Posting Through It 090: What Are the Odds? feat. Danny Funt
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Mar 23, 2026 Danny Funt, investigative journalist and author of Everybody Loses, digs into the rapid rise of sports betting and prediction markets. He traces how leagues and mobile apps normalized wagering. He explores in-game bets, market mechanics, integrity risks, and the culture shift that makes gambling ubiquitous.
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How Legalization And Ads Turned Gambling Ubiquitous
- The 2018 Supreme Court ruling triggered a rapid national pivot from daily fantasy to legal online sports betting.
- FanDuel and DraftKings spent huge ad budgets in 2015 and then lobbied leagues and states to legalize and scale internet wagering nationwide.
Pocket Betting Changed The Game
- Making betting frictionless on smartphones changed behavior: 95% of bets are now placed online.
- Governors and NCAA leaders say mobile access transformed gambling from a rare trip to a constant temptation in players' pockets.
Athletes Harassed And Threatened Over Bets
- Players and coaches face intense harassment and threats from enraged gamblers, including death threats and doxxing.
- J.B. Bickerstaff and Jalen Brunson's examples show texts threatening families and claims of knowing players' children's identities.
