演讲题目：The clever trick used by sports betting apps

演讲简介：

2022年世界杯，虽然抱走冠军奖杯的是阿根廷，但还有另一个明显的赢家：赌博业。估计全球观众投注的金额达350亿美金，让这年的世界杯成为运动史上投注最多的赛事之一。



中英文字幕

In the 2022 World Cup, while Argentina took home the title, there was another clear winner: the gambling industry.

2022年世界杯上，阿根廷队夺得冠军的同时，还有另一个明显的赢家：博彩业。

Spectators around the globe wagered an estimated $35 billion, making it one of the most bet-on events in sports history.

全球观众的赌注估计为350亿美元，使其成为体育史上赌注最高的赛事之一。

Over the past decade, sports gambling has become more popular than ever.

在过去的十年里，体育赌博变得比以往任何时候都更加流行。

Mobile apps make it easier to place bets anywhere or anytime, especially for young people in their early 20s,

移动应用程序使随时随地下注变得更容易，尤其是对于20岁出头的年轻人来说，

who make up the fastest-growing gambling demographic.

他们构成了增长最快的赌博人群。

The industry's success, however, is no coincidence.

然而，该行业的成功并非偶然。

In fact, sports betting apps work just like the games you'd find in a casino.

事实上，体育博彩应用程序的工作原理就像你在赌场里找到的游戏一样。

They're strategically designed in ways that are known to keep you playing and paying— ensuring that, in the end, the house always wins.

它们采用策略性的设计，目的是让你一直玩、一直付钱——以确保最终庄家一定是赢家。

So, what exactly are the tricks these apps use?

那么，这些应用程序到底使用了哪些技巧呢？

It's estimated that Americans lost $60 billion gambling online and in casinos in 2022 alone.

据估计，仅2022年，美国人在网上和赌场赌博就损失了600亿美元。

While losing might seem like a deterrent, infrequent wins are actually a key reason gambling can feel so enticing.

虽然失败可能看起来像是一种威慑，但偶尔获胜实际上是赌博如此诱人的一个关键原因。

One of the best ways to motivate any behavior— whether posting on social media, swiping on a dating app,

激励任何行为的最佳方法之一——不论是要让人在社群媒体上贴文、滑手机看约会app，

or placing a bet— is to grant a reward at random and unpredictable intervals.

或下注——就是在随机且无法预测的时间点提供奖励。

The reason for this likely lies in uncertainty's effect on the brain.

原因可能在于不确定性对大脑的影响。

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that mediates feelings of pleasure and is released when we do things we enjoy and when we receive rewards.

多巴胺是一种神经递质，它调节快乐的感觉，当我们做我们喜欢的事情时，当我们得到奖励时，它就会释放出来。

Its release is what motivates us to seek out the sensation again.

多巴胺的释放是激励我们再次寻找感觉的原因。

In certain brain areas, this dopamine release is highest, not when the rewards are the biggest,

在某些大脑区域，多巴胺的释放是最高的，而不是当回报最大时，

but rather when you're unsure whether you'll even receive them.

而是当您不确定是否会收到它们时。

This draw to unpredictability can be a good thing.

这种对不可预测性的吸引可能是一件好事。

Evolutionarily, it may have been beneficial for our ancestors to seek out situations with uncertain rewards,

从进化角度来说，我们的祖先寻找回报不确定的情况可能是有益的，

like investigating new locations for food.

比如调查新的食物地点。

But when it comes to something like a casino game or a sports betting app, this behavior can create a vicious and expensive cycle.

但是，当涉及到像赌场游戏或体育博彩应用程序这样的东西时，这种行为可能会造成一个恶性和昂贵的循环。

Another feature these games manipulate is timing.

这些游戏操纵的另一个功能是计时。

Slot machines, for example, are notoriously mesmerizing,

例如，老虎机是出了名的令人着迷，

thanks in part to how quickly you move from placing a bet to seeing the result to placing your next one.

部分原因是您从下注到查看结果再到下注下一个下注的速度有多快。

This frequency, paired with uncertainty, is thought to induce what researchers call dark flow.

这种频率加上不确定性，被认为会引发研究人员所说的暗流。

You may feel as if you are in the zone, completely absorbed in the game.

您可能会感觉自己处于状态，完全沉浸在游戏中。

Yet a key characteristic of any flow state is that it often feels more difficult to stop than to keep going.

然而，任何心流状态的一个关键特征是，停下来往往比继续前进更困难。

To capitalize on this, sports betting apps have introduced in-play bets,

为了利用这一点，体育博彩应用程序引入了场内投注，

which are wagers that users can place during the game on moment-to-moment events.

这些是用户可以在游戏期间对每时每刻的事件进行的赌注。

Finally, near-misses can feel particularly thrilling.

最后，险些失手会让人感到特别兴奋。

This is when, for example, a slot machine reveals a cherry...a cherry...and then a seven.

例如，这是当老虎机露出樱桃时……樱桃……然后是七。

Brain imaging studies show that the anticipation built up in that last reveal activates the same brain regions as winning does.

大脑成像研究表明，在最后一次揭示中建立的预期会激活与获胜相同的大脑区域。

So even though near-misses are ultimately losses, they actually increase our desire to continue playing.

因此，尽管险些失败最终是损失，但它们实际上增加了我们继续比赛的愿望。

That's why some slot machines are actually designed to hit near-misses more often than they should.

这就是为什么一些老虎机实际上被设计成比他们应该的更经常地击中接近失误。

Sports can naturally lead to near-miss situations, yet gambling apps have found ways to exploit them further.

体育运动自然会导致险些失败的情况，但赌博应用程序已经找到了进一步利用它们的方法。

Parlays, for example, are when bets on multiple events or outcomes are tied into the same wager.

例如，赌博是指对多个事件或结果的赌注与同一赌注捆绑在一起。

If any single bet loses, then the entire wager is lost, easily creating a near-miss situation.

如果任何一笔赌注失败，那么整个赌注就会失败，很容易造成险些失败的情况。

While these tactics work on brains of all ages, young people may be especially at risk.

虽然这些策略对所有年龄段的大脑都有效，但年轻人可能面临的风险尤其大。

During adolescence, dopamine-related reward regions of the brain mature rapidly, making teens more vulnerable to developing gambling problems.

在青春期，大脑中与多巴胺相关的奖励区域迅速成熟，使青少年更容易出现赌博问题。

And while 18 is the legal age limit for gambling in most countries,

虽然18岁是大多数国家赌博的法定年龄限制，

these same psychological tactics are now increasingly found in games marketed directly to teens and children.

这些相同的心理策略现在越来越多地出现在直接面向青少年和儿童销售的游戏中。

For example, many games contain loot boxes, where players can spend real money to gain unpredictable prizes.

例如，许多游戏都包含战利品箱，玩家可以在其中花费真钱来获得不可预测的奖品。

The global gambling industry racks in hundreds of billions of dollars every year.

全球博彩业每年的收入达数千亿美元。

Yet it's estimated that anywhere from 15 to 50% of that revenue comes from people with gambling problems.

然而据估计，其中15%至50%的收入来自有赌博问题的人。

We can't change that our brains are drawn to gambling tactics.

我们无法改变我们的大脑被赌博策略所吸引的事实。

The industry clearly knows this and is cashing in.

赌博业很清楚知道这一点，并从中牟利。