𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘁 “𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲”

Robinhood is turning investing into gambling. Calling it “innovation” is a lie. This move fuels speculation, distorts financial literacy, and kills long-term wealth-building.

Remember, these ideas were also marketed as “innovations.”

• Leaded Gasoline “Because Poisoning the Entire Population Was Just Science!”
• The Subprime Mortgage Crisis “The Finance Industry’s Gift to the Middle Class”
• The 24-Hour News Cycle “Because Who Needs Facts When You Have Ratings?”

Some “innovations” are just polished disasters in disguise. Robinhood’s sports betting? It’s just another one for the list.

3 reasons this is a terrible idea:

• It corrupts financial literacy. Robinhood’s users are young. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝟯𝟭, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. This move teaches them that speculation is investing, which is a lie.
• It fuels addiction and reckless behavior. Sports betting is designed for fast, frequent bets. Investing isn’t. 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. It’s creating a generation of market gamblers, and that’s dangerous.
• It undermines trust in financial markets. Markets exist to allocate capital, and gambling exists to separate fools from their money. Merging them weakens faith in investing. 𝗜𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸.

𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂. When a brokerage turns into a casino, the house always wins. And the house is not you.

I would be curious what my friend Mark Hochgesang had to say. He’s a sports podcaster (Heavy Hitter Sports), fanatic sports fan, and investor in sports-related early-stage ventures.