UGA’s ‘Cardiac Kids’ give sports bettors heart palpitations
Late in the fourth quarter last week, UGA quarterback Gunner Stockton took a knee, passing up on a sure touchdown, to preserve a 24-20 win against the rival Florida Gators.
It was the prudent move to run out the clock, ensuring Florida would not get the ball back to wage a desperate comeback.
In doing so, Stockton got a good bit of online hate. That’s because the favored Bulldogs failed to cover the 7-point spread.
A legion of hotheaded Georgia backers let loose with accusations of the fix being in as their gambling apps gobbled up their cash.
Coach Kirby Smart noted the moment, and even the gambling implications, saying his young charge did as he was told.
“We got it fixed this time, right? To a lot of bettors’ dismay, we fixed it,” Smart said after the game.
“Fix” mightn’t have been quite the right term. I’m sure he meant corrected.
The kneel had a backstory. Last month against Auburn, Stockton dove for a late TD to ensure a 20-10 win. The additional 7 points covered the 3.5-point spread, making Bulldog bettors happy that time.
But Smart, ever the worrier, was not happy with the late TD. It allowed Auburn to get the ball back with almost two minutes left, although that comeback fell flat.
After that game, Smart made note of the point spread and his displeasure at his QB giving the other fellows a chance to get the ball back.
“Go down. We won the game,” Smart told the press. “So they’ll be sending people to investigate that one because that’s a 3 to 7. It’s a 3 to 10 score. But we were thinking slide, slide.”
Smart calls his team the “Cardiac Kids” because they keep winning nail-biters.
Bettors might simply call them “Dogs.” They’re just 3-5 against the spread this year.
But it is clear that those who are involved in sports, and those of us watching, are keenly aware of the betting world. Athletes hear about it in their dorms; after all, young men are the meat and potatoes of the sports betting industry.
It’s in the air, as DraftKings and FanDuel, the two biggest mobile sports-betting operators (big-time “bookies”), are ubiquitous in game-time advertising. Talk about betting is everywhere: In pregame shows, on podcasts and websites that churn data about point spreads, over/unders, parlays and prop bets. The latter refers to bets on stats individual players might achieve during a game.
Sport leagues once worried about gambling sullying their games — the 1919 Black Sox, Pete Rose and the recent NBA betting scandal.
Now they’ve embraced it, as betting corporations pour money into their businesses in endorsements and fans with money on the games become much more glued to the sport.
Sports betting has been on a roll since 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to legalize it. So far, at least 38 have. Georgia, again, is considering doing so, as a state House committee is taking testimony about its pros and cons.
Watching a recent hearing, it seems many legislators are itching at the opportunity, seeing it as “free money” flowing into the state. (Georgia residents would have to vote to approve it, and a majority seem to be leaning that way.)
Nothing is free, however. Legislators were told about numerous gamblers who have bottomed out.
Harry Levant, a gambling addiction counselor, told legislators last month that sports betting companies are now using AI to “improve” their products, which are designed to extract money from bettors.
“It’s the machine versus the citizens of Georgia, and you know who’s going to lose?” Levant asked.
Georgia’s bettors, I’d wager.
Today, sports betting apps on your iPhone are casinos always beckoning.
According to a poll conducted by Siena University and St. Bonaventure University, 49% of men aged 18-49 have gambling accounts. Of those, a quarter have wagered more than $500 in a day, says Travis Brodbeck, associate director of data management at Siena.
Additionally, 52% have “chased” a bet, meaning they’ve lost and keep betting, hoping to win it back. Another 37% have felt ashamed after losing and 20% have had trouble meeting financial obligations.
That’s not the win/win gambling companies are selling legislators.
Increased access to gambling has soured both fans and athletes. The New York Times anonymously polled pro baseball players and found that fans often berate them, remind them of betting lines and sometimes threaten them.
“I get requests all the time on Venmo: ‘Thank you for making me lose $2,000 last night. … I get threats,” one player said.
Said another, “People suck, dude.”
Almost half of Americans now think the fix is in, according to a YouGov poll out this week.
Some 45% of those questioned said they believe athletes “sometimes” or “often” help gamblers win. When betters were asked that question, 56% answered affirmatively.
Fittingly, the public is souring on gambling.
According to recent polling from Pew Research, 43% of adults say sports betting is bad for society. Three years ago, it was just 34%.
More strikingly, 47% of men under 30, the demographic most involved, say legal sports betting is bad for society. In 2022, it was just 22%.
“As awareness has gone up, support has gone down.” said Pew’s John Gramlich.
Oh, and one more thing: The Bulldogs are at Mississippi State this weekend and are 8.5-point favorites.
Who wants to bet they’ll beat the spread?
About the Author
Bill Torpy, who writes about metro Atlanta for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, joined the newspaper in 1990.
