I also saw this. I wonder how much the legal gambling also just opened up pandoras box. I think that a lot of people, especially whales, end up on offshore sites anyways because of better odds and less overall rake. And of course there are also underground sportsbooks still for the biggest players, like Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter who got caught gambling millions of stolen money this spring.

And also, even in CA there are "fantasy games" (tickpick, underdog, even jake paul is affiliated with one of them) and there are "social gambling" sites that use the "sweepstakes" loophole, such as fliff sportsbook and chumba casino. These ones, you pay money for a "fun currency" and you also get "sweeps cash" that is basically a premium currency on their site that can be gambled for real cash. But even the off shore sites are pretty heavily advertised on social media, such as stake and bovada.

Regardless of the actual mechanisms of gambling that are available in your state, the prevalence of the advertising is nauseating. Draftkings/mgm/fanduel ads are all over sports stadiums. Beyond that though, some channels, especially ESPN, show tons of actual odds during their broadcast alongside an ad for their own platform, espnbet. The massive influx of gambling money is tainting sports overall.

Im glad my favorite sports franchise has yet to take any gambling ads, but still when they have a game on ESPN i have to put up with the odds bullshit, in addition to everything else that is total garbage about that channel.

Also, players themselves are being harassed on the field and online by people blaming them for a bet that didnt hit. Some players even received cash app requests to pay back a bet that they ruined.

I dont think it will be banned in mosr states, but congress should have the power to at least curb the advertising specifically, because that should fall under interstate commerce.

I live in CA, a state that still hosts a lottery, another form of expooitative gambling that should be banned or severely restricted. No need to have slot machines on paper at every gas station and convenience store.