We're also only one scandal away from destroying public trust in a professional sports league. That would be bad for the culture too. It's always seemed shortsighted to me that the leagues are directly partnering with gambling apps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_scandals
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_NBA_betting_scandal
NFL also has players that NFL itself “punishes” for gambling, although I don’t think any refs have been caught yet:
https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-reinstates-five-players-who-wer...
It was kind of swept away that it appears many players are now betting.
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/17/1245301982/nba-bans-jontay-po...