Leagues' U-turn on Gambling Explained

Author and Washington Post contributor Danny Funt joins the Chuck ToddCast to discuss his new book “Everybody Loses”, and for a sobering, wide-ranging conversation about how the rapid legalization of sports betting quietly reshaped American sports—and not in the ways fans were promised. What began as a state-by-state experiment after a 2018 Supreme Court ruling has exploded into a highly profitable, lightly regulated industry where sportsbooks are household names, leagues are financial stakeholders, and media companies are financially dependent on gambling ads. Funt explains how gambling turbocharged media rights deals, hooked viewers more deeply into games, and became politically untouchable as companies like FanDuel and DraftKings poured money into lobbying to block even modest regulation.

The discussion digs into the darker consequences that followed: inadequate funding for gambling addiction support, normalization of conspiracy talk about “rigged” games, threats and violence directed at athletes, and growing concerns about corruption—especially in individual sports and lower-profile leagues. Funt draws chilling parallels between today’s sportsbook advertising blitz and the early days of Big Tobacco, explores why American regulators ignored European guardrails, and explains how mobile betting and prediction markets have made gambling more potent and pervasive than ever. The result, he argues, is a system designed for maximum profit with minimal friction—one that has fundamentally altered how sports are watched, covered, and policed.

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!

Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Danny Funt joins the Chuck ToddCast

00:30 Rapid legalization of sports betting had unintended consequences

02:00 What made you want to cover the topic of sports betting?

02:30 Leagues took a hard pivot from anti to pro gambling

04:30 Major sportsbooks are household names, but very secretive

06:00 SCOTUS paved the way for state by state gambling with 2018 ruling

06:45 Courts provided gambling legislation due to inaction by congress

08:15 Gambling creating a massive increase in value for media rights

09:45 Adding gambling was a way to further hook viewers to sports

11:15 It’s hard to add new taxes, but vice taxes are able to pass

12:30 Legal betting is far more potent than betting through a bookie

14:00 Fanduel & Draftkings throwing money into politics to avoid regulation

15:30 Even modest regulation is rigorously opposed by gambling industry

17:00 Funding for support with gambling addiction is completely inadequate

18:15 Why wasn’t there a larger debate before rolling out mobile gambling?

19:00 Mobile gambling makes so much more money than physical books

20:15 Individual sports are more corruptible than team sports

21:00 Online betting is incredibly well geofenced

22:00 Putting “friction points” into the process helps with user safety

23:30 Gambling leads to rage & violent behavior & risks player safety

25:15 Gamblers have been arrested for threats to athletes over lost bets

26:00 Fans talking about games being “rigged” has been normalized
27:00 Individual players can collaborate on bets, trying to help friends

27:45 “Fixing” doesn’t necessarily mean “failing”

28:30 Prominent people in sports are alarmed & speaking out

29:30 Media won’t speak against it due to huge ad revenue from sportsbooks

32:00 NFL strongarmed reporters over concussions, gambling will be worse

35:30 Will we start regulating sports to make sure gambling is honest?

36:45 Referees in smaller, less visible conferences will be harder to police

37:15 Technology is being adopted to avoid corruptability of officials

38:45 Did writing this book change the way you watch sports?

40:30 Who controls Fanduel and Draftkings?

41:15 The leagues have equity stakes in the major sportsbooks

42:30 Major advertising similarities between tobacco and sportsbooks

43:30 What are the available gambling helpline resources/counseling like?

45:00 Stronger gambling culture in Europe, do they regulate it better?

46:00 American regulation completely ignored European precedent

47:00 Prediction markets are indistinguishable from betting markets

49:30 Legalization basically laid a trap for stupid people

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.