The section on parlays really rang true for me. Our Fantasy football friend group has multiple guys who will post just insane 6+ leg parlays and say stuff like "Damn, I was so close!"
They justify it because it's only a few dollars, but would pay out a ton. Feels no different than scratchers to me.
It also got so bad with people only posting their wins that there's a 'rule' now that you have to post the bet when you make it, not after it hits.
Like Drew, I lost ~$50 a few years back and haven't touched it since. But I've seen more and more friends get into it.
I'm just waiting for the eventual "refer a friend bonus and get $x in free bets" to be posted on our chat. Wouldn't expect anything less from betting companies than combing gambling with a pseudo pyramid scheme.