How Sports Gambling Has Ruined US Sports

·18 min·1 clip

A Purdue bench player got death threats for making a basket that cost gamblers money, exposing the abuse athletes now face.

The episode begins with Lisa Wexler introducing Danny Funt, a Washington Post contributor and author of a book on sports gambling. Wexler shares a personal story about her uncle's gambling addiction, which lost the family business, setting an emotional tone. Funt responds by noting mixed feelings from readers who relate to such stories. He then details a key example from his book: a Purdue University basketball player who faced severe online abuse after making a late-game basket that affected betting spreads. This leads to a discussion on how legalization has dehumanized athletes, a concern previously voiced by former Senator Bill Bradley, who advocated against gambling due to its corrosive effects. Wexler expresses cynicism about sports integrity, and Funt supports this by citing that over half of Americans suspect athletes alter play for bets. The conversation shifts to the NFL's historical opposition to gambling and its reversal in the mid-2010s after meetings with gambling industry representatives. Studies shown to the NFL indicated gamblers watch more games, potentially boosting TV revenue by over $2 billion annually. Funt critiques the lack of consumer protections in legalization, revealing that even insiders at companies like FanDuel and DraftKings doubt self-regulation. Wexler mentions the Supreme Court's role in enabling state legalization, and Funt adds insights from former commissioners Paul Tagliabue and Fay Vincent, who were disappointed by the leagues' embrace of gambling. He also discusses Theodore Olson, the attorney who won the key Supreme Court case, expressing surprise at the subsequent gambling explosion. The episode concludes with Funt addressing organized crime's persistence in game-fixing and black market betting, despite legalization promises to eliminate it. Wexler summarizes the book's themes as a reflection of greed in America.

As heard by us

A sober look at how easy sports betting can make professional sports feel like a test of trust.

Sports gambling lands here as a crisis of trust, with Danny Fund arguing that easy betting makes every strange play or questionable call feel newly suspicious before anyone can prove wrongdoing.

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Why you'd press play

You want to know why one weird play can suddenly feel less like bad luck and more like a warning sign.

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