Pascal Siakam Reveals Harrowing Messages Fans Sent Him Over Sports Betting

Sports betting and the NBA has become so intertwined in recent years that has helped fans become more invested in the game as they have money riding on different games in a number of ways.

However, it does not mean that the players are impervious to being on the receiving end of abuse from these same fans when their per-game parlays and odds do not pan out as they have hoped.

For those not in the know, parlays are separate bets placed into one big bet which, while it has a ton of payout potential, involves a lot of risks as well because, for a bettor to win, all bets made must be covered.

Though it does give an incentive for fans to get to know the players and franchises more, Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam believes it has done more harm than good from a player's perspective.

Speaking with the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green on his podcast, Siakam explained his line of thinking.

"There's one thing that I really hate. It's like this whole thing now with, like, people betting and stuff. That culture is the craziest thing to me because people will literally wish you death because they missed whatever they were betting on," an incredulous Siakam said.

"It's the craziest thing to me. I just want to say, I don't like it, and stop messaging me about you lost your parlay, I don't care. I could care less. You could miss your parlay today, or tomorrow–I could really care less. It doesn't matter to me."

Siakam is not the only player on the Raptors to have revealed their dislike of sports betting as Fred VanVleet and Chris Boucher also opened up on the matter.

Just like Siakam, VanVleet confirmed that he had been receiving death threats while Boucher's experience with the betting world was just as disturbing.

On the "Hustle Play" podcast, Boucher revealed that a fan sent him a racially charged message after said fan missed out on his own bets.

"Somebody said 'I chose the wrong slave today.' They literally sent me that message. I had to read it. I couldn't believe it. And now, guess what, the players now, they don't really mess with the fans as much... Imagine if you get messages like this," he stated.

While fans can win big with the parlays that they set for themselves, blaming the players for them missing out on their bets makes little sense as the player's only goal is winning the game, regardless of the sport.

Betting culture has certainly been more prevalent in recent years as the league has partnered up with different oddsmakers and based on the current trend for players, the abuse they receive will only get worse as time rolls on.