The Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG) has released a new paper on microbetting, warning that this rapidly growing form of entertainment is exposing players to increased risks of harm. According to the paper’s authors, the fast-paced nature of microbets turns sports betting into slot machine-style wagering.
Critics Say Microbetting Turns Sports Betting into Slots-Like Gaming
The CFG report was unveiled at a legislative policy briefing on July 21 in Trenton, New Jersey. The meeting was attended by multiple lawmakers, public health experts, and lived experience individuals, who backed the paper’s findings and called for the prohibition of microbets in New Jersey.
For reference, microbets are wagers on “immediate, short-term outcomes.” Unlike traditional bets on the outcomes of games, microbets are a fast-paced offering, with new bets appearing as a game unfolds.
It is exactly this fast-paced nature that experts are concerned with, arguing that it leads to impulse control issues and potential risks of gambling harm and, by extension, financial trouble.
Statistics Imply Microbets Are More Dangerous
The paper cited various statistics, including the fact that microbetting participants tend to be riskier players who show greater mental health vulnerabilities, such as impulse control issues and depression.
Additionally, one study suggests that 78% of microbettors are problem gamblers and that problem gambling is usually associated with additional mental health or addiction problems. Some problem gamblers engage in domestic violence, with their partners sometimes ending up in the emergency room.
Because of that, mental health experts promoted S-2160, a new bill sponsored by Senator Paul Moriarty. The legislative measure seeks to snuff out microbetting, turning New Jersey into the first state where this vertical is outlawed.
Many Wish New Jersey to Be the First State to Address This Issue
Multiple supporters of the bill commented on the matter. Senator Moriarty said that he firmly believes that microbetting is promoting compulsive behavior and that this type of betting distracts from what the sport should be all about.
The people that are betting on the next pitch in a baseball game or the next possession in a basketball game aren’t necessarily concerned with who wins the game.
Senator Paul Moriarty
Assemblyman Cody Miller also chimed in, saying that something must be done about this issue and promoting the idea of turning New Jersey into the first state to address microbetting. Assemblyman Dan Hutchison, on the other hand, said that if not addressed, microbetting could become an even bigger issue.
Brianne Doura-Schawohl, director of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, emphasized that even though legal sports betting has been allowed for less than 10 years, almost half of all Americans now consider it to be bad for society.
Highly addictive, slot-like betting products like microbetting are a major reason why people are concerned, and rightfully so.
Brianne Doura-Schawohl, director of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling:
Rob Minnick, founder of ODAAT Gambling Awareness and a former addict, emphasized that microbetting is akin to slot gaming, since microbets are too fast to predict and therefore are entirely luck-based, with no skill involved. He cited instances of microbets on whether the pitcher is going to throw a ball or a strike as an example of such luck-based wagers.
Mental health experts also commented on the matter, with representatives of the American Institute for Boys and Men and the Public Health Advocacy Institute, highlighting the dangers of microbetting to society.