What Sports Betting Is Really Doing to Players, Games, and Fans

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2024

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sports gambling has exploded in America. You can't watch a game today without being bombarded by ads from betting companies, often co-branded with the major sports leagues themselves. It's a dramatic shift from just seven years ago, when these same leagues were unified in their opposition to legalized sports betting. Michael Lewis, the bestselling author of Moneyball, The Big Short, and The Blind Side, has been exploring this transformation in the latest season of his podcast Against the Rules. Today on the show, Michael explains how we went from prohibition to proliferation, unpacking how a 2018 Supreme Court decision opened the floodgates for an industry that's now seeing over $100 billion in annual bets. We discuss how betting companies use data and psychology to nudge people into making increasingly complex and unfavorable wagers, why young men are particularly susceptible to gambling addiction, and what the rise of "prop bets" means for the integrity of sports. We also get into the concerning public health implications of widespread sports betting and what past addictive epidemics might tell us about where this is all heading.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.
0:11.6	Sports gambling has exploded in America.
0:14.2	You can't watch a game today without being bombarded by ads from betting companies,
0:18.0	often co-branded with the major sports leagues themselves.
0:21.0	It's a dramatic shift from just seven years ago, when these same leagues were unified
0:24.7	and their opposition to legalize sports betting.
0:27.6	Michael Lewis, the best-selling author of Moneyball, The Big Short, and the Blindside,
0:31.6	has been exploring this transformation in the latest season of his podcast against the rules.
0:36.1	Today on the show, Michael explains how we went from prohibition to proliferation,
0:40.1	unpacking how a 2018 Supreme Court decision opened the floodgates for an industry that's
0:44.7	now seen over $100 billion in annual bets.
0:47.5	We discuss how betting companies use data in psychology to nudge people into making increasingly
0:51.6	complex and unfavorable wagers, why young men are
0:54.8	particularly susceptible to gambling addiction, and what the rise of prop bets means for the integrity
0:59.0	of sports. We also get into the concerning public health implications of widespread sports
1:03.5	betting, and what past addictive epidemics might tell us about where this is all heading.
1:08.1	After the show's over, check out our show notes at AWIM.IS slash
1:10.9	sports gambling.
1:11.6	All right, Michael Lewis, welcome the show.
1:25.5	Thanks for having me.
1:27.0	So I'm sure a lot of our listeners familiar with your work, the blindside, Michael Lewis, welcome the show. Thanks for having me. So I'm sure a lot of our listeners
1:28.2	familiar with your work, the blind side, money ball, the big short. Throughout your career,
	...

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