In this week’s edition of blog posts, I wanted to take an approach to digital innovation and it is up to everyone else to further to discussion on the potential positives and negatives we may see with this. I will specifically be talking about the gambling site known as PrizePicks.
First, let me start by clarifying that this is not a blog about my personal views on whether gambling is good or bad. Instead, it is focused on exploring the new era of digital gambling and fostering conversation in the comments. PrizePicks, a DFS game, was founded in 2015 by Alex Wexler, a graduate of the University of Georgia and Terry College. Wexler established PrizePicks with the aim of creating the simplest, fastest, and most entertaining fantasy format possible, encompassing sports such as football, soccer, baseball, hockey, and even e-sports.
PrizePicks have found a way to make sports betting even more gamified with fantasy sports as many play fantasy sports as a way to have fun playing against their friends with their made-up team. Fantasy sports themselves have created what seems like a problem as a majority of users playing DFS are young males. One study showed the horrifying effect of DFS Stating, “Notably, DFS players were four times more likely than other gamblers to report suicidal thoughts in the past year and significantly more likely to report comorbid substance use and abuse, behavioral addictions, and recent mental health problems when compared to other gamblers.”
This area of digital innovation has moreover taken a negative effect on society as the ease of use, access, and clear gamification has taken over. But does everything related to gambling have to be a negative thing? No, many of my friends and I’m sure others will randomly place these types of bets on games they are planning on watching anyway. It adds to the suspensefulness of watching your favorite player playing in the game and makes you much more attentive to everything that is going on. And the thing with PrizePicks and playing with their app is that it doesn’t actually have to comply with certain sports betting rules as you have to choose multiple players from multiple teams, so Wexler and his team used that approach instead of the traditional route.
A big issue with online gambling, in general, was because of the major benefit that was seen with tourism gambling has been stripped away. That major benefit is tourism, I tried to link multiple articles that discussed online gambling being a threat to tourism because it generates jobs and tax revenue from the tourist. But, every article I found had a paywall, what a surprise.
In addition to PrizePicks, the use of digital innovation has played a large role in data and analytics. We’ve seen in the application the use of advanced algorithms and statistical models as users can use this information to make informed decisions. This is something we see in normal fantasy applications where players can look at projected numbers and put them in their lineups based on that idea. And with this, I think the use of analytics helps PrizePicks appear more transparent and seen as a credible source for online sports betting. This helps users that are new to the scene, and want to have a chance at participating with their friends even if they are seasoned veterans.
Another benefit I’ve also seen come from prize picks is the community it brings together through social media platforms like Tiktok and Twitter. PrizePicks even has its own Discord server, allowing a community to discuss their bets, all decide on something, and everyone cheers together. Something like this increases engagement and allows users to engage in friendly competition with fellow strangers on the internet. Just like people playing video games with random people on the internet, it gives the feeling of a wholesome community.
In conclusion, PrizePicks is a perfect example of how digital innovation has changed the way gambling is played. I think the user-friendliness, ease of access, and highly advanced data have allowed people to enjoy watching sports but with something on the line. I’m interested to see how everyone adopts this new technology and I would love to keep the conversation going in the comments as I am curious to hear varying opinions. Lastly, I do want to say I do not use PrizePicks, nor do I gamble, but from my research, I feel as if I have displayed the pros and cons of this technology and I’m not choosing a specific side.
If you have a gambling addiction please reach out to the gambling addiction hotline at 1-800-522-4700
Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-018-9744-4#Abs1
Source: https://www.gamblinginsider.com/news/6013/performance-predictions-ceo-were-creating-the-biggest-category-in-fantasy-sports-over-the-next-decade