We Legalized Sports Gambling. Now We're Paying for It.
Scott Galloway and Jonathan Cohen discuss how legal sports gambling has grown from $2–3 billion to $150 billion annually since 2018, and why the current system harms young men and low-income households most.
The gist
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States with legal online betting have seen 30% increases in bankruptcies and rising credit card delinquencies, suggesting harm reaches well beyond problem gamblers.
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Pennsylvania saw self-exclusions among 18–35 year olds jump from roughly 50 to 1,500 per year after 2019, showing hidden addiction at scale.
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Cohen says friction-based rules like deposit limits, time-outs, and loss caps for under-25s can reduce harm without banning betting outright.
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Cohen argues the single biggest fix is changing regulators' goal from maximizing tax revenue to protecting citizen well-being.
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Losing Big
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