The House Always Wins: Gambling as a Veblenian Social Practice

Abstract

The unequal distribution of economic rewards under capitalism requires institutions that perpetuate “enabling myths” which justify the distribution as fair or natural. In this article, we argue that the rise in popularity of sports betting in the United States reflects an increasing reliance of neoliberal capitalism on one particular enabling myth: the belief in luck. Thorstein Veblen’s writing in The Theory of the Leisure Class suggests the belief in luck as a “minor myth” that helps sustain the grand marginalist myth at the heart of neoliberal capitalism: the myth of meritocracy. The belief in luck provides an alternative rationalization for unfavorable economic outcomes when meritocracy breaks down. Rather than resulting from systemic or individual failures incompatible with meritocratic logic, the belief in luck ascribes negative economic outcomes to an otherwise teleological or supernatural force. Gambling in general—and sports betting in particular—constitutes a Veblenian social practice that serves to inculcate the belief in luck, thereby aiding in the naturalization and justification of economic inequalities.