Maybe Stop Betting on Black
It's March Madness and this isn't a sports newsletter, so let's talk about gambling.
Welcome to This Black-Ass Life! This week in the maddest of Marches, we want to talk about the nearly 7 million Americans who are grappling with disordered gambling and how that affects our Black asses.
l. The Facts
I (Jumoke) cannot tell you the last time I sat down and watched a sports game, yet I am still very well aware of online gambling companies, including FanDuel and DraftKings due to their cultural ubiquity. I can also describe in detail at least five commercials featuring Black celebrities promoting gambling. Again, I do not watch balls go in hoops, nets, or whatever!
Turns out, this is due to the nine people in the illuminati robes who ruled 6-3 to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018. This led to the legalization of sports betting in 38 states, including the District of Columbia.
Thanks to that decision, the United States is now in the midst of the largest expansion of legalized gambling in history, and this is very bad news for Black people in America who gamble in various ways like bodega scratch-off, casinos, Keno, horse betting, and the state lottery.
Even though Black people are significantly less likely than white people to ever gamble, they have extremely high odds of developing a disorder once the gambling begins:
A 2009 study revealed Black people had double the rates of disordered gambling compared to whites.
Young Black men are associated with the highest rates of gambling disorders nationally. Overall, young Black people are 60% more likely to engage in frequent gambling than young white people.
We have even witnessed high-profile Black figures like Gladys Knight and Michael Jordan speak openly about struggling with gambling addiction and the way it took over their lives.
We can’t talk about gambling in Black America without also bringing in history and challenging the black-and-white narrative. For example, playing numbers was a type of “illegal” unauthorized lottery that was typically run by other Black people in a similar fashion to the daily state lottery drawings. The numbers were a crucial part of Black life, and throughout the 1900s, provided an entrance for many striving for economic mobility:
In the 1970s, the New York Times reported that “60% of the area’s economic life depends on cash flow from the numbers.”
Money from running numbers bankrolled small businesses, paid for get-out-the-vote efforts, and supported Black civil rights groups and politicians.
Fun fact: Colin Powell’s father bought their family home and propelled the family into the middle class with the $10,000 he won from “hitting the numbers.”
Why does it matter?
Gambling addiction is an addiction of hope, and instead of providing livable wages, clean air, access to healthcare, and funding for education, state governments and corporations are profiting greatly from this addiction of hope.
That Black people play the lottery and experience disordered gambling in higher percentages may be due in some part to the fact that “it represents the likeliest path to financial stability” for many.
And financial instability is deeply linked with mental distress. In fact, mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, or substance use disorders all increase the risk of developing a gambling addiction, especially for those who are emotionally and socially vulnerable and looking to gambling to escape their hardships. Particularly concerning as Black mental health issues including suicidality are increasing with only one in three Black adults who need mental health care receiving it.
People are also more than twice as likely to gamble if they are around friends and family who gamble, which makes social apps and commercials that hire beloved, influential Black celebrities encouraging gambling all the more dangerous.
For sports lovers, this also takes away from the joy of the game. From jersey logo placements to commercial breaks every few minutes, there are constant reminders to bet. In a Western world where men are internalizing their feelings to their physical detriment, do we really want to replace sports bonding time with betting that can trigger even higher rates of anger, aggression, and alcohol or substance use disorders?
For the lawmakers, illuminati in the robes, and neighborhood busybodies, perhaps this is the impending crisis we should be worrying about instead of drag queens who generously take the time to read to kids while United States reading and math scores are at their lowest levels in decades.
What can my Black ass do?
Learn here about the signs, symptoms, and treatments for gambling addiction.
Here is a webinar from the Black Mental Health Alliance on gambling disorders and Black people.
II. Other Things
Black-ass happenings
Just in time for Easter, Henry Louis Gates looks through the history of Black spirituality through sermons and songs on Gospel Live!
Hoochie Daddies is back with Season 2. They each get a bed (no one sleeping in closets!) and there’s a production manager/location scout! The budget is skyrocketing.
The LEGEND Nile Rodgers is the inspiration for I’m Coming Out.
As CandiCanes and Deep Space hive members, we will miss Candiace on RHOP, but the show needed a shakeup.
We’re getting a Jasmine Guillory series from one of her books!
Which one of y’alls cousins is graduating from Temple in a few weeks? Quinta will be the commencement speaker, and we need tickets!
Okay, this photo of Simone and Cecil Whitmore of Married to Medicine at Freaknik shows them looking every bit the Atlanta royalty they are. The Hulu doc on Freaknik is also out now.
RIP to Jessica Pettway and Krystal Anderson. Black women deserve better.
Our Black-Ass song(s) of the week (Mitu):
The girls are making “go and get it” anthems: Enough and Yeah Glo! make me feel like I can do anything!
Things we look forward to:
I (Jumoke) am looking forward to D.C. in full bloom.
I (Mitu) am looking forward to Cowboy Carter. Me, for the next few months: 🤠
lll. Message from a Black-Ass Parent
Obsessed with these grandparents who fully ignore their daughter when their grandson is present—the right decision, as he is a star!
Stay Black, have a snack, and take a nap today. We'll hit your inbox next on April 9!
Nile Rodgers is the mannnnnnn.