Sticky Bandits Most Wanted

What is Sticky Bandits Most Wanted?

As the U.S. warms to the idea of online sports betting, the NCAA has taken steps to protect its athletes. Deputy General Counsel of the NCAA, Naima Stevenson Starks sat down with Calvinayre.com’s Becky Liggero Fontana to explain her organisation’s stance towards betting involving student athletes and maintaining the integrity of those competitions. 

Stevenson Starks shared those concerns that the NCAA has towards online sports betting in the U.S.:

“The two [concerns] are the integrity of athletic competition, and how that could potentially be impacted by a proliferation of legalized sports wagering. And then the second is really the health and well-being of student athletes.“

About Sticky Bandits Most Wanted

But through its love of pachinko, social gaming in Japan offers a strikingly different story.

Across some 8,000 pachinko parlours in Japan, machines filled with metallic balls fill expansive spaces, similar to slot machines on a casino floor. Winning balls are tallied and exchanged for non-cash prizes at the parlour, which can then be taken to nearby third-party exchange outlets for cash.

“Pachinko is a huge part of the culture,” says Leckert. She explains the “ease of walking into a pachinko parlour” is irreplaceable.

About Sticky Bandits Most Wanted

“I think if you look at the regulators, sometimes I do feel sad to see that it is largely just men,” she says. “I’d like to see more women regulators in more senior positions.

“But I think the tide is turning. Our work is not done. That’s how I see it. We’ve got lots more to do, but I definitely think it’s moving in the right direction.”

Bright also warns against viewing DEI through a single global lens.