zlacker

One of the things that's getting confused in this thread is the distinction between games of skill and games of chance. Most outcomes in life are the result of a combination of skill and chance - so there's admittedly a gradient and a big gray area between the two.

But to use farming as an example, you undoubtedly apply skill in your trade to get a better outcome. Sure, your results depend heavily on things like the weather, but someone with zero experience and skill as a farmer will have less success at it than you do. This is a skill intensive game.

On the far other end of the spectrum is the slot machine - you pull a lever and wait. Labor is nonexistent, knowledge or skill is irrelevant. This is entirely a game of chance.

So one place where we run into problems and governments need to apply some regulation is when a game of chance gets misrepresented as a game of skill, or its odds are hidden or misrepresented. When any of those things happen it means we are actually looking at a form of fraud. The operator of the game is claiming you can do really great at his game but the matter is actually out of your hands, he's lying about the probable outcome of your participation. That is fraudulent and most members of our society agree that committing fraud should be discouraged and even punished when it occurs.

>>safety+(OP)
> On the far other end of the spectrum is the slot machine - you pull a lever and wait.

In the narrowest view, sure. But, for example, not all casinos, hell not even all machines in the same casino, offer the same odds. What about the work you put into determining which machine offers the best outcome? Is that not a skill? Obviously you can just sit down at any old random machine and see what happens, but that's the same as your "zero skill" farmer throwing some uncertified seeds on the ground and hoping for the best. In both cases there is an opportunity to improve your chances of success if you so choose.

Some aspects of farming lean on skill, but other aspects are pure chance. "Pull the lever and wait" is often all you can do. I'm not sure you are being fair in diminishing slot machine playing down to just one event, while happily considering farming as the sum of all its events.

>>safety+(OP)
No skill at all. The farmer is referring to futures contract to derisk the things outside of the skill.

>>safety+(OP)
I don't believe games of chance are misrepresented as games of skill. But anyway, this article is about sports gambling which most certainly is a game of skill.

>>random+25
Slot machines are guaranteed to provide a significant ROI to casinos. They're purely extractive. Comparing them to farming is really silly in my opinion.

>>komali+zf
Does anyone have a differing opinion? I expect there is good reason they have never been compared. Your opinion is noted, I guess, but what lead you to think it was worth sharing?

>>random+25

    > Some aspects of farming lean on skill, but other aspects are pure chance.

I frequently use this phrase when talking with people about their career path. Replace farming with (office work) career. Mike Bloomberg famously wrote: "Work hard and you might get lucky." I like that phrase because it appreciates the nuance of success.

>>kortil+n5
And crop insurance which is usually heavily subsidised. To be clear, the range of agricultural commodities is surprisingly small. Example: There is no coverage for any fruits (except orange juice), not most vegetables.

>>throwa+dr
Crop insurance, even of the subsidized variety, could refer to all kinds of different systems. But, I'll assume that which is under the USDA RMA. You don't consider any of the following to be fruit?

Apples, Apricots (Fresh, Processing), Avocados, Bananas, Blueberries, Caneberries, Cherries, Citrus (Grapefruit, Limes, Oranges), Cranberries, Figs, Grapes, Kiwifruit, Lemons, Mandarins/Tangerines, Nectarines (Fresh), Olives, Papaya, Peaches (Cling Processing, Freestone Fresh, Freestone Processing), Pears, Plums, Pomegranates, Prunes, Raisins, Strawberries, Tangelos, Tangors, Tomatoes (Fresh, Processing).

Maybe you meant Agricorp? None of the following are fruits?

Apples, Grapes, Peaches and nectarines, Pears, Plums, Sour cherries, Sweet cherries.