There is a healthy dose of skepticism towards gambling from a significant chunk of the MS community. At face value, it’s valid. For an audience that is generally financially literate and highly organized, the implied variance of gambling is unappealing.

However, I’d challenge that and say that MSers actually have a ton to learn from advantage player gamblers. In fact, some of the smartest MSers I know came to churning as a spinoff of the gambling world. There’s enough parallels between chasing +EV wagers and squeezing an extra .1% or .2% of margin out of a play to make that prior experience advantageous.

First off – sportsbooks and casinos are much better at identifying patterns related to unprofitable customers compared to the big banks and award programs. There’s a reason why Hollywood makes movies about gamblers trying to outwit the pit boss and avoid getting walked – it’s a real thing that actually happens. 

As for sportsbooks – try actually winning consistently over a period of time without getting your account nuked by paltry limits. The folks in charge of ensuring the house stays profitable are very good at it.

If you can keep your accounts with high RTP (return to player) gameplay alive for the long term, you’re better prepared to avoid tripping on the many KYC landmines that exist on the MS side of things.

There’s also crossover in sign-up bonuses between credit cards and sportsbooks and casinos – the requirements to meet the common risk-free bet/deposit credit bonuses are similar to meeting a spend threshold on a credit card. And just like MSers knocking out a big SUB in a day, the only risk that a savvy gambler experiences on these promos is human error – entering the wrong wager.

Gambling promos even ebb and flow in similar ways to churning. A few years ago in the golden age of legal sportsbooks in the US, there was a never-ending spigot of free money as all of the market entrants fought each other over user acquisition. All of this competition led to a lot of arbitrage opportunities, especially since some of these promos functioned differently in practice compared to the offer terms.

That being said, you should educate yourself before jumping in on any gambling platform. While there are plenty of opportunities to add gambling as an important tool in your MS belt, you shouldn’t take it from me. I’m not your accountant, your bookie, your financial advisor, etc. etc. 

Even if you never end up wagering a dime, there are gambling principles that can be applied to your MS strategy. If nothing else, understanding concepts like basic blackjack strategy to reduce house edge can be extremely helpful. 

Good luck out there, my friends.