Inside the Sports Betting Boom—and Its Consequences

This week on Skin in the Game, John Cimperman and Tim O’Shei sit down with journalist and author Danny Funt to discuss the explosive growth of sports gambling and what it means for fans, athletes, and the future of the games themselves. Funt’s new book, Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling, takes an investigative look into an industry that has rapidly reshaped sports culture. Funt talks about today’s sports fans and the barrage of advertising and in-game betting opportunities to the rise of VIP gamblers and mounting concerns around addiction, integrity, and athlete safety. The leagues may be cashing in, but at what cost? This episode challenges the idea that sports betting is just entertainment, raising important questions about regulation, responsibility, and whether the very thing that makes sports special is being changed in the process.