{"id":100402,"date":"2026-02-18T15:11:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/?post_type=cu_story&p=100402"},"modified":"2026-02-18T15:11:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:11:57","slug":"sports-betting-canada-changing-fandom","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/sports-betting-canada-changing-fandom\/","title":{"rendered":"How Sports Betting Is Changing the Way People Watch Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n How Sports Betting Is Changing the Way People Watch Sports\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

The Seattle Seahawks may have easily dispatched the New England Patriots on Super Bowl Sunday<\/a>, but a more consequential battle unfolded off the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sports betting companies vied with each other for fan attention, engagement and market share by flooding the broadcast with ads and promotions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These will continue to crowd our social feeds and commercial breaks throughout the Winter Olympics. Want to wager on a curling match between Italy and Switzerland? Think someone will score in the first 10 minutes of a hockey game? In most parts of Canada, you can tap a wager into your phone from your couch in seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gamblers have already set their sights on the Olympics<\/a>, but for many fans, the sudden proliferation of betting has felt disorienting. How did something once considered taboo become commonplace so quickly<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a researcher working on a long-term project on sports gambling, I see these shifts as part of a broader transformation. Much like the forces shaping professional sport franchise sales and ownership battles<\/a>, the proliferation of sports betting reflects deeper changes in the business, culture and technology of contemporary sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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