Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons
license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary
on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the
entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/


                        Apple Launches iPhone Sports App

   Adam Engst

   Apple has launched [1]Apple Sports, a free iPhone app that provides
   access to schedules, real-time scores, standings, and betting odds for
   a handful of professional sports: soccer, basketball, hockey, baseball,
   and football. Apple Sports also covers college basketball and football,
   so I'll see how Cornell's basketball team does in the last few weeks of
   the Ivy League season.

   Three thoughts:
     * Despite including soccer leagues in Germany, Italy, Spain, and
       Mexico, Apple Sports is currently available only in the United
       States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Why restrict it to these
       regions?
     * As usual, Apple ignores anything other than major spectator sports,
       including track & field. I'd love to see real-time results from the
       [2]World Athletics Indoor Championships next month. Perhaps Apple
       will acknowledge that other sports exist in time for that other
       little sporting event later this year'the [3]Paris 2024 Summer
       Olympics.
     * Betting odds? Yes, even though it remains illegal in Apple's home
       state of California, [4]sports betting is now legal in 38 states
       and the District of Columbia. In 2022, [5]Apple removed ads for
       gambling apps in the App Store in response to complaints, so it's
       disappointing to see the company re-engaging with the industry. At
       least you can hide betting odds in Settings > Sports, which would
       be especially helpful for those struggling with gambling
       addictions.
       

References

   Visible links
   1. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/apple-sports/id6446788829
   2. https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-championships/glasgow24
   3. https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/paris-2024
   4. https://www.investopedia.com/sports-betting-laws-by-state-5219064
   5. https://www.macrumors.com/2022/10/26/app-store-gambling-ads-complaints/

   Hidden links:
   6. https://tidbits.com/wp/../uploads/2024/02/Apple-Sports-Cornell-scaled.jpg
   7. https://tidbits.com/wp/../uploads/2024/02/Apple-Sports-betting-odds.jpg

.