Gambling, It’s No Fantasy

Although college students are known to be short on cash, many participate in fantasy football leagues, making a risky short-term investment for a potential gain at the season’s end if their team performs well.

In Texas, it is illegal to place a bet on the partial result, final result or on a participant in a game or contest. Defenses to this prosecution are if the act is in a private setting, or no economic benefit is gained by anyone other than personal winnings, according to the Texas Penal Code.

Carson Covert, a sophomore hotel and restaurant management major, said playing in a fantasy league for money keeps him interested. He said he spends around 15 minutes a day on fantasy sports activities.

“I spent about 160 dollars playing fantasy football since I started playing,” Covert said. “I have never won a fantasy football league.”
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Kyle Stafford, a senior sports management major, said he does not need money involved to make fantasy sports fun, because he enjoys acting like a manager or coach of a team. He said he spends around 20 minutes a day on fantasy sports activities.

According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, there are estimated to be 57.4 million fantasy sports users in the U.S. and Canada, with the number of participants increasing every year since 2009. The same data shows players pay a league fee to play in 70 percent of fantasy leagues.

Week to week fantasy football leagues such as Yahoo and ESPN typically have no third party involved in gaining economic profit, making them legal to gamble on. Other daily fantasy sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings, are structured differently.

draft2According to Time, Texas has followed suit with other states like New York and Illinois in banning daily fantasy football sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. With these websites being outlawed in certain states, the alternative way for players to gamble on fantasy football is to create a cash pool for their week-to-week leagues.

Jacqueline Delgado, a senior psychology major and addicted disorders and recover studies minor, said a person shows addictive signs when their behavior toward an activity is compulsive and obsessive.

According to MyAddiction, 85 percent of U.S. adults have gambled at least once in their lifetime. It also says that only people with a problem gambling account for two to three percent of gamblers.

“You can gamble in a healthy way as long as it does not get out of control,” Delgado said. “When you start betting and selling personal belongings to fund your gambling, it is out of control.”
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Covert said he does not need to win the league to have fun playing the game, but the idea of having money on it helps keep him focused. He said gambling is a form of entertainment, but he knows it can easily become a problem.

“When you start gambling money you don’t necessarily have, that is when you know you need to stop,” Covert said.

Stafford said he does not see a problem with gambling on fantasy sports. He said every person is different, and for some people betting money on their fantasy leagues is enjoyable.

“When you find yourself in an underground casino trying to pay off a bookie, that is probably when it has gone too far,” Stafford said.

About Billy Ingle

I am the sports reporter for the hub, and a Senior journalism major, business minor from Arlington, Texas. I love my German Shepard Roxy and fried chicken.