n/t

Especially penny stocks and options trading.

I like Warren Buffet's notion that, ideally, the stock market would be open one day every year for people to buy and sell pieces of businesses -- which is really what the market is supposed to be.

A marginal game for chumps.

...who put the imaginary 10 grand on some stock trading for $.08 per share.

The stock market has returned a steady rate of growth over decades. It is the single most reliable long term investment vehicle for millions. If you invest regularly and have a long term horizon it is nearly impossible to lose money.

So put your ideology down. There is zero reason to equate the stock market with gambling. That's historically untrue. Over the last 25 years the average annual return on DJIA has been over 10%.

If you invest into blue chip stocks your statement is correct. But if you invest into high risk stocks/borderline or on pink sheets....you can lose your ass. Just ask investors into Six Flags (prior to bankruptcy) and Playboy before it was bought out.

...and yes, I was an "investor" in both, albeit, I did so on the notion I was going to lose the money and was gambling on a possible recovery.

A lot of European blue chips trade OTC.

I specifically said the DJIA. As in an index, which you can buy as an index fund. Or you can own its component stocks.

If so you've made over a 10% average annual return over 25 years and something between 5 and 10 percent depending on inflation and a few complexities over a century, including the depression and two world wars.

Rock solid. I didn't say a thing about non-DJIA (blue chip) stocks, did I?

So all true, by the numbers and go check the math.

If you choose to ignore standard principles of leverage, asset allocation, diversification, and risk management you can gamble on stocks, sure. But you don't have to. And it's as dumb as any form of gambling to try to score big and fast in stocks. Dollar cost average 10% of your pay every year into a blue chip index fund, be disciplined , and a middle class person can retire a millionaire.

Ask me how I know. Still working, don't have to.

...but correct. DJIA is the way to go. And that needs to be hammered to potential investors. All to often you hear "I'm going to invest into the next Apple, IBM, Disney, etc." and they get burned.

The next "big thing" is always a gamble, but solid companies, not so much...in most cases (looking at Enron, Bear Stearns, etc.)

But if you diversify, that shouldn't be a problem, if it is....we all have a lot more to worry about.

When you're young or if you've covered the basics there's no shame in taking bigger risks with your allocation of course. But that still doesn't need to be gambling. It can be research based and rational.



One reason I'm not completely anti-Wall St. is that we absolutely need capitalism to work for the waged middle class to create growth. Broad investment through retirement plans gives workers a voice -- or it should -- in the boardroom.

Eliz Warren understands this better than Bernie or Hillary, sigh.

choose to play Farmville sitting in my house in Maryland and I but some credits from X company. they will report that income in their home jurisdiction.

In this case the player will report any gambling winnings like they do now on their state and federal income tax returns (offset up to the amount of gambling losses)

Perhaps I am not understanding the question though ....

I will note however that I am opposed in general to 'sin taxes' as they are extremely regressive. Further I am specifically opposed to gambling 'sin taxes' as what the .gov REALLY wants is to exclude competition. Basically they are OK with gambling as long as they get their cut.

Should it be legal, yes.

Those sites are a one-way ticket to gambling addiction.

Grownups should be able to make their own decisions. After all, tomorrow morning I can go to Schwab and throw my entire 401K into penny stocks, soybean futures -- all kinds of crazy "investments" that are all legal.

NY State jails people for it even as they guzzle vast amounts of liquor and that is done for no logical reason at all.

LOL

we tried banning them, and it didn't work so well.

with legalized gambling. We have legal alcohol. Many of us support decriminalization of most drugs. Cigarettes are legal.

Why are all of those things acceptable but gambling is some big bugaboo? I think it's a dumb waste of time, but I also feel that way about all the other things I mentioned. I don't want THOSE items made illegal.

You can spend a buck or ten thousand, and I see no guns being held to anyone's bead to participate.

Harmless.

The easier it is to gamble, the harder it is for a compulsive gambler to avoid gambling.

No alcohol, no fatty foods, no sex because some people even have trouble with that.

No thanks.

Cannabis is illegal under Federal law and most States will lock you up for it while having a holiday to celebrate their love of alcohol.

So affecting that you oppose control over such things is bullshit. You just want no controls over stuff YOU like. If I like it you will sit and let millions go to jail for it while you 'catch a light buzz' and giggle.

I have no chance to win with those games.

The only sport I ever made money on (80% ) was boxing. Sooo much domb money in boxing.

At 57% this year,best year was 66%.
Enough for a couple of vacations this year tho.

The only consistent winning football bet in Chicago is against Notre Dame. There is so much dumb ND money you get a consistent 1.5 to 2 points of value, more when they are good. Short Illini basketball too.

I don't bet because one really needs a good body of knowledge and I lack that time.

It does get time consuming and it doesn't stop when the season is over,just slows down.

To me it's most similar to poker.

I don't care if they make it legal, though under current laws it should not be allowed.

But I fucking hate Fantasy Football. It goes against everything Football is about. Team over individuals, winning is the goal, etc...

It is definitely gambling.

All forms of Gambling should be legal.

since the ability to win is determined by knowledge as much as skill

since i would be not a devoted student of sports i would be definition be a poor better

preys on humanity's worst tendencies.

I would not necessarily say ban it, but I also think it should be harder to access--like it was before the interwebs. For most people, gambling was never a problem because you could only get to Vegas or Atlantic City but so many times a year (of course true addicts could always just move to Vegas, lose everything, and become a homeless person--I've met some of those people). But this century, you don't even have to leave your house to gamble. I don't think that is very thoughtful regulation for those who are susceptible to addiction. But whatevs. This country has far bigger problems than that. That's just my two cents.

never had a problem finding a bookie.

If you do it right, it's better than the slots or roulette. Like poker, there is a great element of skill involved.

If it remains unregulated companies will soon (if they don't already) do what online poker did and build in "house" players. All the money the house player wins stays with the house hedging the payouts to the house. While fantasy football feels harder to game... the fact is statical oriented people have already been gaming it and winning a high percentage of the payouts. There is no reason to believe the in house people can't use the same statistics to basically keep house money. The only way to prevent this is regulations.

And thus an addictive tax on the chronically innumerate.

During the 70's NY tried to label pinball machines as gambling as well. That is until a guy came in and told them that it is a game of skill. He called every shot he was going to make and made them.

Now, fast forward to today and we have Fan Duel. There are a few people who make money off of these games consitantly. They are not pinball players, but staticians. They do this full time, and have stats in the players, coaches, etc. that would make our eyes bleed from boredom.

Here is the dirty secret behind these sites. Fan duel, would like you to believe that any Schmoe can lay down $40 and win. That's what makes it attractive. But in reality, the Schmoe will end up losing his money while the statistician takes it in.

I voted yes. Don't care though. I'm quite libertarian when it comes to vices. People want to gamble, ok by me.

But they should identify themselves as such and also should be subject to the same regulations as any other gambling operation.

I'm, with you on the vices, though. Can't babysit adults. Drink. Smoke. Gamble. If it gets you in trouble, don't come crying to me.

On this issue, that's you and me, Iggo. And, i'm with you on these FF leagues being held to the same regs as other gambling businesses. That only makes sense.

most states allow some form of gambling and pay outs, profits, taxes, and honesty should be regulated if it is allowed to exist. People like it so I don't have a problem with it being legal, but people need to remember most gambling not legally regulated end up becoming horribly dishonest. This reminds me of the online poker craze which as everyone remembers ended up being heavily rigged against players because... it wasn't regulated. We banned those sites domestically so popularity doesn't mean it HAS to be legal and offshore ones have been found to be rigged time and time again.

1. Should it be banned? No. Doing so will only drive it underground and increasing the problem.

2. It should be taxed AND the funds sent to addiction recovery and research.

When I walk into a casino....I almost never gamble. Years ago a bunch of us soon to be economists in the stat's lab ran the numbers on all the gambling options in Las Vegas and discovered....wait for it...wait for it....you can't win (well there is a way, but that will get you booted from the casino).

When I do gamble, ironically I always come out ahead...I attribute that to being able to walk away. Can't tell you how many times when I was on a "winning streak" and everyone at the table says "you're winning! Why are you cashing out?" So there is even peer pressure to continue in addition to the psychological "fever".

People probably looked at me weird and I sort of embarrassed my wife when I saw a sign "99% Payback" and laughed really hard (almost dropped to the floor laughing). It guaranteed you that you were going to lose and if you were lucky, only lose 1% of your money.....and yet, people fell for it.

DraftKings and FanDuel are clearly gambling. They try to claim they are "games of skill and not of chance," but that's the standard copout when someone gets caught running an illegal gambling parlor. You'll love this: the local tribe's casino opened a poker room and tried to convince the state poker is a game of skill. Didn't work.

If you were to open an online poker site, an online roulette site, or an online NFL gaming site that allowed cash wagers you'd be closed quickly. Online fantasy sports betting should be held to the same standard: either all allowed or all banned.

If they DID allow it, I'd like them to require anyone who wants to play these games for cash to play them with "virtual" money for three to seven visits on different days. (They could charge $20 to $50 for this period to cover their expenses.) That way you find out whether this is the thing you want to do with your money BEFORE you start betting the rent check.