
For Addicts, Fantasy Sites Can Lead to Ruinous Path - SeanBoocock
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/23/sports/fantasy-sports-addiction-gambling-draftkings-fanduel.html
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mathrawka
It's gambling in the same sense poker is gambling.

There is skill involved in both, but if you are in it for the short term you
will face variance and could lose money regardless of skill.

If you have skill AND play for a long time, then the variance is lowered and
it is positive EV.

It is in the site's best interests to actually decrease the skill portion and
increase the luck portion. The main reason is because new user's will try it
out a few times, lose all their money to the site's sharks and say they cannot
win and give up.

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thesteamboat
While the article is okay, the headline is tautological --- 'For addicts, the
thing they are addicted to causes problems'.

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jacobwcarlson
Agreed. In fact, it was only your comment that got me to go back and read
deeper than the first three paragraphs, where I found an interesting article.

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SeanBoocock
FanDuel said in a statement: “In any nascent, disruptive industry, important
questions are often raised about how the industry should operate. Fantasy
sports is no different, and we are reviewing our policies and practices to
ensure consumers have a positive experience on our site.”

This statement, and the attitude motivating it, is extremely irksome. If your
disruption is plowing VC money into user acquisition and legal fees, while you
skirt (or break) existing regulations and exploit your users and employees (oh
sorry I meant independent contractors), I want no part of it.

