About this episode

This episode explores the complexities and hidden realities of the sports betting industry through an interview with investigative reporter Danny Funt.

Sports betting is everywhere now. It is in the commercials, on the apps, wrapped into game broadcasts, and sold as a fun way to make sports more exciting. But behind the easy sign-ups and "risk-free" offers is an industry built on odds most people do not fully understand, fine print that can cost real money, and a business model that depends on customers losing. In this episode, I talk with Danny Funt, an investigative reporter and the author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling. His reporting on sports betting, politics, news, and sports media has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Columbia Journalism Review, and other publications. Through his work, Danny has taken a close look at how legal sports betting expanded so quickly in the United States and what that boom has meant for everyday customers. I talk with Danny about misleading promotions, why "risk-free" bets are not always what they sound like, and how betting apps encourage people to remember their wins while downplaying their losses. Danny also explains why the customers who actually win can be limited or pushed away, while big spenders who lose…

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