Addiction Markets

Related:

Coffeezilla: Exposing the Gambling Epidemic - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45773049 - October 2025

Great video. The convergence between traditional stock market finance and casino gambling is going to seriously scar a generation.

Who do you think was buying options 30 years ago? Institutional demand, particularly for non-OTC options, was zero. Countries which have legalized gambling tend not to have large options markets.

There is no convergence. They have always been the same thing. The difference is that you can provide a venue where harm is reduced or one where harm is maximised.

Options markets help farmers and miners decide how much to invest in future production. Ditto the consumer of a commodity faced with an investment decision where the success of the investment depends on continued access to the commodity.

Are you thinking of the futures market? That's different than options

Options can be thought of as a form of insurance, so they have a useful purpose.

In the simplest case you might hold a stock and a put to limit your downside for a set period of time.

The opposite is also true - you can use options to increase risk. I don't think insurance is a particularly good analogy in general.