points by yowayb 5 days ago | 0 comments
i feel like there's some provable equivalency between gambling and pyramid schemes
[–] quickthrowman 5 days ago
[–] MOARDONGZPLZ 5 days ago
Probably referring to online gambling specifically. And I would frame it as the folks who promote pyramid schemes are the same as those who promote online gambling.
[–] freecodeio 5 days ago
the equivalency is both go bankrupt if people win as much as the house wants you to think they win
[–] ToValueFunfetti 5 days ago
Prediction markets' business model is taking transaction fees from contracts between independent counterparties. Kalshi won't go bankrupt no matter how much you make there (though 'people' collectively will make negative [fees + taxes]).
[–] cowlevel 4 days ago
Kalshi does make both sides feel like they'll probably win, and if that actually happened, Kalshi would definitely lose money.
[–] monknomo 5 days ago
these fees are a bog standard casino rake, a vig. this is just fancy window dressing on a bookie.
[–] whimsicalism 5 days ago
not really
[–] red-iron-pine 5 days ago
scammin the rubes
A pyramid scheme uses new investor money to pay fake returns to those who have already invested.
A casino provides games to bet on where expected value for the player is negative. A sportsbook balances their book by modifying the odds to remain as neutral as possible and capture the spread (see ‘vig’).
There’s not a whole lot of similarity there.