Looks like Hollywood is going to do something about insider trading before the U.S. Congress does something about its own insider trading.
With online gambling now wide open, we have these betting prediction markets to steal people's hard-earned money on just about everything imaginable.
On top of sports, political races, decisions made by the Federal Reserve, weather, and words said in public speeches, you can bet on what's going to happen in entertainment — everything from Oscar nominations, box office grosses, and casting decisions, like who will be the next James Bond.
Obviously, knowing what will happen before the news is released publicly can mean big money. This is known as insider trading, which is illegal for stock trades and in these prediction markets. Hollywood is worried enough about it that the word has gone out…
The far-left Hollywood Reporter reports that "studios and production companies have been quietly issuing new guidelines to employees warning them not to engage in prediction market betting."
"The warnings prohibit employees from placing bets on news events like studio earnings, casting, or even release dates. Passing information along to friends and family for them to place bets is likewise forbidden," adds the report. "At least one company set up a hotline where staffers can anonymously report on their fellow employees suspected of placing bets."
This is a good thing. In these betting markets, there are winners and losers. You can only win at someone else's expense, and having an insider advantage is basically stealing.
What I don't get is why people risk their hard-earned money on games designed for them to lose. This isn't like investing in the stock market long term, which is a smart investment. This is just another form of gambling on an outcome designed to create winners and losers.
The short-term entertainment value makes sense, but once you believe you can bet the house, that you're special in that way, that's when it all becomes a waste of money you could actually be making money on by investing it wisely.
Gambling, marijuana, video games, and porn. I mourn for our culture and all the lost souls it produces.
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