The only time I ever heard about sports betting was as a child during my dad’s fantasy football drafts and later as a young adult overhearing peers at the bar. “Parlay this, moneyline that.” I knew about apps that entice you with “free money,” and from there, you’re hooked. Why not bet more if you won using house money?
When one of my hometown friends downloaded DraftKings, I enjoyed cheering her on from the sideline (pun intended) but I still rolled my eyes at how serious people would get.
One day, she Venmo’d me $5, asking me to download the app and place an easy bet so she’d get a referral bonus. Was I feeding her addiction? Maybe. Did I do it anyway? Yes. After all, what are friends for?
I placed one simple bet that I knew I would win. Caleb Williams over 250 passing yards in the Jan. 10 Bears v. Packers game. I’m a Packers fan at heart, but I couldn’t deny Williams’ passing ability.
Before I placed the bet, upon my friend’s instruction, I toggled the “$300 bonus” setting first. When I won, I got $300 in betting money. Something in me wanted to keep playing. I figured I would, just until the $300 expired.
DraftKings only let me bet in $25 increments within a few days before expiring, so I placed all 12 bets that very night on games that were happening throughout the week. Josh Allen’s passing yards on Jan. 17 won me $62.50. The dopamine hit was dangerous.
“The appeal of making ‘easy’ money can be hard to resist,” said Carson McMahon, a fourth-year DU student studying business information analytics.
Unlike my three-day experiment, McMahon takes sport betting seriously. For him, it’s strategic, calculated and part of how he engages with the sports he already loves watching.
“I was originally drawn to sports gambling by watching people on social media win and celebrate and watching some of my peers do the same,” McMahon said. “I’ve always been into sports and I thought that my knowledge of football would help me make some quick cash.”
I lost several bets on the 49ers and Seahawks, the Bears and the Rams and even the college football championship. I noticed my interest withering away. But that same night, I placed a three-pick parlay on the Nuggets game. Alexandre Sarr had to have 8 rebounds, Jalen Pickett with 6 plus assists and Denver had to win with no more than 121.5 points.
With 19 seconds left, Denver had exactly 121 points. Pickett and Sarr hit their marks. I was certain Denver would score once more. As the clock counted down, my heart was racing. Sure enough, Denver didn’t put up a single additional point, which meant I had won a total of $305 dollars, off of my friends’ $5 Venmo. I celebrated, told my friends and family and then cashed out and deleted the app before I could place another bet.
There’s no denying I thought about redownloading it all week.
My advice for sports gambling: get in and get out quickly. My dad, who prides himself on being a logical, analytical gambler, always tells me never to bet more than what I’d be okay losing in the laundry. I took my laundry change (well, actually my friend’s) and made a quick buck.
But if you’re more like McMahon who’s in it for the long haul, he advises to tread with caution. McMahon warns that one of the biggest red flags is chasing losses.
“If you find yourself wanting to put more money in after a loss, it can get bad fast,” said McMahon. In an effort to monitor his own finances, McMahon has set multiple boundaries regarding how much he is willing to spend or lose per week.
Whether you’re in it for a quick story to tell like me, or treating it as a calculated hobby like McMahon, sports gambling can be fun, especially if you’re already watching the game. But there’s no denying it may be a little too fun. I’ll have a story forever about the time I downloaded DraftKings for three days and made two grocery trips worth of cash. But for my sake, I’ll leave it at that.
