‘Last Week Tonight’ Exposes the Trap of Sports Betting – Here's Why It Matters

It's common knowledge by now that sports betting is widespread. And John Oliver of Last Week Tonight had the ideal opportunity to discuss the topic when March Madness arrived.

Actually, the main focus of Sunday night's broadcast of the weekly HBO news/comedy show was sports betting. Oliver's half-hour episode also touched on all the usual topics, drawing attention to the industry's concerning tendencies, hypocritical laws, and downright strange practices.

Even though the topic was clearly serious, Last Week Tonight managed to inject its trademark humor into it. As a result, a spoof advertisement for a phony sportsbook called "GriftKings" concluded the broadcast. wherein its users tried to present the negative aspects of their gambling addiction in a favorable manner.

You're not alone if a spoof advertisement on the risks of sports betting sounds familiar. A little more than a year ago, Shane Gillis' Saturday Night Live included a skit called "Rock Bottom Kings," which featured a fictitious sportsbook where viewers could bet on the consequences of their friends' gambling addictions.

Despite having distinct concept, the two skits are so similar—even down to the way they parody DraftKings' name—that it wouldn't be shocking if Last Week Tonight's segment caused some people to take notice at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. In any event, the bigger story here (besides the legitimate dangers presented in Oliver’s piece) is that sports betting has become so prevalent that it’s now commonly mocked in such a manner on high profile platforms — albeit not so much that it’s slowed down the industry in any meaningful way.