Part 8/14:

Beyond deceptive marketing, sportsbooks employ tactics that subtly tilt the odds against the bettor. They embed small house edges—also known as vigorish or “vig”—into every wager, ensuring the house profits in the long run. For example, reducing potential winnings slightly and accumulating those margins across billions of bets amounts to billions in revenue. Meanwhile, the thrill of an occasional big win fuels the gambler’s dopamine cycle, making eventual losses less salient and fostering ongoing addiction.