I Finally Figured Out What’s WRONG with Sports Betting Media!
Took Me Long Enough
It finally hit me the other day what was wrong with “sports betting media.” Why it hasn’t captured the imagination of anyone beyond hardest core bettors. And, it’s not even big a percentage of hardest-core bettors when you compare the number of people placing sports bets to viewership/podcast listeners/etc…
Think back to the heyday of Superman comic books. Imagine opening one to read, and EVERY panel on EVERY page was just a drawing of a person at a desk talking about how great Superman was. Page after page after page. Talking heads. Superman is amazing. Superman is incredible. You never actually got to SEE any evidence. Just people (mostly guys) talking.
Oh…and after a couple years of that…then it was just drawings of people (mostly men) sitting in their basements or mancaves rather than at desks rattling on and on about Superman.
No “Adventures of Superman.” No thrills. No drama. Nothing heroic. No scary bad guys. No figuring out the answer to something mysterious. Just drawings of people talking.
Toss out the ink and thin paper…ISN’T THAT SPORTS BETTING MEDIA?!
This really hit home the past few weeks. I’ve been hopping around YouTube at night on my laptop while the missus watched TV dramas on Netflix (usually about sassy women in ancient Asia being the real power behind something…we all have our algorithms). Because I’ve checked out several sports betting broadcasts, I was also offered up links to “betting on poker,” “betting on blackjack,” and similar types of videos. You can’t just see those and NEVER click on them. Finally did. Mostly fun to watch!
*There are several “how I win at poker” videos where the “hero” shows you footage of hands he played at a casino. I guess they stick a little camera on the table in front of themselves. Then, computer graphics show their hole cards and the flop/turn/river. Or, they played in a livestream and use that footage.
*There are many other poker tutorial videos where graphics show decision-making for a “hero” against a “villain” (the connection to comic books is just hitting you over the head) through a series of hands. Some really good educational stuff out there where world-class players talk about when to bluff, when to back off.
*There are many blackjack videos that are also shot by a small camera on table that allow you to play vicariously through the host. They may be talking about basic strategy, card counting, bet sizing, or even how to wear disguises. But, it’s very much “Adventures of Superman” rather than people boringly talking into a camera in front of a bookshelf.
*I haven’t watched any videos for slot machines, but I understand those are out there too. Readers have alerted me to those after previous articles about sports betting media.
Seems very clear to me right now that sports betting media HAS to figure out a way to allow its audience to live vicariously THROUGH BETTING rather than have people sitting in a basement or mancave saying “that seems a little high to me,” “there’s no value on the favorite but this longshot offers value at 7/1,” or “I think this superstar is going to step up and have a big game.” Those could have been from Day One at VSiN eight years ago…or yesterday on 50 different basement-casts.
There have been some developments recently in sports betting media. Attention seekers are trying the old “Jackass” approach to generating audiences. Staging arrogant sports bettors in boxing matches. Stuff like that. Current landscape is basically…
*Knuckleheads Being Ridiculous
*Reaction shows that could be called “Boy, Those Knuckleheads Sure Were Ridiculous,” where a few people in a basement talk about those shows instead of sports betting.
*Betting strategy discussions from a mancave, living room, or basement that are largely “I wait to see what sharps are betting, then I bet the same way at slow-moving books.” While that is a workable strategy, it’s boring as heck unless your dopamine is unleashed by copying people.
*Mainstream sports media extensions that are mostly “talk radio from a basement” but throw in point spreads and futures prices as a smokescreen so viewers don’t realize it’s still the same old talk radio.
*Pick shows where hosts tell you who they like in a variety of games…from their living room, mancave, or basement.
I have friends or friendly acquaintances that are involved in many of those types of shows. I’m rooting for good things for all of them. But, none of those are “Adventures of Superman.” All but one are essentially comic books full of talking heads. At least there’s action in the knucklehead stuff….but not SPORTS BETTING ACTION in terms of the fun, joy, thrill that people experience from placing and winning bets.
Not sure how this industry is going to get there. But, THAT’S where it needs to go. Solving the puzzles of how to handicap…leading to placing bets…leading to experiencing the game…leading to celebration or disappointment…leading to payoffs after the celebrations.
While it’s likely that studio broadcasts are a thing of a past (given the sad demise of the South Point studio), talking heads probably AREN’T the thing of the future. Whoever exemplifies/creates “Adventures of Sports Bettors” is likely to capture, sustain, and grow audiences. There are more sports bettors than there are blackjack players. There’s significant overlap of poker players and sports bettors.
Jibber-jabber has had eight years to fail. Let’s turn the page to something fun.
That’s it for this report. Thanks for reading. See you again soon.
I truly enjoyed your article — it struck a real chord. You’re exactly right: the industry still hasn’t realized that this is 2025 — and "features" no longer drive revenues. "Experiences" and, critically, "communities" do. Look at the difference:
* Feature thinking: "This car has 400 horsepower."
* Experience thinking: "This car pins you to your seat and makes every green light feel like a victory lap."
* Community thinking: "You and your friends take turns driving — swapping stories, having laughs and making memories."
But right now? Wagering media is still stuck in feature mode. As you pointed out - static numbers, sterile boosts, forgettable picks from basements, endless lectures about regulations — as if laws were the soul of betting. What’s funny is that the "Jackass" betting media wave is gaining traction right now because it's controversial, not because it's valuable. Loud, smug, performative—but still empty calories.
I’ve read hundreds of wagering Substack's. Hundreds of newsletters. And I feel like I’m attending a legal seminar. Where are the stories of the sweat? The pride? The rivalry? The friendships forged in the community. I’ve been around sports media for years—surrounded by the same voices repeating the same angles and stats. Frankly, hearing talking heads repeating the stats, it bores me to tears. I don’t care about someone’s “form” or how they’re “due for a big day,” and then the fact that literally no one holds any of these guys accountable to all of the bad information they spew all day, drives me crazy!
You’re right: we need “Adventures of Sports Bettors,” not another hour of opinionated desk-sitting. I’ve watched this happen in real time livestreaming: viewers willing to put in hours battling each other for something as small as a custom hat or a jersey — while placing tens of thousands of bets together in the licensed sportsbooks.
They weren’t grinding for the prize. They were building community. Because that's the truth wagering media forgot; wagering isn’t just about money. It’s about meaning. It’s a tool for relationship building. It’s a shortcut to trust, to camaraderie, to shared experience. It’s one of the oldest social currencies humans have ever had — older than stock markets. And yet somehow today's media talks about it like it's an HR compliance module. The real product was never just the bet. Thanks again for putting this out there. This is the conversation that needs to happen if anyone actually cares about building the future, not just regulating it into dust.