When I first started watching football as a kid, there was something electric about observing my hometown team take the field each Sunday.
The roaring crowds, bright-colored jerseys, and coliseum-style spectacle of football stimulated the senses unlike any other form of entertainment.
But in the past decade or so, sports, or at least the way fans consume them, have changed. The emergence of fantasy sports and online sports betting has created a new dichotomy surrounding how average fans go about watching their favorite teams.
Gone are the days when a 21-14 win truly excited me. Did my wide receiver get more than 15 fantasy points? No? Well, this week is ruined. Sometimes, I don't even care if my team wins. As long as my fantasy team does well, I'm a happy camper.
Playing fantasy sports and making online bets can be fun, but they've also become yet another catalyst in our incessant hunger for dopamine amplification.
Here are a few things to remember as you continue to consume sports in the modern age.
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Fantasy is good for sports leagues, questionable for you
While sports betting and fantasy leagues have existed for decades, their prevalence is reaching unprecedented heights.
According to the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association , more than 50 million U.S. adults played fantasy sports in 2022. The industry is forecasted to top $38 billion in revenue by 2025.
Researchers in the U.K. studied fantasy football's impact on mental health and mood. They found that the more invested a player is, the more negative and positive reactions are amplified.
"More experienced players reported less anxiety than less experienced players, and players who engaged more with the game made more social comparisons, and had greater financial involvement generally reported more mental health concerns and more positive mood than other players," the study's results read.
Sports betting on the rise
The American Gaming Association reported that Americans wagered a total of $119.84 billion in 2023, a 27% increase from 2022. That translated to nearly $11 billion of revenue, a 44.5% jump from the prior year.
An astounding $7.9 billion of revenue came from sports betting apps in 2022. These apps have skyrocketed in popularity since the Supreme Court deemed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a 1992 law that kept states from legalizing sports betting, unconstitutional in 2018.
Now, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting in some capacity, with 30 allowing online wagers. North Carolina was the most recent state to join the party, legalizing online sports wagering earlier this year.
While I believe everyone has the right to choose how they spend their money, the urge to bet on one's favorite team has never been more present.
Companies like FanDuel and DraftKings, which make up a combined 67% of the online sports betting market share , run advertisements nearly everywhere you consume content, from traditional T.V. campaigns to your social media feed.
If you never considered betting before, you certainly are at least aware of it now.
Why does any of this matter?
While constantly being inundated with adverts compelling you to wager your money away might be annoying, it's up to each individual to decide what they spend their money on.
The main point I'm making here is that the gargantuan impacts of fantasy sports and online betting have reshaped the way everyone, including myself, consumes sports, even if we don't always notice it.
Is this a net positive? That likely depends on your values, but for most people, it's a change that they can't avoid.
What is indisputable is that more Americans are consuming sports than ever before, even if it's because they're addicted to made-up fantasy teams and betting.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Fantasy football has ruined my Sundays, and maybe more | Michael Cuneo
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