Online betting and fantasy apps are becoming more popular these days, especially among sports fans who want to make some money or have some fun by predicting the outcomes of games. However, these apps are not as harmless as they seem. In fact, they can fool you in many ways and make you lose more than you win. Here are some of the tricks they use to deceive you:
- They lure you with attractive offers and bonuses. These apps often promise you free credits, cashbacks, referrals, or other incentives to sign up and start playing. However, these offers usually come with hidden terms and conditions that make it hard for you to withdraw your winnings or use your bonuses. For example, you may have to wager a certain amount of money or play a certain number of games before you can claim your rewards. Or, you may have to pay a fee or a commission to the app for every transaction or withdrawal. These offers are designed to entice you and make you spend more than you earn.
- They manipulate the odds and outcomes. These apps claim to offer fair and transparent odds and results, but they can actually manipulate them in their favor. For example, they can adjust the odds based on the popularity of teams or players, or the amount of money bet on each side. This way, they can create an illusion of fairness or balance, while actually skewing the odds in their favor. They can also delay or cancel the payouts if the results are unfavorable for them, or if they detect any suspicious activity or fraud. They can also use bots or fake accounts to influence the betting patterns or create fake competition. These bots or accounts can place bets on certain teams or players, or cancel their bets at the last minute, to create artificial demand or supply. This way, they can manipulate the market and the prices, and make you bet more or less than you should.
- They exploit your cognitive biases and emotions. These apps know how to exploit your psychological tendencies and emotions to make you bet more and lose more. For example, they can use the availability heuristic to make you overestimate the chances of winning based on recent events or outcomes. If you see a team or a player performing well in the past few games, you may think they are more likely to win in the next game, even if the odds are against them. They can also use the confirmation bias to make you ignore or dismiss the evidence that contradicts your beliefs or predictions. If you have a favorite team or player, you may tend to focus on their strengths and achievements, and overlook their weaknesses and failures. Moreover, they can use the loss aversion to make you chase your losses or the sunk cost fallacy to make you continue playing even when you are losing. If you lose a bet, you may feel compelled to bet again to recover your loss, even if the odds are worse than before. Or, if you invest a lot of time, money, or effort into playing, you may feel reluctant to quit, even if you are not enjoying it anymore.
- They expose you to security and legal risks. These apps are not regulated or licensed by any authority, which means they are not accountable or responsible for their actions. This also means they are not secure or reliable, and they can expose you to various risks such as hacking, fraud, identity theft, or data breach. These apps may not have proper encryption or protection for your personal or financial information, which means they can be easily accessed or stolen by hackers or scammers. They may also sell your data to third parties without your consent or knowledge, which means they can violate your privacy and rights. Furthermore, these apps may not comply with the laws and regulations of your country or region, which means you may face legal consequences if you participate in illegal or unethical activities. For example, online gambling may be prohibited or restricted in some places, which means you may be fined or jailed if you are caught playing.
Therefore, online betting and fantasy apps are not worth your time, money, or attention. They are designed to fool you and make you addicted to gambling. They use various tricks and techniques to deceive you and make you lose more than you win. They also expose you to various risks and dangers that can harm your finances or well-being.
If you want to enjoy sports without risking your finances or well-being, you should avoid these apps and look for other ways to have fun. You can watch sports on TV or online, play sports games on consoles or computers, join sports clubs or communities online or offline, read sports news or blogs online etc.
Remember, there is no such thing as easy money or guaranteed wins in online betting and fantasy apps. The only ones who benefit from these apps are the owners and operators who make profits from your losses.
Don’t let them fool you!
Stay away from online betting and fantasy apps!