There was assoonas a time where it was a huge offer whenever an ESPN character would discreetly allude to sports wagering. Those days are long gone with ESPN going all in on sports wagering and even promoting an ESPN-branded sportsbook.
But on Sunday, we saw precisely what can go incorrect when ESPN attempts to balance the act of being a sports media entity that likewise has a monetary interest in sports wagering.
During an ESPN Bet sector with Erin Dolan, the wagering expert discussed why she was going to choice the under for Northwestern in Sunday’s match versus UConn. Dolan confessed that she didn’t have a lot of researchstudy to back up the select, which was fine. But the whole section crossed a line when Rece Davis reacted with, “Some would call this betting, betting … I believe the method you’ve offered this, I believe what it is, is a safe financialinvestment.”
Just no.
There is not an element of sports wagering that is threat totallyfree. Even the most uneven of match has an presumed danger, and an under choice with -110 chances is extremely not danger totallyfree. Davis basically informed ESPN’s audiences that a bet was a lock when that bet couldn’t haveactually been additional from a lock.
Update: Davis would ultimately concern a declaration on Twitter to walk back on his remarks.
Fans were fast to slam Davis for the remark. It was the kind of remark that every ESPN character oughtto understand to prevent making about sports wagering.
You needto be able to takelegalactionagainst individuals who state things like this https://t.co/rGUot2qehk
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) March 24, 2024
This right here is why I hate the method sports media hasactually gotten knotted with gaming. It’s fine if you desire to reward gaming as a enjoyable method to invest cash, however assoonas you start talking about it as a cash making