I don’t know if it’s just me but I’ve been seeing many more gambling ads. During the Super Bowl we were counting and I think we stopped after about a dozen or so. Plus, I just see them constantly that you can make so much money from sports drafts or whatever.

While I know that for years the alcohol industry has been doing the same thing. Packaging addiction in the form of fun and merriment, these ones seem to be just more insidious than the others. And I think that I know why, excuse me if this is already known to people who indulge in these hobbies.

With alcohol and cigarettes, they offer for you to calm down and relax. Enjoying a smooth smoke after a hard day’s work or partying with your bros. You will consume and then you will move on with your day. It’s simple.

Gambling on the other hand, has a far different siren song. Gambling not offers you the same kind of fun but you might be able to profit from it. You might be able to become a millionaire as long as you gamble more. They do this by offering streamers to gamble with fake money to make it look like it can really happen to you.

Of course, it won’t. The odds are stacked against you at every corner. I can’t prove anything and I’m not naming names but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some kind of algorithm to change when someone starts winning too much. There’s still the promise that right around the corner you’re going to win.

You might ask why I pointed this out more so than any other vices. Well, that’s because of all of them, this is one of the few that can draw me towards it. I never wanted to drink or smoke(I always thought smoking was gross) but one time I did sit at a penny slot machine in Atlantic City during Anime Next(yeah, I’m cool). I spent 80 dollars in like an hour. After that, never again.

If I ever feel the need to warn myself off of it, I just watch this video: