The Gambling Epidemic Will Keep You Broke (& You Don't Even Know it!)

Summary

Frugal Friends Podcast Summary

Episode: The Gambling Epidemic Will Keep You Broke (& You Don't Even Know It!)
Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni
Date: May 15, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode digs deep into the recent surge in gambling—especially the normalization of betting and gambling-like behaviors in modern culture. Jen and Jill highlight how legal changes made online sports betting massively accessible and discuss the subtle ways gambling is being marketed and “softened,” especially targeting women. They warn that even listeners who aren’t personally gambling are still at risk—through social trends, advertising, and “gateway gambles” wrapped in entertainment or retail. With humor, candor, and practical advice, Jen and Jill aim to expose these trends and empower listeners to protect their financial well-being.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The History and Rise of Sports Betting

• Sports betting used to be taboo and heavily restricted.
  • “You used to have to go on a cruise or go to Las Vegas to gamble, and now it’s at the touch of your fingertips.” (Jill, 03:46)
• Legal turning points:
  • New Jersey’s 2012 Sports Wagering Act, followed by the 2018 Supreme Court ruling, led to widespread legalization.
  • As of recording, sports betting is legal in 38 states and D.C., with online betting in most of those.

2. Gambling Is More Than Just Sports Bets: Normalization and Expansion

• Gambling and betting are everywhere in media, sports, and advertising—sponsorship deals with major leagues, analytics during games, and dedicated betting platforms (e.g., ESPN’s partnership with DraftKings).
  • “It is something that used to be frowned upon…now is becoming inextricably intertwined where a huge portion of sports revenue comes from advertising these sports betting platforms.” (Jen, 07:49)

3. Real-Life Impact of Online Gambling

• Personal stories: The hosts feature a call-in where a young man details his descent into addiction, starting with a $20 phone slot and eventually maxing out credit cards and resorting to payday loans and theft.
  • “…turned into this cycle where I was like, slowly, like I'd withdraw it and then I'd slowly like start putting it back in and losing and losing. And like within a couple months…I'm able to go through a whole paycheck in like an hour.” (Guest, 09:31)
• Statistics: Only 2-3% of sports bettors make profits long-term.
  • “Hate to break it to you, most of us are not going to be the 2 to 3% who's just crushing it every single time.” (Jill, 10:43)

4. Prediction Markets: Gambling Under a New Name

• Apps allow bets on non-sport events (e.g., political outcomes), creating gray areas in regulation.
• Description from an “Is it a Scam?” segment highlights the dangers:
  • Rampant insider trading, unregulated fraud, and the fact that “if you’re not cheating, you’re the sucker.” (13:03)
• These platforms, often marketed as “prediction” rather than “betting,” evade strict gambling laws and open the door to more people losing money.

5. ‘Soft Gambling’ and the Female Consumer

• Soft gambling has entered social media and online retail—think ‘lucky scoop’ videos, blind bags, TikTok Shop mystery items.
• Quote from a cited study:
  • “Gambling doesn’t always look like poker chips and slot machines. Sometimes it looks like pink bunnies, blind boxes, and whispery TikTok videos…a new behavioral habit for female consumers is emerging. The same random reward mechanism, but with completely different stakes, atmosphere, and psychology.” (Study referenced by Jen, 19:14)
• These offer the same dopamine rush and risk/reward thrill but in a sanitized, cute, or community-building form.
• Influencer marketing is specifically targeted to make women feel included and “safe” in these activities, repeating the historical playbook used in the cigarette industry.

6. Gambling With Your Everyday Life

• Apps and credit platforms now allow you to gamble to pay off your actual bills (e.g., the ‘Covered’ app), using sweepstakes loopholes to avoid gambling regulation.
  • “You can pick any transaction…play whatever kind of game…to have the app cover that bill for you. It is technically free to play, but you can pay money to play it. The more money you put down, the more likely you are to win.” (Jill, 33:56)
• Ordinary games like solitaire are being monetized in a way that introduces real-money risk for familiar, innocuous activities.

7. The Dangers of Normalization

• The culture is being “marinated” in gambling-adjacent dopamine hits, priming everyone—especially women—for riskier behaviors down the line.
• These behaviors include not just betting but subscribing to a cycle of seeking out the next thrill through retailtainment, “loot boxes,” and surprise-based shopping.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On normalization:
  • “We are saturated with this. It is becoming part of normal culture even if we ourselves are not engaging in those specific activities.” (Jill, 17:17)
• On ‘soft gambling’:
  • “We’re talking about the cheap dopamine hit of getting trash from a blind bag…You’re not buying for the actual usefulness or joy…It is a bandwagon effect and it is the cheap dopamine hit of mystery thrill.” (Jen, 27:34)
• On marketing playbooks:
  • “Is there another industry where we’ve seen it’s primarily male? And then Marjorie’s like, huh, we should start marketing to women…The playbook is already there, and they’ve already started.” (Jen, 31:28)
• On new gambling apps:
  • “They are not regulated by gambling laws. They’re regulated by sweepstakes laws, which are far more lenient.” (Jill, 34:43)

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Important Timestamps

• [04:49] – Legal timeline and state of sports betting in the US
• [09:10] – Young caller describes sliding into gambling addiction
• [11:40] – Explainer on prediction markets (“Is it a Scam?” clip)
• [18:56] – Introduction to the concept of ‘soft gambling’ and retailtainment
• [23:06] – Deep dive into “lucky scoop” blind boxes and TikTok trends
• [29:34] – Industry notes on targeting women as gambling customers
• [33:04] – Explanation and criticism of the “Covered” app (gambling with your bills)
• [36:26] – Advice on recognizing gambling normalization and finding healthier dopamine
• [39:27] – "Bill of the Week" segment — listener story about frugal dress borrowing
• [44:19] – Lightning round: hosts’ personal experiences with gambling

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Advice & Action Steps

• Educate yourself and those around you:
  • Especially young men (currently the highest-risk group), but also women as the industry shifts targeting strategy.
• Seek “better dopamine” elsewhere:
  • “If I’m seeking belonging…get a pen pal. Do a favorite things swap. Go thrifting—something with boundaries and real value.” (Jill, 37:44)
• Be aware when behaviors shift toward chase-the-thrill, mystery buys, and comparison-based consumerism.
• Know your risk: Personal boundaries and self-knowledge are critical. If you can’t set a limit, avoid these activities altogether.

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Hosts’ Reflections & Acknowledgement of Addiction

• Both Jen and Jill relate their limited, non-addictive personal experiences with traditional gambling, but strongly affirm that for many, addiction is very real and easily triggered by even “soft” forms of gambling.
  • “Addiction is a very real thing…there are, you know, a spectrum of personalities and individuals that make gambling more difficult, more addictive, more alluring…” (Jill, 46:51)

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Episode’s Tone & Style

Candid, witty, and supportive—the hosts combine practical financial wisdom with cultural critique and personal anecdotes. They strike a balance between serious financial warnings and a light, humorous atmosphere that makes the subject approachable.

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Final Thoughts

• Gambling is no longer a niche or isolated issue—it’s influencing retail, entertainment, and social habits.
• The market is expanding and evolving, especially targeting women with softer, “safer” forms of betting.
• Recognizing the behavioral patterns and emotional drivers behind these trends is key to not falling prey to them.

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Memorable Closing Advice:
“Find better dopamine hits. And we all know why gambling is bad. We can all at least tell the people in our lives like, this is what this does. This is how you can find dopamine in different places. Like, this is an activity, not a way to make money. You’ve got to be willing to lose everything you put in because you will, because that’s how it’s designed.” (Jen, 38:18)

Transcript

[Jill]

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[Jen]

epidemic will keep you broke and you don't even know it. Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, and live a richer life.

[Jill]

Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill.

[Jen]

Welcome, Frugal Friends. I'm Jen.

[Jill]

I'm Jill.

[Jen]

And you would be very lucky to turn on YouTube or to turn on the TV or even the radio at this point and not be inundated with ads for gambling. So lucky that you might want to buy a lottery ticket.

[Jill]

It is everywhere. But the thing is, is, like, we all generally agree that gambling is not good, right? Like, we can kind of set that as a standard, like, gambling's not good for us.

[Jen]

Right.

[Jill]

And yet it's so prevalent. Although I think part of that reason is because we're not labeling it gambling, we're calling it betting. And in that way, we're able to incorporate some of our knowledge. That's a little bit of the insidious part of it, too.

[Jen]

We'll talk about that. But even if you're not gambling, if you just clicked on this episode just to hear us trash on sports betting, don't worry, you'll get what you came for. But I think it's more insidious than that, or we wouldn't be doing a full episode on it. This isn't just affecting the people who are doing online gambling or sports betting. This is permeating into culture, into advertising, and it's normalizing things that are costing you money and you don't even realize it. And that's what we're talking about today.

[Jill]

But first, we are doing. We're still doing a mug giveaway. This lovely lady right here, our Frugal AF mug, is something that you yourself could hold in your hands, but not for money. We're not going to charge you money for it. You can have it for free. All you got to do is subscribe

[Jen]

to our YouTube channel, enter our sweepstakes. It's not a sweepstakes. I think I, for legal purposes, I

[Jill]

have to say that, yeah, no, no, it's not a sweepstakes.

[Jen]

No purchase necessary. Just go to frugalfriendspodcast.com mug, enter your email, your YouTube username that you use to subscribe to the channel, because we will check that. And then we're gonna pick five winners to win that mug.

[Jill]

And every month, five winners. So.

[Jen]

Well, this is the last one. I'm out of mugs after this, but if you're listening to this before May 22, you can still enter. And if you haven't won one yet and you already entered, still in the running.

[Jill]

So, yeah. Yay. Okay. Why is it that every single ad or every other ad feels like it is gambling in some respect? Like you used to have to go on a cruise or go to Las Vegas to gamble, and now it's. It's the touch of the fingertips. It's.

[Jen]

You could do it on your phone, on the toilet, and like, people are telling you how to do it online, how to, how to gamble better. Which if it's card games, I understand. Like, I don't know how to play poker. I could watch a video on how to play poker better. I cannot watch a video on how to sports bet better, though they do exist and there are plenty of reasons people give why the statement I just said is wrong. But I think it's going to be helpful for, for us to understand that the answer to the question, to understand, to know the history of sports betting just going back about 10, 10, 15 years.

[Jill]

Yeah. So in 2012, New Jersey passed the Sports Wagering act to legalize sports betting at casinos and racetracks, which defied a previous 1992 federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Passpa. If you wan, just shorten that a bit. And this initiated a six year legal battle against major sports leagues that ultimately set the stage for the 2018 Supreme Court ruling overturning the PASPA. So in 2018, the Supreme Court decision opened the door for states to legalize sports betting. And then we were just off to the races, literally since 2018.

[Jen]

So, yeah, today sports betting is legal in 38 states and Washington D.C. so if you're not seeing the same thing we're seeing, you might be in one of these states where this isn't going on. But stay with us because I guarantee you are seeing the stuff that we will talk about in the second half of this episode. And then out of those 31 states in D.C. permit online mobile sports betting, while the remaining states with legal wagering restrict it to in person retail locations such as casinos and racetracks. And it's from this 2018 ruling that we have had over a decade, I mean really the 2012 ruling, we've had over a decade of time for sports betting to build and build and modernize and adapt and to really create this gambling epidemic that we are seeing currently. And it's something we can't ignore. Even if we are not actively participating personally, we can't ignore it because even if you don't bet on sports, it is changing the fabric of both sports and advertising.

[Jill]

Yeah, it's permeating everywhere. When a good majority of the population is engaging in this, then we're going to start to see it that pop up in other places that aren't just in sports. But sports betting of course is becoming so normalized with the gambling, with the betting and it's creating a massive new revenue stream for the leagues, the NFL, the NBA, the MLB through sponsorships and advertising partnerships. So games now will be giving you analytical insights and doesn't that sound so complex? It must be so smart and help us win all of the money to help sports gamblers. Last year, active players and coaches in baseball and basketball were caught up in gambling scandals even.

[Jen]

Yeah.

[Jill]

So we are just like top down, bottom up, it's everywhere.

[Jen]

Yeah. So much so that ESPN started its own gambling like subset, like its own gambling platform and eventually just dropped that and partnered with DraftKings. But it is something that used to be frowned upon. There used to be consumer protection laws against now is becoming inextricably intertwined where a huge portion of sports revenue comes from advertising these sports betting platforms. And we cannot go backwards, we cannot go back. So where are we going now if we don't pay attention? Well, one example is phone games. So phone casinos, these have always been around in some form since we've had smartphones. But now that we're seeing more normalized gambling, more normalized betting, these games are becoming less like explicit casinos. Like if you play one, you have a problem and more socially acceptable to where you're playing when you're just, it's just another thing to do. On your phone to like get off social media.

[Caller/Guest]

I didn't even know you could play slots on your phone. I just tried it, like 20 bucks. I just put in 20 bucks and I did one buy in on Sweet Bonanza. And I remember hitting like, I won for like 100 bucks. And I'm like my, I drive like a little Volkswagen Golf. So it's like 50 bucks to fill up. And like, I'm like, I like this. Like that's the worst thing that could

[Jill]

have happened that you won.

[Caller/Guest]

Yeah, no, it is, honestly. But very slowly, like, so it turned into this cycle where I was like, slowly, like I'd withdraw it and then I'd slowly like start putting it back in and losing and losing. And like within a couple months, like probably two, three months, I'm like, I'm able to go through a whole paycheck in like an hour. I had like three credit cards all maxed out. I was going to like the payday loans, taking out loans to gamble. I was stealing money from my family. I'd win money and I'd be like financially free for like a day or two. And then after that day or two goes by, it's already dumped back in and my credit cards maxed out again.

[Jen]

And it is preying on these young men with underdeveloped prefrontal cortexes and really making this gambling like so accessible and so easy. Like you could literally do it on the toilet and nobody looks down on you. I saw so many examples of this online and I only picked one. But you can hear stories like this. Like, I just got into a game, I heard a commercial, I got into it, and then this.

[Jill]

And it doesn't feel real. It doesn't feel like real money until it's all gone and it's not providing enough benefit in return. I mean, you know, we're. That that's this example. But even to go back to the sports betting, only 2 to 3% can make it profitable long term. Sports betting, and I get it that people are going to say sports betting is different from gambling because you're actually utilizing knowledge that you have to make these predictions. Even still, only 2 to 3% that do it are going to be able to make money long term. Like we're not the anomaly. Like, hate to break it to you, most of us are not going to be the 2 to 3% who's just crushing it every single time. There's no way that we could. And not only the examples we've already given, but prediction markets are becoming even bigger the ability to bet on literally anything.

[Jen]

And if you're not sure what a prediction market is, here's a little primer for you.

[Narrator/Host of 'Is it a Scam?' series]

Apps that let you bet on everything from when the US Will go to war to how much some wrestler will sell his Pokemon cards for are everywhere. But are they a scam? Find out on another episode of my hit series. Is it a scam? Yep. Prediction markets are gambling apps that are legal in more places than other gambling apps because they chose to call it something different. It's the same way sports gambling is destroying an entire generation of young men financially, but with a cool new rebrand. Because they allow people to bet on stuff that doesn't have the usual safeguards in place. The whole system is awash in insider trading. Like how somebody who works for Bad Bunny predicted correctly what Bad Bunny would do at the Super Bowl. Or how somebody used classified information to make $400,000 off a military action. There's no way that could possibly go wrong. But what that means is if you're not working for Bad Bunny or the government, this is an app to trick you into losing money to those people. It's not just allowed, it's encouraged. So if you're not cheating, you're the sucker. Of course, because it's a giant unregulated gambling industry, it's also rife with fraud. This study found that 25% of the activity on the entire platform is wash trading, which is a way for people to use multiple accounts and bots to trade back and forth to manipulate the prices. It's like how the stock market feels kind of rigged, but these people figured out a way to get rid of the kinda. So it's a way for the worst people, you know, to use bots and insider information to siphon money away from young men without any oversight. But is it a scam? Yep.

[Jill]

I love that.

[Jen]

I did not speed that video up at all. If you are wondering.

[Jill]

That's just how fast he talks.

[Jen]

Yeah, he has so many of those. He's a great follow. But prediction markets, even if sports betting is not legalized in your state, predictions, markets aren't considering. Aren't considered sports betting or gambling. So they're everywhere. So we are seeing them everywhere. And there are actually the experts on prediction markets. This is still crazy. Encourage insider trading because they say it is the best way for the platform to have the most accurate predictions. Yeah, like it's a numbers game to them and they. They want the most accurate data and they don't care about the losers. And so this is just another way that normalized sports betting, normalized gambling permeates into everything. And these CEOs of these companies, Polymark, Kalshee, they have outspokenly said they want to make everything something that you can bet on. Every decision, every event, everything is a opportunity for financial gain for them. And so how, how does this affect you if you're not going to bet on a polymarket or a CalShee or a DraftKings? It's this normalization piece and it's already happening.

[Jill]

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[Jen]

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[Jill]

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[Jen]

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[Jill]

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[Jen]

I think we probably all know somebody who is either using DraftKings or CalSheet or Polymarket.

[Jill]

Kandool. Yes. Whatever platform you want to talk about, it is happening. Not to mention just the regular slots, just going and doing the Las Vegas thing that happens to people. I know. And so what that means is we are saturated with this. It is becoming part of normal culture even if we ourselves are not engaging in those specific activities. So what does that mean about the normalization as we ourselves still kind of marinate in this environment and the types of things that we might become more apt to do or try because it's not this, but it's kind of similar and we could feel better about it.

[Jen]

There are, what do they call it, Gateway gambles. There are gateways and trust me, girl, we are all in the door right now. We are already all in the door

[Jill]

to the gateway because there is something that really appeals to our humanity about, about gambling. The opportunity for the thrill of winning. It's the dopamine rush again, the possibility of doing a small thing and winning something bigger on the other side. The unknown about it, the spontaneity. There is something there that if, if it didn't provide us with something, then none of us would have any issues with it. So even, even for the way that we shop and the way that we're engaging with advertising there, there are more and more ways that they're trying to make it seem and feel like the benefits of gambling.

[Jen]

And I mean, if you look at any, if you spend any time on the news or social media, the world is always on fire. Right? And there. And we've become so disenfranchised by side hustles and the wage gap, wage disparity, that the idea of being able to make some money is super appealing, even if there is this high risk and this opportunity for addiction. So they've taken this kind of like recession indicator and capitalized on it. And so what it looks like in the gateway is this thing called soft gambling. And so there, there is this study that looked at the rise of soft gambling. And a quote from the study says, gambling doesn't always look like poker chips and slot machines. Sometimes it looks like pink bunnies, blind boxes, and whispery TikTok videos. Somewhere between retail therapy and roulette, a new behavioral habit for female consumers is emerging. The same random reward mechanism, but with completely different stakes, atmosphere, and psychology. And then there's softcore gambling, a subdued casino where the goal is comfort, not conquest. But let's talk first about this, these types of soft gambling. So first we have something. You may have seen it on Instagram or TikTok, but where it's like a blind box, but you don't even know what's going to be in the blind box yet. You've got this woman with aesthetically pleasing, like, room and nails, maybe voice, or maybe it is the computer generated voice. And I don't know why people do that. It's so annoying. But to each their own. And she's. She's scooping out beads and putting them on. They're beautiful. On this little tray. And then each bead is a surprise. It correlates too, something you're gonna get in your package. And so we're taking the beads and then we're getting these fun, cute little aesthetic little pens, journals, plushies, all of those. Have you seen those? Have you seen those? Now that I've said it out loud and you've watched this, you might, but.

[Jill]

And people are addicted to them. Like, people are becoming obsessed with it.

[Jen]

Yeah, it is some. Yeah, it is something called lucky scoops. And people are becoming addicted to these things.

[Jill]

I've got to know who else is completely addicted to those? Like, let's pack a three scoop order. I will literally stop and watch every single one of those videos when they come up. I can't help it. It just scratches that ADHD itch for me. And I'm completely obsessed. I cannot be the only one. She's being honest.

[Jen]

I honestly, I get it. Like, it is very aesthetically pleasing and it can be just kind of an escape from other content that's maybe pushing you to buy something or pushing you to, I don't know, be better, improve your Life. This is just mindless. So it's a lot. And we'll play it on mute if you're watching the video. The video. But it's just a lot of honestly, stuff you could get on TEMU in bulk and they're just like putting it in boxes to send to people.

[Jill]

Yeah, it's definitely. It looks like a dollar store haul.

[Jen]

Yes.

[Jill]

Things that I would not want to receive. But it's not about the thing that's. That's. That's the whole point of it. It's about the watching the scoop. It's about the not knowing. It's about the my. It's about the dopamine. It's hardly about whatever cheap sleep mask you're gonna get in the mail.

[Jen]

The box, honestly, at the end of it looks like a junk drawer and a full of stuff you would have never purchased, but you kind of just collected from goodie bags over the years. And these things go for anywhere from like 50 to $500, depending on what people are putting in the boxes. It could be like, you know, fake designer bags or thrift clothes. And you never know what you're gonna get. And that's kind of the excitement. And then I think the lucky scoop thing, you also get these enjoyment of seeing your box, but you have to pay extra to have them make a video of your lucky scoop being done. Oh my gosh.

[Jill]

Of course.

[Jen]

It's crazy. So you've got this.

[Jill]

I mean, how brilliant for the person who's doing it.

[Jen]

So true. So you've got this like retailtainment, like sort of thing full of things that

[Jill]

you not shopping for things you want.

[Listener/Katie]

Right.

[Jen]

That you would never buy otherwise. But this is huge and it has been huge for a while. Like, this is a trend that has been around for a while.

[Jill]

Okay. Blind bags are another example. Is it a scam? Yep. And it's another one of these things where we want to receive something. We want it to be a surprise, we want it to be a mystery. We want the thrill of the dopamine hit, not knowing what we're going to receive, but also built up in anticipation based on being able to watch these things happen for other people online. Right. Like, we would never know that we wanted to even get a blind bag if it weren't for what we're seeing on social media like this.

[Jen]

Yeah. If you watched our hobby or our collectibles episode where we talk about Labubus, this was a big reason why Labubus were so popular, because they came in blind bags and you didn't know which one you were gonna get. So people would get like 10 of them to see if they were going to be able to get the, the one special, the one surprise or the color that they wanted. And so that was a big thing. So now we're seeing this. We see this all across all kinds of stuff but on a small scale. We see it on TikTok shop and I came across when I was searching for blind bags, this one product that was being sold by easily 10 different people. And so I just put a compilation together of all 10 of these videos. Let me know if you hear anything familiar.

[Jill]

Everyone who obsessed with these and they just restock. Everyone is obsessed with these and they just restocked. Everyone is obsessed with these and they just restocked. Resident animals are like kern currency for kids of all ages.

[Listener/Katie]

When someone follows a random rule or

[Jill]

procedure, they get to pick one from the mystery bag.

[Jen]

You get a pack of like 50

[Jill]

for super cheap, for super cheap. For super cheap. For so cheap. I'm gonna link it in the bottom left hand corner. But get, but get them before they sell back out. Before they sell back out.

[Jen]

I know they're gonna sell outside. Click that link and check them out.

[Jill]

Wow, it's so eerie.

[Jen]

They're saying the same exact script to sell you the same exact product to a particular audience for this one. Teachers for their like reward baskets. It's wild. Every UGC creator is just like copying a script to like sell you products they don't use and they because they want to like make their bag and we support them because we all want to earn more money. But like what are they earning money at the expense of taking money from people who can't afford it or who are at a disadvantage cognitively, I. E. Me when I'm scrolling social media at night and I'm tired and I'm stressed and I think these little blind bag animals will give me the dopamine hit that I want, but they won't.

[Jill]

It's so interesting because it is toys. Like all of these things, all of these videos that we've shown. It is toys but it is adult doing it. Also, also kids, teens and young adults, but also people solidly in adulthood.

[Jen]

And I don't bash collecting toys. Like if you've got a passion for something that is nostalgic or collectible or something like that. Like that is not what we are talking about. We are talking about the cheap dopamine hit of getting trash from a blind bag. We are not, you are not buying for the actual usefulness or joy that that product in that bag or box brings you or value. It is a bandwagon effect and it is the cheap dopamine hit of mystery thrill

[Jill]

soft gambling as they are in. If we were to do sweeping generalizations trying to get after the female pop in some sort of gambling way rather than the competitive nature of it. Trying to find ways to add gambling into experiences of joy connectivity rather than player versus player competition. And so meme coin traders show pictures of 1000% profits. Pokemon unboxers flaunt rare $400 items. Pop Mart unboxers display duplicate items on TikTok saying, you anyone want this pink bunny? So the former is about comparison, but the latter is about kind of empathy and being able to see what, what do other people have celebrating other people too. Right. If you're watching these videos of the, what was it, the, the, the bead thing, what was that called? The Lucky scoops. Then you, you're kind of celebrating what somebody else is, is getting in their box also with the opportunity to do it yourself. But it's this kind sense of belonging that's being added into a little bit of gambling.

[Jen]

Yeah. So, and eventually we will get to actual gambling. So we found an article from the North Carolina Health News saying that sports betting industry is looking to unlock a new market wagering on women. I'm just going to read a quote and you tell again, you tell me if you've heard something like this before, like on our show. This, you know, write in the comments if you heard something like that before. It's pretty clear that women are increasingly being marketed to with this. Instead of an emphasis on competition, more of an emphasis on community and doing things together, which would appeal more to women, said Rachel Volberg, a retired University of Massachusetts professor who has been involved in epidemiological research. Oh gosh, I'm lucky you did it. Specialized on gambling and problem gambling since the mid-80s. The influencer marketing is clearly a tactic that sports betting operators have taken from their success with influencers and male sports bettors. And they are now specifically marketing to women. Is there another industry where we've seen it's primarily male? And then Marjorie's like, huh, we should start marketing to women. And people are like, you'll never get women to do this. This is a male thing.

[Jill]

How will we ever get women to do this? Who must we call upon? Who might be able to help us translate this insidious thing to females? Edward Bernays.

[Jen]

I wish I made a little like graphic with his face and Just like also explosions.

[Jill]

Then it would look like we're. We're worshiping him.

[Jen]

No, no, but explosions. Explosions. And he disintegrates in the explosion.

[Jill]

We're threatening him and we're not.

[Jen]

And that's why I didn't make that. But like, I would love for you to imagine something like that in your head. But yes, they did the same thing with smoking. Men were smoking. It was frowned upon for women to smoke. Marketing came in and repositioned smoking to be torches of freedom, being closer to male equality and being more liberated, and look what happens. You wouldn't even know if you hadn't heard that story on this show or taken a marketing class. You would probably not know that about smoking. You just might have assumed just everyone started smoking at the same time. But no, and it will happen again. To gambling. The playbook is already there, and they've already started. And one of the ways they've started is to look at women's sense of security. That is. And I'm not saying that's like a uniquely female trait, but one of the things that holds more women back than men is wanting to be, like, secure financially.

[Jill]

Sidebar. It's one of the reasons that we are technically better investors as women because of our risk averseness. Helps us to make more logical decisions.

[Jen]

Amen. So we've taken this, and somebody has created a app where you can actually gamble with your bills.

[Jill]

I hate this one. I hate this one so much. But you have to know about it. You all have to be with us in the hatred.

[Jen]

So essentially, you can, and we will throw it up. It's called covered. And you can, every time you pay something, you can, like, play a gambling game within the app to try and win back the money that you paid for that purchase.

[Jill]

I was shocked and I was shook. You found out about this, threw it into the outline, and then I took a deep dive on it because I was like, what? What is this?

[Jen]

Tell us more.

[Jill]

Oh, my gosh. So it's exactly as you've described. You are accurate on this. So it's a credit card where you can see all of your transactions first.

[Jen]

Just an app. You don't have to get the credit card first. The credit card, though, is coming.

[Jill]

Okay.

[Jen]

Don't worry. The credit card's coming.

[Jill]

Oh, my gosh. Okay. And you can pick any transaction, any singular transaction. Let's say it was dinner out with the girls the other night. You pick that to play against it. So you'll play whatever kind of game honestly looks exactly like A gambling game, like a slot machine type of thing, to be able to remove that bill, essentially have the app cover that bill for you. It is technically free to play, but you can pay money to play it. And the more money you put down to play it, the more likely you are to win. So you are going to spend money

[Jen]

to improve your odds.

[Jill]

Oh, my gosh. Yes. And they also have an option to clear the entire statement if you're feeling lucky. You've got a $12,000 statement and you want to try and clear the whole thing. Yeah, you could do that. You could do that from the comfort of your own phone. And also get this, they are not regulated by gambling laws. They're regulated by sweepstakes laws, which are far more lenient.

[Jen]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jill]

There's no guarantee on what your odds are either. Like, I was scrolling and scrolling and scrolling through the terms and conditions, could not find, you know what, what sorts of fair standards might they be using? No, they're just going to decide whether or not they want to cover your $120 and just make you feel like you're playing a game in the meantime.

[Jen]

Yeah, and they're kind of feminizing casino games as well. We had a listener tell us that she was losing money playing solitaire, which I play a lot of solitaire. And I was like, I've never paid money or lost money. What is this? And so they're taking games that are normalized. They're putting stakes behind them. They are creating more. I want to say it's kind of like Animal Crossing style games where you used to just buy into it and buy little virtual, I don't know, outfits for your, I don't know, Animal Crossing. But like used to just pay money to get things in the app. App. And now you're going to pay money to gamble within these apps, which is far more addictive.

[Jill]

Okay, we've said a lot of really sad things. How do we wrap up? Where do we go from here? First of all, educate your husbands, educate your sons, educate the men in your life. Because honestly, a lot of this is men. But, but listen, if it's working for the men, it's coming for us.

[Jen]

It is coming for you. I cannot stress this enough.

[Jill]

And if we have a man in our lives and they're involved in this, then it is already affecting us. Like, this is not wise financial decision making. This is not a way to make money. It's not profit generating. So let's, let's work to shift some of the behavior, some of the ways that we seek out dopamine in our lives, we can educate other people, but ultimately we only have control over ourselves and what we do. And I think one of the things is just being knowledgeable about this, being able to identify it as. That's gambling. This is trying to make me think that I'm going to be able to get some surprise, some. Some benefit from this. Not that that's bad in and of itself, but is there another way that I could get this? If I'm seeking dopamine, if I'm seeking belonging, if I'm seeking a special treat in the mail, how about I get a pen pal? What if we had pen pals?

[Jen]

Bring back the pen pal.

[Jill]

Yeah, that would be so lovely. What a surprise to get in the mail. A fun letter from people. Do do a favorite things gathering with friends where you all get together and you bring something that you all like that's five, $10 or less, and do a swap with one another. If you really got to. Going to the thrift store is going to be better than trying to get one of these lucky scoops. So find what's going to be more beneficial for your finances. What, While still meeting your needs.

[Jen]

Yeah, Find better dopamine hits. And we all know why gambling is bad. We can all at least tell the people in our lives like, this is what this does. This is how you can find dopamine in different places. Like, this is an activity, not a way to make money. You've got to be willing to lose everything you put in because you will, because that's how it's designed.

[Jill]

Here's a dopamine hit that is completely for free. It's our version of a blind box.

[Jen]

It's the highest caliber of dopamine hit. I believe anybody can get the bill of the week. That's right. It's time for the bill. Best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage. Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore. Duck Bills. Buffalo Bills. Bill Clinton. This is the bill of the week.

[Listener/Katie]

Hi, frugal friends. My name is Katie. I am a longtime listener of the show, but I've never left a bill, and I'm excited to tell you guys about this one. So this is the bill that I'm not paying. So I am volunteering for an event called Night to Shine, which, if you've never heard about it, it happens worldwide in different places. But the simple way to explain it is that it is a prompt for individuals with special needs. I will be attending as a buddy, which means that I am attending as the guest of one of the honored guests, which is one of the individuals with special needs and just there to help them navigate the space and have the best night ever. And so of course it's a prom, right? So you're supposed to dress fancy and I instead of buying a new dress for the event was able to put out an a work Facebook page and see if anyone had dresses in my size that I could borrow and I ended up having like eight different dresses to try on. I found one that works perfect, that's super pretty and cute and stylish, fits great and I didn't have to spend a dime because I'm just borrowing it and so I don't have to be stressed out financially and can just focus on making sure that my buddy has the absolute best night ever at the prom. So love the show. Thanks for all you do. Bye.

[Jill]

Yeah, thanks for being a long time listener that don't think I forgot about that part. Really appreciate you being here and finally leaving us a bill. Still we love the ones that you don't have to spend money on. When you are incorporating all of your frugal knowledge and skills and putting into practice and seeing it work and it not be you depriving yourself. You were still able to wear a new to you dress, you were still able to feel great and look good and it still not cost you any money. I love borrowing especially for things like this like a specialty event where when else are you going to be able to wear that thing. Purchasing for something special like that, that really doesn't make much sense especially full price if you are purchasing. So well done. I assume that night to shine is over by now, but I hope that it was a great time. What a cool event. If you all are listening have a bill that you want to share. If it has to do with not paying for something and borrowing instead or paying something off or anything bill related, you know how we roll. Frugalfencepodcast.com Bill can't wait for it it and now it's time for the lightning round. One way I reduce decision fatigue is by simplifying my getting dressed routine. This means having closet staples with versatility. So my outfits just work for this quint has been my go to. Everything feels effortless but still put together which is exactly the vibe I want when I'm running errands or recording same

[Jen]

but for me it's all about their tanks. I am obsessed with. They're super soft, they hold their shape and they somehow make me feel like I tried even when I absolutely did not try. It's giving elevated basics without the elevated price.

[Jill]

I live in their linen pants and dresses. They're lightweight, breathable and actually flattering, which is not always the case with linen. I also grabbed one of their washable silk dresses and had to double check the price because it felt way more expensive than it was. I genuinely wear these pieces on repeat.

[Jen]

Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.comfrugal for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.

[Jill]

Now available in Canada too.

[Jen]

That's Q-U-I-N C E.comfrugal for free Shipping and 365 day returns quince.comfrugal does anyone else get the urge to reset everything when the seasons change? Like I start cleaning out closets, reorganizing my space and then I'm like, oh, my finances could use the this same energy. That's where Monarch has been so helpful for me lately.

[Jill]

I say let Monarch do your financial spring cleaning for you. One dashboard that gets your entire financial life organized. No more clutter, no more mess, no more scattered logins. Just accounts, investments, property and more all in one place. Get your first year of Monarch for half off just $50 with promo code Frugal.

[Jen]

What helps me is seeing where my money is actually going. I thought I was doing fine, but Monarch showed me my savings rate had quiet dropped after a month of lots of springtime activities. Now I check the weekly recap and it flags spending spikes before they get out of hand. I use this and I recommend it for anyone looking for a good budgeting app.

[Jill]

Use code [e-mail] to get your first year half off at just $50. That's 50% off your first year at monarch.com with code frugal.

[Jen]

All right. Have you ever gambled and what was your experience?

[Jill]

Sure have.

[Jen]

Same.

[Jill]

I went to Las Vegas actually to provide like a retreat for a nonprofit. But I went with a co worker and when we were in the airport on the way home we were like, we probably should have like played a slot or something. Like we're in Vegas so they have slot machines in the airport. And I, I don't, I've never done it before. I don't really know how they work, but I don't. I feel like as I've walked through casinos, people are sitting at these places for hours and hours and hours. But like we put in, I was probably like a dollar and pulled the thing down one time. It happened immediately. No winnings. And that's it. And I'm like, it's just over. It didn't make any kind of sense to me. I'm like, so I didn't win. That's it. Just done. Done with. And the woman I was with was like, yeah, you'd have to put in more. I'm like, what's my incentive? What's my incentive to put in more money? Like, it happened so fast. Yeah, I didn't get anything back. Why would I do that again? So then I was done. That was it. Maybe if I had one, then maybe it would have drawn me in. But like, they needed to give me a longer experience than that. Okay, what about you?

[Jen]

Roulette. Okay. Sometimes on a cruise ship, gamble and we'll do $20. We'll put $20 in and we'll just see how far we can get. And there was one time where we were playing roulette where we were there for over an hour playing on the same $20. Like we were there for a long time. It might have been more than an hour.

[Jill]

Was it fun?

[Jen]

Yes. Okay, it was fun. But that's like a $20 activity that we just like, okay, we're just gonna go and play $20 and have fun. And then we're not the people who spend so much in the casino that they get free cruises. And that is a strategy people use. I don't know how financially, like who ends up on top? Yeah, the casino. The like, like the cruise line or the person probably.

[Jill]

Cruise line.

[Jen]

Yeah. You let me know in the comments if you know anybody who does that and how it actually ends up.

[Jill]

But yeah, yeah, I sidebar too. Now that we're at the very end of this episode. You know, these are our experiences. And so clearly gambling is not a deep rooted issue for us. But addiction is a very real thing. There are people who have propensity to find gambling to be something that really can draw you in and can and can be really devastating. So we don't want to gloss over that. And there are, you know, a spectrum of personalities and individuals and makeups that would make gambling more difficult, more addictive, more alluring than maybe for other people. So I think that's again, where self knowledge is really important of is this going to be dangerous for me or is this going to be. Be fun and something I can do and I can set a limit to it. But if the Limit is not going to work for you. You know yourself best. Stick in the places and do the activities that are going to be in your best interest.

[Jen]

Yeah.

[Jill]

Okay, everyone, thanks for being here. Thanks for listening. We hope that this was illuminating. We hope we didn't anger you too much. Whatever it was though, we want to hear about it in the comments and we also want to hear about your reviews of our book. Like this one from. From Scarlet no Charlotte J. Five stars. Great. Basic education and financial literacy. Got this from the library and decided it was worth purchasing for my stepdaughter, Woo Woo. To help impart financial literacy while she's young.

[Jen]

I love.

[Jill]

That's what we're looking for first from the library. Then you purchased it.

[Jen]

Yes, that right there. So thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed the show, please take a minute to like this episode, like it on YouTube and subscribe to the channel and leave a review for the book on Amazon. If you have read it. If you haven't, buy what you love book dot com. You can get instructions how to request at your library if your library doesn't have it and all of our preferred vendors for buying it.

[Jill]

See you next time. Bye.

[Jen]

Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.

[Jill]

There are times that I have gambled with my gas tank. Gamble with my oil changes. I'm gambling with my oil right now, actually, currently.

[Jen]

You used to be able to gamble with like subscription boxes where they would send you a box. Box full of kind of like Lucky Scoops. Before Lucky Scoops was scooping. They would just send you a bunch of stuff in your junk drawer that would end up in your junk drawer. Samples and stuff of like lotions and perfumes and face products and you know, bath stuff.

[Jill]

We all love a gift, you know. Many of us are acts of service and gift people.

[Jen]

Yeah. Now those subscription boxes, you know what's coming in them, right? Like you get to pick. What is the point.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

Of getting something sent to you and paying for it if you weren't gonna buy it yourself?

[Listener/Katie]

Yeah.

[Jill]

I think, I think it's not us putting real logical thought into it. It's more the emotional side. It's other needs that we're trying to meet.

[Jen]

Yeah, we just wanna get a gift

[Jill]

than our basic needs.

[Jen]

We want gifts.

[Jill]

No, we just want to be showered with gifts. And if no one is going to do it for.

[Jen]

Nobody's going to do it for us.

[Jill]

Pay an influencer to do it for us, man.

[Jen]

That's it. No gifts.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

Surprises. Cheap dopamine.

[Jill]

Well, surprise yourself with a gust of wind. That's what I say. Go outside.

[Narrator/Host of 'Is it a Scam?' series]

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[Jill]

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[Jill]

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[Jill]

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[Narrator/Host of 'Is it a Scam?' series]

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[Jill]

Available wherever you listen. Published by Capital Client Group, Inc.