This past Thanksgiving, the New York Giants faced off against the Dallas Cowboys in the most televised regular season game in NFL history. With 1:46 remaining on the game clock, Dallas missed a 46-yard field goal, keeping the score at 28-13. For many fans, at this point, the game is practically over, but for others, it is just now starting to get exciting.

The Giants proceeded to drive down the field and score a touchdown with 7 seconds left in the game, leaving the score at 28-20. Even by cutting it to a one-possession game, with this little time left it would be impossible for New York to win. But a win isn’t what every fan watching the game is hoping for.

 

Sports gambling has become increasingly popular throughout the country. These sportsbooks allow fans to bet on: total points, who wins, who scores, how many yards certain players will accumulate, and the spread.

In this matchup, the spread, also known as a line to even out the two teams, was set at -10.5 in Dallas’ favor. This means that fans have the option to bet that Dallas would win by more than 10, or that New York could either win or lose by less than 11. So, while the Giant’s last-minute touchdown did not affect the game itself, it swung thousands of dollars in another direction.

Arnav Joshi is one of the thousands of sports bettors across the globe. Joshi explained his interest and commitment to sports betting as an adrenaline rush thrill that can keep unexciting games on the edge of his seat.

Like many other fans that get involved in sports gambling, Joshi believed that his above-average understanding of sports would serve as an advantage and ultimately result in winning and making money. However, even though Joshi has realized that he may not have as much of an edge as he initially believed, the extra excitement that gambling provides on top of the game itself is what keeps him coming back.

“It’s fun. It makes games that you don’t want to watch fun to watch….It’s more fun if you’re looking for a player to get a certain amount of rushing yards or score a touchdown.” said Joshi.

This new layer of the sports world has become incredibly popular in recent years. In 2019, sportsbooks accumulated a billion dollars in revenue for the first time in history. And just a year later, this revenue jumped to 4.33 billion dollars.

Indiana University Psychology Professor, Edward Hirt, has spent time researching sports gambling and the addiction that can come along with it.

“For those of us that are sports fans, we enjoy it by itself. But this adds another motivation and becoming more invested,” said Hirt.

While the motivation behind sports gambling can vary from monetary to an extra level of excitement, the combination of both can be a dangerous recipe for addiction. As the industry continues to grow at a rapid pace, the momentum seems to only attract more users.