Saturday morning soccer in Lansdale. Parents everywhere, nobody really watching the game. Everybody's on their phones.
I'm standing there next to this guy - talked to him maybe twice before - and I notice he's not checking email or whatever. Dude's playing slots. Nine in the morning. At a U12 soccer game.
Didn't even faze me honestly. Made me think though. Like wait, when did I stop finding this weird?
I've lived in this area for about fifteen years now. Moved out here from the city because, you know, the usual reasons. Schools, space, all that. Back then entertainment meant going somewhere. You drove to King of Prussia if you wanted to do something. Or into Philly. Or you just stayed home and watched TV.
The pandemic changed a lot of stuff obviously. Everyone knows that part. But one thing I don't think people talk about enough is how it basically rewired what people do for fun around here.
My neighbor Dave - retired guy, used to work in insurance - he picked up online poker during lockdown. Said he was bored out of his mind and his son set him up with some app. Two years later he's still playing. Not like a crazy amount or anything. Just something he does after dinner instead of watching the news.
His wife Linda plays slots sometimes too. Bonus rounds are her thing apparently. Had no clue that was even a feature until she went on about it for like ten minutes.
So I got curious about this whole thing. Started paying attention more. Asking around when it came up naturally.
What surprised me is it's not like... gambling addicts or whatever. It's just regular people? Parents from school. Guys from the gym. The woman who cuts my hair mentioned she plays blackjack on her phone sometimes while her husband watches football.
One buddy of mine - works in IT, very analytical type - he actually researches this stuff before he plays. Showed me this site called Spinoplex where he reads reviews and tries out demos. Treats it like he's buying a new TV or something. Probably has a spreadsheet somewhere knowing him.
Anyway yeah it's just out in the open now? People talk about it like they talk about whatever show they binged last weekend.
Pennsylvania legalized this stuff a few years back. I didn't really pay attention at the time because honestly I didn't care that much.
But apparently the tax money from online gambling goes toward property tax relief? Someone at a township meeting mentioned this and I was like wait what. So every time Dave plays poker after dinner he's technically helping fund local schools or whatever.
I mean who knows if it's actually that straightforward. Probably not. Still though, kinda funny to think about.
The state made like a billion dollars from this last year. Billion with a B. Most of that from people sitting on their couches in places like Hatfield and Montgomeryville playing games on their phones. Wild.
This is the part that keeps me up at night honestly.
My oldest is thirteen. He knows what gambling is in like an abstract way. Sees the commercials during football games. But he's never asked me about it directly.
At some point he's going to though. And I have no idea what I'm going to say.
The easy answer is "don't do it" but that feels lazy. It's legal. Plenty of adults do it responsibly. His friend's parents probably play. Telling him it's all bad seems dishonest.
But I also don't want to be like "yeah it's fine go nuts" because obviously there are risks. People do get addicted. People do lose money they can't afford.
I think when the time comes I'll try to explain it like alcohol or something. Legal for adults, can be fine in moderation, can also mess up your life if you're not careful. Set limits before you start. Know yourself.
Whether that actually works as a parenting strategy... ask me in five years I guess.
Here's something I've noticed that feels kind of important.
The people I know who do online gaming stuff? They're also the ones who go out more. Like they're not sitting home alone gambling instead of having a life. They're at restaurants, at local bars watching games, doing stuff.
My buddy who uses that review site I mentioned - he's at every neighborhood event. Never misses anything. His wife says he's more social than she is.
Meanwhile I know people who don't gamble at all but also never leave the house.
So the whole "online gaming keeps people isolated" thing? Eh. Not what I'm seeing. Maybe somewhere else but around here it's just... another hobby I guess. People do it AND other stuff.
Not trying to sell you on anything here. Download an app, don't download an app, whatever. Not my business.
Just feels like I blinked and missed something. Like one day nobody did this and now everyone does and I missed the transition somehow.
The suburbs are weird man. We all moved out here for peace and quiet and good schools and now we're all sitting at soccer games playing slots on our phones. Not complaining exactly. Just... observing I guess.
If you're doing this stuff, cool, just be smart about it. Set a budget. Don't chase losses. All the stuff they put in the fine print that nobody reads.
If you're not into it, cool, but someone you know probably is. Maybe ask them about it sometime. Not to lecture them or anything. Just curious what they get out of it.
That's it. That's all I got. Thanks for reading my confused thoughts about Montgomery County's gambling habits. Back to pretending I'm watching this soccer game.
