A while ago, I wrote about how I would never invest in a sports gambling company. I said I would never invest in a sports gambling company for a variety of reasons. Still, it mainly boiled down to the shiploads of money they were burning through to beat each other out, dragging out poor profits, and how a scandal was inevitable. Eventually, I felt, America’s general hate of sports gambling would boil over. The honeymoon period would end, and we would see this disgusting, rotten person that we would have to spend the rest of our life with. That has happened, or at least, we have taken the first step on a very long path.

The first couple of gambling scandals have just hit the biggest American leagues. Leagues that have for so long stood against gambling have recently welcomed them with arms open and pockets ready. Now, they are just starting to reap what they so eagerly sowed. Recently, Shohei Ohtani’s translator was found to have “stolen” millions from Ohtani for illegal gambling purposes. Now, many believe that instead, Ohtani was the one who lost millions gambling, and his longtime best friend offered to take the fall. “Why,” they ask, “Would a translator have access to Shohei Ohtani’s bank accounts, and how in the world, would Ohtani not notice millions leaving his accounts?” A valid question I believe, and honestly, I could see the answer going either way.

The MLB has heroically stepped in to run an investigation. An investigation that I am sure will be honest and fair. I mean, what would the MLB have to gain from not defacing the reputation of the face of their sport? I believe there is little chance the MLB will ever run an investigation of this situation with no bias, and I am sure that in three-nine months, we will learn that Ohtani had nothing to do with the gambling.

In the NBA, Jontay Porter was found to have likely instructed others to be the under on himself scoring points. Or Porter bet the under on multiple different accounts. Basically, Porter would bet the under on himself scoring let’s say three points before a game, would go into the game healthy, and then bow out due to an injury. Because he went out in the middle of the game, the under would hit, and he would pick up a couple thousand dollars a night. Why a man making millions of dollars felt the need to do this, I do not know. OH WAIT, yes, I do. THIS MAN IS A GAMBLING ADDICT. Jontay Porter is a crypto day trader who has oft bragged about turning 10k into 100k off an options play. Then, he goes to his job and all he sees are advertisements for gambling. Turns on the TV, gambling. Talks to his friends outside the NBA, what are they doing? They are gambling. Gambling hounded this man, who clearly already has a problem, until he felt he had to do this. I pity him, but hopefully this can spur a change.

And after both of those scandals back-to-back, the NCAA decided now was the time to come out against prop bets. Prop bets are bets placed on a player to score a certain number of points or get a number of rebounds. And it turns out, that when your drunk friend loses his $20 because an 18-year-old missed a shot, he gets a little angry. Your stupid drunk friend decides to harass this 18-year-old either online, or in person. The NCAA obviously wants to curb this behavior. Also obviously, gambling companies want to keep prop bets, because that is where they pull in a significant amount of dough.

Now, I do not think any of this will make any change to the industry. I would love it if sports gambling companies buckled this soon and changed some things, but they will not. Their hands are too deep into government and sports media for anything to change with this little pressure, however, there will eventually be change. Some kid who was given a gift from above, an arm, a shot, a swing, will fight his way out of poverty for his family, become a superstar in a major sport, and then throw it all away for a gambling company. Then, we will look at the ground and wonder, “How could this have happened?”

I love sports, and I used to say, when I was a kid, that when I grew up, I would gamble. Why would I not, I figured, I knew what I was talking about so I could only win. And recently, North Carolina legalized sports gambling. However, I have not taken part even though it would have been easy. As I have matured, I have felt myself come to hate the sports gambling industry as that same industry has matured. I hate how every sporting event is plastered with degenerate advertisements from companies looking to mine you out and take who you are. I detest gambling companies; how impure they are.