom Lee. GOP leaders aren’t the only ones with their palms out. Fantasy sports lobbyists also gave $25,000 to the Florida Democratic Party. (It was just a gesture of politeness, since the Democrats are powerless in the Legislature.)

Not all lawmakers are up for grabs. After Nevada ruled that sites such as DraftKings promote gambling, Florida’s Senate majority leader, Bill Galvano, actually gave back $15,000 he’d received from the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.

This defies all odds, but it really happened. Spreading tons of money around usually works wonders. Just ask the Seminoles.

In 2013, the tribe forked out $500,000 to Let’s Get to Work, Gov. Rick Scott’s political action committee. Scott recently signed a new gambling compact that would give the tribe’s seven casinos exclusive rights to roulette, craps and blackjack. In return, the state would be guaranteed at least $3 billion from profit-sharing over seven years, beginning in 2017.

The Scott deal, a potential windfall for the Seminoles, has yet to be approved by the Legislature. We all know what that means: Checks are flying.

The tribe opposes legalizing fantasy sports sites, which means lawmakers can shake big donations from both sides. Already the Seminoles have distributed more than $2 million to at least 90 state politicians (mostly Republicans), several political action committees and both major parties.

This is how it gets done in American politics — you pay to play. It’s as true in Tallahassee as it is in any brothel.

(Carl Hiaasen is a columnist for the Miami Herald. Readers may write to him at: 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla., 33132.)

Photo: A FanDuel logo is displayed on a board inside of the DFS Players Conference in New York November 13, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Bob Baffert Looks To Overcome Unlucky Post Positions Of American Pharoah, Dortmund

Bob Baffert Looks To Overcome Unlucky Post Positions Of American Pharoah, Dortmund

By Peter Schmuck, The Baltimore Sun (TNS)

It had to be one of those what-are-the-odds moments for trainer Bob Baffert, and we’re not talking about the fact that Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah was set as a 4-5 morning line favorite for the 140th running of the Preakness on Saturday at Old Hilltop.

Baffert, who said before Wednesday’s race draw that he is always “post-position sensitive,” ended up with both Pharoah and third-place Derby finisher Dortmund stacked one and two on the rail, with Derby runner-up Firing Line getting the outside post that jockey Gary Stevens said he had been hoping for all along.

So, perhaps Baffert could have been forgiven for launching into a Steve Coburn-style rant about the unfairness of it all, but that’s not his style. He didn’t want to get boxed inside D. Wayne Lucas’ speed horse Mr. Z, but it certainly beat one of the alternatives.

“At least we’re here, going for the second leg (of the Triple Crown) and that’s more important,” Baffert said. “If they had told me, ‘Look it, if you win the Kentucky Derby, we’re going to have to stick you in the one hole at Pimlico,’ I’d have said, ‘I’ll take that all day long.’ ”

Whether starting inside will be a big disadvantage depends on how well Pharoah breaks. The reason that trainers and jockeys don’t like the inside gates is because the rail positions can limit their strategic options.

“It depends on your horse,” Baffert said. “My horses are fast, so they just have to break well.”

If they don’t, there’s the possibility of getting trapped inside and impeded while the outside horses have the luxury of running whatever race suits their individual styles. Stevens obviously considers the number eight position the great equalizer for Firing Line, which has opened as the third favorite at 4-1.

“I’ve got a lot more options, a lot more options than I would have had if I’d drawn down in the one hole,” Stevens said. “If you’re drawn in the one hole, your cards are dealt to you. American Pharoah’s got speed. Dortmund’s got speed and Mr. Z’s got speed, and they’ve got to come away from there running. If for some reason they don’t, then I’ll seize the moment.”

Stevens certainly knows his way around Pimlico. Three of his nine career Triple Crown wins came here, including his comeback victory aboard Oxbow two years ago. He’s the wily veteran in his 36th year riding thoroughbreds, but Pharoah jockey Victor Espinoza is on a roll after winning the first two jewels of the crown last year aboard California Chrome.

“Victor Espinoza is pretty crafty himself,” Stevens said. “He’s been on top of his game here it seems like the last year and half. He makes all the right moves and he’s got a lot of confidence right now.”

OK, so — all things considered — who’s better positioned to win the Woodlawn Vase?

“I’ve got the upper hand where I’ve drawn,” Stevens said. “He’s 4-5, I’m 4-1 and he better be 4-5, that’s all I can say.”

It’s going to be a very intriguing race that could produce a surprise or two. The three horses that came home together at Churchill Downs are the betting favorites for a reason. But there are four longshots in the middle four post positions, which has got to provide an added measure of uncertainty about the eventual outcome.

Danzig Moon (15-1) could be a factor from the number four post position and Divining Rod (12-1) is placed well just inside Firing Line, but their chances obviously depend heavily on how much the unlucky post-position draw affects American Pharoah and Dortmund.

Baffert recognizes the challenge ahead, but it is nothing compared to the difficulty of winning the annual stampede known as the Kentucky Derby. He drew the 18th slot for that race and Pharoah still got the ride he and Espinoza wanted.

“It depends on the horse,” he said before Wednesday’s draw. “They can have a great post, but if they step back or stumble like Bayern last year…He didn’t break and got eliminated and it’s over. All we can do is get them ready and keep them healthy and happy and hope they break well and get good position.”

Photo: American Pharoah via Facebook