The two largest online sports gambling companies, DraftKings and FanDuel, have already spent millions of dollars on the 2026 midterm elections, according to FEC disclosures filed on Friday.
As a sports fan, I can personally attest to how DraftKings, FanDuel, and other betting services inundate both live and televised events with ad placements, throwing money at celebrities to promote them. While not to obviate people's sense of responsibility, the aggressiveness of these campaigns certainly merits discussion owing to the harm gambling and gambling addiction can do. When individuals are plunging themselves into financial ruin, that's a real problem.
Gambling apps spending billions to normalize addiction isn’t market failure, it’s the market working as designed. Profit maximizes by exploiting behavioral vulnerabilities…systematic wealth extraction from people who can’t afford it.
“Personal responsibility” when they mention it, is cover. These platforms engineer addiction using variable reward schedules, near-miss programming, loss-chasing mechanics. Applied behavioral economics weaponized for profit.
Financial ruin at scale isn’t bad individual choices. It’s predatory design meeting regulatory capture.
Same structure as opioids, same as subprime mortgages.
Extract value, externalize damage, call it freedom.
At least casinos--like the one that opened in Sonoma County a few years ago--employ actual human beings. But an outright ban on online sports and prediction gambling doesn't seem right either--as such gambling will fall under the purview of the mafia, and become even more toxic; like playing "the numbers" in the days before States transformed it into legal Lotteries.
Politicians are gunna keep getting bought--like Adam Schiff recently taking a few million from Crypto, and then going all in. And now with online gambling. We're on a dark road.
Based on recent reports, Senator Adam Schiff has not directly taken "a few million" in personal funds from the crypto industry, but he significantly benefited from a $10 million spending campaign by a pro-crypto Super PAC in his 2024 California Senate primary.
It wasn't a "few" million. Crypto PAC Fairshake spent *ten million* on ads for Schiff's 2023-24 campaign.
Don't get me wrong, Schiff has done great work on the Hill--especially his impeachment trial work against Trump. And he is vastly preferable to ANY Republican. But taking--or "letting" the Crypto industry fund $10 million of the roughly $60 million spent on or for his 2024 senate campaign, has disillusioned me.
"Everybody Loses" is a recently released book by Danny Funt which discusses the online betting craze. The online betting companies schmooze the elected representatives with celebrity sports stars and tickets to sporting events. Some people can win money, but more often than not, people lose money. And when I say "lose money," it will disappear FAST. Not only are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, but if you bet, you'll become poor faster.
The title of the book is a misnomer. When someone loses, someone else "wins" and that someone didn't even need to play the game, just provide the mechanism to take the money when the player, inevitably, loses.
This sounds like a downward spiral into hell for sports, fans, and democracy. First college basketball, next FIFA?, then what? Congress, elections? End Citizens United now, but I guess that’s not going to happen anytime soon. 😩
Michael Lewis’ podcast Against the Rules is a great places to learn how sports betting became legal and how it has changed and ruined lives. I know they call it gaming, but the only winner of this game is the legal corporate hustlers and they obviously are spending money to keep it that way. Like David Funt writes, Everybody Loses.
Another way to f up our young men. Another red flag for all young women when deciding the emotional worth of a prospective date or boyfriend. You smoke cigarettes? Gross. You drink too much? Run! You gamble for"fun." Slam the door.
Gambling is just a way of draining money from the 99% to fill the pockets of the 1%.. The marketing creates the illusion that they can obtain instant riches, but delivers deeper poverty.
So where are the Twumps in this? They must be sitting down in front of a big mirror with piles of white powder as they discuss with the sons of non-American warlords dressed in robes a new gambling entity they, the sons of warlords, need to get permission for to run in the United States and 49% of it will be yours, Don and Eric! Forty nine percent?!? Dad will want 51.
trump was not into crypto in his first term, but he is heavily into it in his second term, because the crypto bros heaped money on him. I don’t see him getting into online sports betting, but if draftkings and fanduel get into the prediction market, especially political prediction betting, look for the possibility for trump receiving money to fix the political outcome to benefit the betting sites.
I think Don and Eric are coke snorting greedy pigs at a trough and want so badly to be hanging with the bros that they will dive into it, mark my words. We will see a new sports betting company arise and it will be Twump heavy. You wanna bet?
Another area where the right side of the fence lacks ethics to regulate when harm occurs . Along with guns , climate, health , environment etc It seems free for all with no attention to harm is the order of the day ....lets roll back Seat belts , Helmets for kids , food safety, vaccines , air and water pollution , anything the govt does to keep you safe except ICE of course
The betting party will continue until we get rigged games in the NFL which is inevitable. Then we will all relearn old lessons . If you can't make money through hard work you grift.
Pro sports seem like a giant group of corrupt cults. My husband used to be a big football fan and stopped watching it altogether after seeing through the BS. U.S. football is too damn violent and damaging to the health 9f players to watch anymore. Like the Republicans…saturated with violent people.
Thank you for this report particularly, Judd. I am concerned about gambling anyway, but the spread of sports gambling raises the specter of still more bankruptcies by sections of the population that can least afford it, and the involvement with politics means that the influence and reach of gambling will only spread.
They don't just advertise on sports shows, they're everywhere on YouTube, MSM - especially news programs. And Kevin Hart, their 'spox' is just another shill whose career hit the skids, and now he's forced to think he's funny shilling for gambling. Don't believe me? Watch his "roast" of Tom Brady - another shill. Gambling and selling your soul: a match made in hell, and thriving.
As a sports fan, I can personally attest to how DraftKings, FanDuel, and other betting services inundate both live and televised events with ad placements, throwing money at celebrities to promote them. While not to obviate people's sense of responsibility, the aggressiveness of these campaigns certainly merits discussion owing to the harm gambling and gambling addiction can do. When individuals are plunging themselves into financial ruin, that's a real problem.
Definitely, good point.
Gambling apps spending billions to normalize addiction isn’t market failure, it’s the market working as designed. Profit maximizes by exploiting behavioral vulnerabilities…systematic wealth extraction from people who can’t afford it.
“Personal responsibility” when they mention it, is cover. These platforms engineer addiction using variable reward schedules, near-miss programming, loss-chasing mechanics. Applied behavioral economics weaponized for profit.
Financial ruin at scale isn’t bad individual choices. It’s predatory design meeting regulatory capture.
Same structure as opioids, same as subprime mortgages.
Extract value, externalize damage, call it freedom.
America.
At least casinos--like the one that opened in Sonoma County a few years ago--employ actual human beings. But an outright ban on online sports and prediction gambling doesn't seem right either--as such gambling will fall under the purview of the mafia, and become even more toxic; like playing "the numbers" in the days before States transformed it into legal Lotteries.
Politicians are gunna keep getting bought--like Adam Schiff recently taking a few million from Crypto, and then going all in. And now with online gambling. We're on a dark road.
Based on recent reports, Senator Adam Schiff has not directly taken "a few million" in personal funds from the crypto industry, but he significantly benefited from a $10 million spending campaign by a pro-crypto Super PAC in his 2024 California Senate primary.
It wasn't a "few" million. Crypto PAC Fairshake spent *ten million* on ads for Schiff's 2023-24 campaign.
Don't get me wrong, Schiff has done great work on the Hill--especially his impeachment trial work against Trump. And he is vastly preferable to ANY Republican. But taking--or "letting" the Crypto industry fund $10 million of the roughly $60 million spent on or for his 2024 senate campaign, has disillusioned me.
I don't disagree Nubby. I was surprised too.
Kind of like smoking. We finally banned those ads but those tobacco companies are still around. Unregulated capitalism is a rigged game.
"Everybody Loses" is a recently released book by Danny Funt which discusses the online betting craze. The online betting companies schmooze the elected representatives with celebrity sports stars and tickets to sporting events. Some people can win money, but more often than not, people lose money. And when I say "lose money," it will disappear FAST. Not only are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, but if you bet, you'll become poor faster.
The title of the book is a misnomer. When someone loses, someone else "wins" and that someone didn't even need to play the game, just provide the mechanism to take the money when the player, inevitably, loses.
I just finished the book. Helpful background on how sports betting has evolved and the damage caused. I would recommend to other sports bettors.
Yeah, buy the book - not by the book(ie)
This sounds like a downward spiral into hell for sports, fans, and democracy. First college basketball, next FIFA?, then what? Congress, elections? End Citizens United now, but I guess that’s not going to happen anytime soon. 😩
I'll wager it won't.
Ok I’ll take that bet.
Money is politics in America.
Who would have thunk it!?
More obvious now than ever.
Michael Lewis’ podcast Against the Rules is a great places to learn how sports betting became legal and how it has changed and ruined lives. I know they call it gaming, but the only winner of this game is the legal corporate hustlers and they obviously are spending money to keep it that way. Like David Funt writes, Everybody Loses.
Another way to f up our young men. Another red flag for all young women when deciding the emotional worth of a prospective date or boyfriend. You smoke cigarettes? Gross. You drink too much? Run! You gamble for"fun." Slam the door.
Huge sport fan who just hates all the gambling commercials during games…
There's too much gambling in this country and I'm pretty sure a lot of it is boosted by economic inequality.
Gambling is just a way of draining money from the 99% to fill the pockets of the 1%.. The marketing creates the illusion that they can obtain instant riches, but delivers deeper poverty.
So where are the Twumps in this? They must be sitting down in front of a big mirror with piles of white powder as they discuss with the sons of non-American warlords dressed in robes a new gambling entity they, the sons of warlords, need to get permission for to run in the United States and 49% of it will be yours, Don and Eric! Forty nine percent?!? Dad will want 51.
trump was not into crypto in his first term, but he is heavily into it in his second term, because the crypto bros heaped money on him. I don’t see him getting into online sports betting, but if draftkings and fanduel get into the prediction market, especially political prediction betting, look for the possibility for trump receiving money to fix the political outcome to benefit the betting sites.
I think Don and Eric are coke snorting greedy pigs at a trough and want so badly to be hanging with the bros that they will dive into it, mark my words. We will see a new sports betting company arise and it will be Twump heavy. You wanna bet?
He was not into crypto until someone explained to him that it’s the perfect tool to accept bribes anonymously…
The rug pull on trump coin & NFT has already started.
All addictions have the potential to destroy relationships and families. Recovery is extremely difficult and prevention protects generational harm.
Another area where the right side of the fence lacks ethics to regulate when harm occurs . Along with guns , climate, health , environment etc It seems free for all with no attention to harm is the order of the day ....lets roll back Seat belts , Helmets for kids , food safety, vaccines , air and water pollution , anything the govt does to keep you safe except ICE of course
The betting party will continue until we get rigged games in the NFL which is inevitable. Then we will all relearn old lessons . If you can't make money through hard work you grift.
Pro sports seem like a giant group of corrupt cults. My husband used to be a big football fan and stopped watching it altogether after seeing through the BS. U.S. football is too damn violent and damaging to the health 9f players to watch anymore. Like the Republicans…saturated with violent people.
Thank you for this report particularly, Judd. I am concerned about gambling anyway, but the spread of sports gambling raises the specter of still more bankruptcies by sections of the population that can least afford it, and the involvement with politics means that the influence and reach of gambling will only spread.
They don't just advertise on sports shows, they're everywhere on YouTube, MSM - especially news programs. And Kevin Hart, their 'spox' is just another shill whose career hit the skids, and now he's forced to think he's funny shilling for gambling. Don't believe me? Watch his "roast" of Tom Brady - another shill. Gambling and selling your soul: a match made in hell, and thriving.
Who could've possibly foreseen that integrating gambling into sporting events would corrupt it? Inconceivable!
I sure as HELL don't want anything as corrupt as a bunch of bookies running any part of our country, I don't care HOW you dress it up.