An insight into the types of people who bet on sport, your views on betting, and your chances of winning
An insight into the types of people who bet on sport, your views on betting, and your chances of winning
An insight into the types of people who bet on sport, your views on betting, and your chances of winning
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It was a blockbuster NRL finals contest on Sunday, with the Parramatta Eels and North Queensland Cowboys fighting it out at the same time as the Australian cricket team was losing the first Ashes Test in the UK.
But when you look closer at the Sydney NRL result and the Ashes action in England, it was clear who had the better chance of winning.
At its best, sport is a great escape from the tedium and the drudgery of everyday life.
So, as the humdrum of the working week builds to its end, you know what you’re doing when you pop a couple of dollars on the Cowboys.
Here are the thoughts, feelings and opinions of people who are living and betting on the game.
Stephanie Belcore, editorial and opinion writer for The Guardian
Have I had some form of gambling debt ever in my life?
No, I started paying it off this year.
Could I have easily paid off my debt?
Yeah, but my friends always enjoyed paying it off, so I figured I’d do the same thing.
How much money have I lost on sport?
More than I care to admit.
It doesn’t seem like much now but when you’re young and stupid, you don’t really realise how much money you’ve lost.
Have I had a bet against a team I really wanted to win?
Yeah, there was this time I went down to Manly one winter with my brother to watch the Sea Eagles.
Our plan was to go for an early lunch and then bet a couple of dollars each because you can put $2 on a player, or if you’re a woman, you can put $2 on the Sea Eagles at the end of the game to get the amount you bet back.
I was too drunk to make the last train home, so I had to come back on the first train. I won $30 but I should have only won $15 of it because I was an idiot.
So it’s been all right, I guess.
Are you still a fan?
I am a fan, of course, even though I didn’t go down to the game.
Have you tried to take your gambling habits out of the real world?
I don’t go to the races, or watch football. And I don’t go to the pub — never have.
Gambling has always been part of my life.
So, I guess I’m living my life in the way that most of us do.
Let’s talk about cricket. I don’t think I’ve ever bet on cricket before. Why have I done it today?
Because this is a lot cheaper than going to the races and you don’t have to watch it, or talk about it, or anything.
What do you think the chances are of the Australian team winning the Ashes?
Hmm. I’d say 70-30 but I really don’t know how to bet.
Oh, good. Well, I haven’t really put that much money on it either, so that makes me feel a bit better.
Ashleigh Thompson, senior reporter at News.com.au
Have I had a bet on cricket?
Yes, I do. In my junior high years I had a crush on a (rare-in-Australian-public-school-girl-world) cricketer.