I think this is certainly worth discussion.
Sports betting for payouts is fun because you are betting on a 50% chance of a win or loss, and like you said Dan, without coming out of pocket. Everything to gain.... nothing to lose.
To me, Steemit is more of a creative outlet for art, photography, creative writing, or pretty much anything that is interesting reading.
Steem Sports is fun, but it is not really a creative post. It is creative in the sense that is very popular (I wish I thought of it first!), but it does seem a lot different than the traditional posts by the many creative people that I watch daily.
I am not an attorney, but it does seem as though gambling with monetary payouts could have legal ramifications, because gambling is heavily regulated, but the same could be said for posting a photograph of a sunset and receiving a monetary award.
To me, I would rather have Steemit influenced by creativity rather than gambling.
Resteemed......