FINAL Week (10): Wrap-Up and Conclusion!

 

I cannot believe how quickly the past 11 weeks have gone by and that it is already the end of this journey! I hope that you all enjoyed it as much as I did, and I know that we all learned some valuable knowledge from it. My major goal for this final week of Genius Hour was to apply all of the knowledge and techniques that I have learned in this project thus far. Of course, this understanding and skillset that I have developed would not be successful without statistical analysis and understanding. Again, math is at the center of everything!

In Week 2 and Week 3 of my project, I explored the world of sports betting in general, and learned about the fundamentals. The key terms, concepts, and guidelines that I became familiar with supported the rest of the research process for me. This fundamental base of knowledge is crucial in any setting, and it is important that I scaffold learning like this for my students. In Week 4, I started to incorporate mathematics and statistics in my research. This is the main component of my Genius Hour topic and took a lot of researching to find what I was looking for. It was extremely interesting to investigate the real-life application of math in gambling. As an educator, it is a goal of mine to foster and enjoyable learning environment by ensuring my students are intrigued in what they are learning. This is the purpose of a Genius Hour project: to research and learn about something you have interest in! Weeks 5-8 involved consideration of different perspectives, as I investigated the stakeholders included in sports betting. This provided me with different perspectives in the matter; it allowed me to stay neutral and without bias. I must facilitate a neutral stance for my students and encourage them to be open-minded and non-bias when doing research! For the latest blog post, I explored some reasons that sports bettors keep coming back, despite losing money on a regular basis. This expanded my viewpoint even further on the topic and helped me understand how some sports bettors may think, without putting blame on anyone.

All in all, it is important to remember that sports betting – and gambling in general – is a losing game. The house wins 99% of the time, and this happens at the peril of the bettor. Children and adolescents must be taught how to play safely, or simply not gamble at all! One suggestion I have is to enjoy other ways of enhancing sports, such as wagering something unsignificant with friends and family every once in a while. For instance, my friends and I always bet McDonald’s when our favourite teams are battling one another. Whoever’s favourite team wins that night receives a McFlurry from their friend whose team lost. This is just one way that sports betting can be made fun, without having to play against the much-advantaged companies and Bookmakers, who have mathematics in their favour!

Well folks, that’s it! I hope that you all enjoyed my Genius Hour journey as much as I did. More importantly, I hope that you were all able to learn something. Maybe you’ll think twice next time you want to place that wager, and remember how statistics are used in sports betting!

via GIPHY

Week 9: How Betting Sites Get Us to Keep Coming Back

Welcome to Week 9 of my Genius Hour Project on how math and stats are inherent when betting on sports. I hope that you all had as terrific of a week as me; my own favourite sports team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, won their season debut! It was an exciting week of sports as hockey started up again, basketball continued, and NFL playoffs began! My main goal for this week was to investigate some strategies that are used by gambling companies and the Bookmakers to entice their consumers. In other words, I asked the question: What causes sports bettors to keep coming back for more?

I was able to learn so much again this week! One Bookmaker strategy that I learned more about are “parimutuel odds”, as oppose to “fixed odds” (Business Reporter, 2020). Fixed odds mean you are wagering and winning (or losing) what the odds signify. For example, if there is a 50/50 odds of winning (i.e., flipping a coin), fixed odds would state that you win $1 on a $1 wager ($2 total). It’s simple math, right? Well, it isn’t quite that easy when it comes to sports betting! As we have learned, most betting companies would only give you around $0.80 if you win this same bet! Yet, many individuals keep coming back and thinking that they’re playing a “fair game” when they are actually already down a few dollars (or hundreds of dollars) from the get-go. My goal is to educate my students on this type of subjugation and teach them that looking further into the math of gambling makes more sense!

Another strategy that companies use is like one that retail, grocery, and all other companies use: using competing prices! Although the quality of all sites is virtually the same, it is the prices wagered and the returns that matter. Betting lines are not always equal when it comes to the lines that competing online sportsbooks offer on the same bet. There can be many reasons for this, but it often comes down to what the betting site expects the outcome will be and how much money they have coming in on either side of the bet (Gambling Sites, 2020). A lot of the time, this leads to people having accounts with multiple betting sites. However, this allows for more bets to be made and almost always leads to more losses! It is important for individuals, especially those who are good with numbers, to realize that the “best prices” are not always the ideal option. If my students choose to gamble their money in the future, I want them to understand how to do it safely and stick with one betting site!

My hope for this blog was that exploring why sports bettors are so interested in continuing to bet would provide me with crucial insight as a math teacher. I figure that by knowing this, I can address some strategies in my classroom for combatting these techniques used by major companies. Subsequently, my students would prosper by knowing when enough is enough, and knowing when to walk away from the betting game (or not to start betting to begin with)!

For next week’s research, I will be getting more in-depth with my topic by relating what I have already learned about sports betting with some mathematical and statistical facts and understandings. This will really help my project and assist me in moving forward with research on how statistics are used in sports betting.

References

Business Reporter. (2020). How Do Betting Sites Make Money? The Kenyan Wall Street. https://kenyanwallstreet.com/how-do-betting-sites-make-money/  

Gambling Sites. (2020). Why You Should Use Multiple Betting Sites. https://www.gamblingsites.org/sports-betting/getting-started/using-multiple-sites/

Week 8: A Bookmaker's Perspective

 Last week, I gained a broader perspective of that it’s like to be a bettor, something I already knew a lot about. This week, I interrogated the other side of the “game”, by researching what it is like to be a bookmaker, or another employee of a sports betting company!

This week was another extremely interesting and educational one! As mentioned in previous blogs, online bookmakers open betting markets on sports events, offering odds on the various potential outcomes. They take wagers from their customers, and pay out the winners. Therefore, it is important for an individual to be aware that “Bookies” are making money of bettors in commission! If a bettor thinks they are not being taken advantage of by the Bookies and companies for which they work, they are sadly mistaken. One piece of advice for sports bettors that comes directly from a Bookmaker is to “balance the book”. This means to look for games that are fairly even in regards to odds and payout. Although those big payouts may look enticing (whether betting for the underdog, or playing it safe), this is exactly what the Bookies want the bettors to believe (Ace Per Head, 2019). It is, in fact, those games that are more closely matched, which are safer to bet on. This is just one way that Bookies and betting sites trick their consumers by using “simple math” and numbers!

There were a few problems that I came across this week. Mainly, I had to overcome the fact that many individuals believe the myth that “bigger odds” equals “more winnings”. As previously stated, this is far from the truth! Many times, it turns out that the games that are given more even ratios by the Bookies, are the ones that win more often. Bookies try to trick bettors by creating bigger odds, with a smaller payout, so that bettors are tempted to bet on these games with the assumption that it will be an easy. There is, however, no such thing as “easy money” in gambling. this is challenge to address to sports bettors because it goes against the “numbers” in terms of the odds.

For my next Genius Hour, I will come to terms with how one’s probability of winning is influenced and affected in sports betting. This will be a cool topic to consider!

References

Ace Per Head. (2019). What is a Bookie? What Is a Bookie? (Guide), A Day in the Life of a Sports Boomaker (aceperhead.com)

the Pinnacle Podcast. (2020). What is it like to be a Bookmaker in disguise? Being a bookmaker in disguise (pinnacle.com) 

 

Week 7: A Bettor's Perspective, Not Necessarily a "Better" Perspective

 Here we go, Week 7 of my project is underway, and I cannot be more excited! This week was another informative and interesting one, as I strengthened my point of view on the topic of sports betting. As a bettor myself, I was able to broaden my perspective by researching other bettors and what it is like for them.

For the purpose of this blog post, I wanted to investigate a fellow sports bettor’s point of view. I chose to read and analyze the life of the father, David Owens, who wrote an article (2020) about how online gambling “ruined his life”. It all started with $88 in free bets, and that’s how he got hooked. This led to a downward spiral of debt and unhappiness for Owens. It became his “guilty secret”: an addiction that he kept hidden from all other, including his children and wife. After three years of this gambling behaviour spiralling out of control and Owens spending most his time isolated and devastated, he finally decided to change. It became so bad that he started sending himself emails begging himself to stop gambling! He finally gave it up, and is now much happier. He understands how fortunate he is to have gained his life back, since many people never actually do after a gambling addiction.

It is crucial that I teach my students the dangers of gambling and the low likelihood of actually ever winning. Stories like this help to facilitate this understanding in children and youth. of course, mathematics and statistics also illustrates how low one’s chances of winning actually are!

One issue that I could foresee when teaching a lesson like this in my classroom is that it could trigger certain student’s emotions. For instance, a student may have a father, or another family member, who has experienced similar gambling consequences. It is imperative that I, as the teacher, always consider the audience to whom I am teaching, and always keep conversations positive and ensure a welcoming and light learning environment.

For my next Genius Hour, I will be learning about the other side – the bookmaker’s perspective!

References

Owens, D. (2020). ‘I was existing, not living’ Dad reveals how online gambling ruined his life. Surrey Live. 'I was existing, not living' Dad reveals how online gambling ruined his life - Surrey Live (getsurrey.co.uk)  

Week 6: How Statistics are Used in General

Welcome to Week 6 of my Genius Hour Project on how math and stats are implicit when betting on sports. I hope that you all had an awesome Christmas break, as I know everyone deserved some rest and time to themselves, especially during these difficult times. My main goal for this week was to learn more about statistics in general, and how they can help people in both daily life and in work! I also wanted to research some terms and concepts related to statistics, and freshen up on what I have already learned in the subject area.

The field of statistics is crucial to understand as a sports bettor, Bookmaker, worker, or even the average person. One common, everyday example of the importance of statistics pertains to weather. Do you ever wonder how the forecast is predicted? Well, it all stems from computer models that compare prior weather with the current weather to make a calculation. Another way that statistics are prevalent on a daily basis is when we simply make a prediction. For instance, when we set our alarm clock, we are predicting that it will go off at the exact time in the morning for which we have set it. In other words, we are using the statistic that our alarm almost always sounds when we have set it. Statistics are also used by insurance companies. When you pay those high insurance fees on your car, house, or medicine, these rates are calculated via statistical models that determine your relative risk.

A concept that I came across, which I feel is vital for my students to grasp, relates to statistical bias and misleading statistics. These include strategies and methods that companies use to misinform, and even deceive, their consumers. Often, this trickery goes unnoticed, which allows the company to benefit at the peril of the consumers. There are many types of misleading statistics, and all are important for any consumer to realize. I will list some of the main types that the government, casinos, stores, agencies, organizations, and other companies use. For sake of this Genius Hour, I will use betting and bookmaking to provide some examples:

1)    Faulty Polling: when a question is phrased in a persuasive manner

·       Example: “Do you believe that casinos share the public interest, since they give away so much money” sounds like casinos “give out” money and require additional government funding

2)

     Flawed Correlations: measuring many variables until, eventually, a random correlation appears

·       Example: a researcher measures so many variables that they finally find a correlation between (A) an increase of slot machine wins in September in New York and (B) an increase in employment in September in New York

3)

      Misleading Visualization: graphs and charts that are misleading

·       Example: one scale in a bar graph is twice as big as the other, even though the actual percentage of this variable is only half

4)   
 

     Selective Bias: a specific sample of people is surveyed, or omitted, in an attempt to influence the data collection

·       Example: asking a college fraternity what the legal gambling age should be, versus asking a group of “OLG Play Safe” volunteers

5) 

     Small Sample Size: using percentage change as an indicator, after asking a small number of people

·       Example: asking a sample of 10 people if they win at the casino, where 8 answer “yes”, does not necessarily mean that 80% of the population wins at the casino

 

It is imperative that I, as a mathematical educator and role model, teach my students how to identify and combat such fraudulent mathematical data. Not only will this assist youth when they are gambling and making purchases, but it will also benefit them as they navigate through life, in general!

For next week’s hour (or more), I will be gaining a bettor’s perspective on the topic. I already have one, so it will be interesting to broaden this point of view and learn more about how to educate my students!

References

Lebied, M. (2018). Misleading statistics examples – discover the Potential for misuse of statistics & data in the digital age. Data Analysis. https://www.datapine.com/blog/misleading-statistics-and-data/