Why We Study Sport- Gambling

On January 21, 2016, in American Sport in the 21st Century, we discussed the reasons for studying sport. The are many reasons why one would study sport. The main reason we discussed is that millions of people are interested in sport. Sport constitutes much of our conversation, reading and leisure. One- tenth of the World Almanac is devoted to sports. Fifteen percent of major network time is devoted to sports. Major TV networks include FOX, ESPN, CBS, and NBC. Sport accounts for 49.7 percent of Twitter chatter. USA Today devotes 1/4 of its space to sports, with 100 journals. Lastly, sport constitutes as the 4th largest industry in the US and is 11th in the world.

The NCAA tournament- a three- week, single- elimination competition- that not only builds excitement among student and alumni of participating schools and among sports fans at large, but also creates a flurry of gambling activity. Every year around this time of year, tens of millions of Americans who pay little or no attention to sports- let alone college basketball- participate in a ritual of filling out a March Madness bracket and entering a pool. Some people base teams on which mascots they like or colors of the school. Other people will do extensive research to decide who will win. The NCAA estimates that about 1 in 10 Americans will complete a tournament bracket.
 There is no reliable estimate as to how much money is wagered, but there are guess that are in the billions of dollars.

In the past few years, FanDuel and DraftKings, the two leaders in daily fantasy sports, have tried to jump in on the tournaments' popularity. In 2005, FanDuel put forth a "Survive the Madness" challenge and DraftKings promoted a "March Mania" game. This year, the FanDuel champion will earn $50,000.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding these daily fantasy sites, but that hasn't stopped the sites; but, there is a fear that the industry might collapse. In New York, which has the largest daily fantasy market, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is battling in court to end illegal gambling. Other states are considering a stronger regulation and 6 states already have laws in place for illegal gambling. The NCAA on the other hand, is trying to distance themselves from this controversy.

Although gambling is illegal, that won't stop people from filling out brackets and gambling between friends, family members, and co- workers. I believe that if the law cracks down on illegal gambling, people will not pay as much to the best time of year, which is March Madness.

More: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2016/03/07/maria-sharapova-failed-drug-test/81446346/