Names in this article have been changed for anonymity.
As 17-year-old East senior Marcus watched the College Football Playoff National Championship in January, he was rooting for Alabama with more than just his enjoyment of the game in mind.
“I had $40 to bet, and I bet it all on the Alabama vs. Georgia game,” he said. “I put it all on Alabama—because you never go against Nick Saban—and Saban failed me. So I lost everything. It would have been like a $60 payout, but I lost it all. ”
In 2018, the Supreme Court case Murphy vs. National Collegiate Athletic Association struck down a federal law that restricted all but a handful of states (most notably Nevada) from legalizing sports gambling. Four years later, 30 states and Washington D.C. have legalized sports betting in some capacity, and almost a dozen others have pre-filed legislation with the intent to do so.
North Carolina currently only allows sports gambling at a few tribal casinos.
The movement has, much like fantasy sports, given fans an opportunity to root for teams in games in which they would otherwise have no interest.
Whether it’s a bet on an NBA game spread on a Saturday night, or a five-leg parlay that could turn $10 into $1,000, wagering on sports can make watching games more thrilling than even rooting for your own team can be. And because of the Murphy vs. NCAA ruling, Americans no longer have to take a trip to Las Vegas to get in on the action.
Companies like FanDuel and DraftKings have popularized online sports gambling among adults, but high schoolers are turning to a different, less nationally-popular site to do their betting: Fliff.
Fliff advertises itself as the “Minor Leagues” of sports gambling. The mobile app allows users to buy Fliff Coins (which have no monetary value) through in-app purchases with which they can place bets that their friends can see. The slogan “Sports picks made social” can be seen in spades on the Fliff website.
When users buy Fliff Coins, however, Fliff gives them some extra amount of “free” Fliff Cash, which is conveniently equivalent to the price the user paid for the Fliff Coins. Fliff Cash, which you can bet in the same way you can with Fliff Coins, has exchangeable monetary value.
For example, Fliff sells 10,000 Fliff Coins for $0.99, but that also comes with $1 in “free” Fliff Cash. Calling the Fliff Cash “free” exempts Fliff from N.C. sports gambling laws and lets the app avoid requiring an ID prior to purchases, which knocks down a significant barrier to entry for underage bettors.
When a user is done betting with the Cash however, an ID is required before they can withdraw any money. Fliff will take any ID, though, so using a friend’s or family member’s who is over the age of 18 would allow any underage user to take their money out easily.
Marcus, who placed his infamous Alabama-bet on Fliff, wagers both Coins and Cash.
“I’ve kind of slowed down,” Marcus said. “Now I mostly bet the Coins because I lost everything.”
When Marcus bet on the Crimson Tide, he bet the moneyline, meaning he bet that Alabama would win its game. That’s a straight pick, as opposed to a parlay, which is a bet on two or more outcomes all to happen.
For instance, you could bet on Alabama to win its game, the New England Patriots to win their game and the Golden State Warriors to win their game. Parlays can be enticing because adding a “leg” to the bet exponentially increases the payout. But if just one outcome in the parlay falls short, it wins nothing.
“[I bet] mostly straight picks, not many parlays. If there are multiple things that I think will happen, I’ll just bet on them individually,” Marcus said. “I don’t like to bet on a parlay and then one of the legs loses all my money. That makes me mad.”
Marcus doesn’t see gambling on sports as a way to make money, but as a way to socialize and enjoy games.
“It’s fun, I do it with my friends,” he said. “It adds a new aspect to watching games when you’re able to watch and cheer for a team that you normally wouldn’t cheer for because you have a little bit of money riding on them.”
John, a 17-year-old senior at Chapel Hill High School, used to use Fliff, but has since started using a different platform to place his wagers.
“I started on Fliff… just using [Coins],” John said. “But a couple of weeks ago, I got a bookie. So, I’m ready to go.”
John moved on from Fliff because he wanted to bet with real money and not have to use someone else’s ID when he wanted to withdraw. He used to bet mostly parlays on Fliff, but has since realized that he has much better odds betting straight picks.
“When I started, I was going crazy with parlays just trying to make a lot of money, which is what a lot of people do,” John said. “You realize after a little bit that they don’t really work, they’re just fun. Which is what Fliff is for, you know? Just placing a $.20 parlay trying to make $50.”
He used to wager $.10 or $.20 (Fliff gives users that haven’t made in-app purchases a bonus of 1,000 Coins and $0.10 in Cash every two hours, so they can bet with both even if they don’t spend any money), but now he places bets for $10 because that’s the lowest amount his bookie allows.
Although the odds are naturally stacked against bettors, John thinks that some expertise can help you win more often.
“There’s definitely some skill involved, like you can’t just know nothing and expect to win,” John said. “But the odds are there for a reason, and basically every pick is a 50/50. You can’t predict the future consistently, or else everybody would get rich gambling.”
John has though, like Marcus, come to appreciate that it isn’t easy to beat sports gambling and profit consistently.
“As I’ve started actually betting, I’ve realized that it’s not a real way to make money. Like, it’s pretty random. But it’s really fun. The reason I’m doing it is because it makes me enjoy the games more than I [would otherwise],” he said. “If I’m having more fun watching the games, then it’s worth it for me.”
Photo by Eloise Rich/The ECHO
