Can LeBron James lead you to retirement?
Can the New York Yankees pay off your house?
Can a last-second field goal send your kids to college?
Millions of Americans believe it’s all possible. In fact, they’re betting on it — literally.
Let me explain what’s going on, and then show you something even better.
Betting on Their Financial Futures
According to a recent Bank of America survey, 20% of Americans view sports betting as an investment tool. And that number goes to 40% for younger, Gen Z Americans.
In fact, according to financial firm Betterment, more than half of Gen Z investors say they’ve redirected capital intended for traditional investments into sports betting.
Instead of putting money into stocks or real estate, they’re placing wagers on the New York Jets, the Boston Celtics, or the Los Angeles Dodgers. Furthermore, more than a quarter of Gen Z investors consider sports betting part of their long-term financial strategy.
What’s going on here?
The Gamification of Investing
Certainly, it’s easier than ever to bet on sports. With just a few taps on your phone, you can wager on practically any game, anywhere.
But that doesn’t explain why so many people are treating sports betting like investing.
Early research suggests it may have something to do with the increased “gamification” of investing, which can make it seem similar to betting on sports.
Brokerages are adding game-like features to their mobile platforms, including leaderboards, rewards, and animations when a trade is completed. Buy ten shares of Apple and watch digital confetti fall. Sell your stake in McDonald’s and enjoy a dance from an animated creature.
These features are designed to give your brain a shot of dopamine and keep you coming back for more — just like betting on sports through a mobile app.
But I suspect there’s another reason sports betting is perceived as an “investment strategy” — it’s the chance to make a fortune from a single bet.
People Want Home-Run Investments
Over the last 30 years, the S&P 500 has returned about 10% a year. At that rate, you’d double your money roughly every seven years.
Sports-betting platforms dangle something very different in front of you: the possibility of a huge payday, often in just a few hours.
We’ve all seen the stories: someone wagers a few bucks on an unlikely outcome and walks away with thousands. Of course, the reason it makes headlines is because it’s so uncommon.
But the possibility of that kind of windfall is powerful. And it helps explain why some investors treat sports betting as investing — they’re swinging for the fences, looking for a home run that could change their financial future.
The thing is, betting on sports is zero-sum: either you win money… or someone else does. There’s no actual investment in a company, or a new idea, or a productive project.
That’s why, if you’re really looking for the chance to change your financial future, you should be looking somewhere else: startups.
A Better Way to Swing for the Fences
With startups, instead of betting on the outcome of a football game, you can invest in a young business with the potential to become the next Uber, Coinbase, or Airbnb.
And here’s the exciting part:
Startup investing offers the potential for the same kind of extraordinary windfalls that sports-betting platforms advertise. But your investment isn’t riding on a blocked field goal or missed jump shot. Success is based on the growth of an actual business.
There are two keys to capturing life-changing windfalls.
The first is to get in early. That maximizes your profit potential, and gives you the best chance at turning even $100 into a small fortune. Consider:
- Coinbase: A $100 investment in Coinbase in 2013 would’ve turned into $126,000 when the company went public in 2021.
- Uber: A $100 investment in Uber in 2011 would’ve turned into $137,000 when it IPO’d less than a decade later.
- Airbnb: A $100 investment in Airbnb in 2009 would’ve turned into $680,000 by 2020.
As for the second key, it involves figuring out which startups have the potential to become the next big winners.
That’s where we come in…
Let Us Help You Find the Winners
We sift through hundreds of startup opportunities every month, looking for the traits that can lead to extraordinary returns. Attributes like experienced founders, fast-growing markets, early traction, and backing from professional investors.
Then we share our most promising discoveries along with our detailed research.
Will every investment be a home run? Not likely. But that’s why we help you build a portfolio of these companies.
Bottom line? Betting on sports can be fun. But if you’re looking for a legitimate shot at a life-changing payday, startups are the better bet.
Happy investing
