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Sports BettingThe Bradley Act, passed in 1992, outlawed sports gambling in American states where it wasn't already legal. However, a 2018 Supreme Court decision spurred the legalization of online gambling state by state, turning sports betting into a multibillion-dollar industry that's legal in 47 states and the District of Columbia.
Gambling in America dates back to the colonial era, but religious movements in the 19th and early-20th centuries successfully pushed to outlaw gambling in much of the US, though it continued in New Orleans, on riverboat casinos, and on the black market. Nevada legalized gambling in 1931 to generate revenue during the Great Depression and paved the way for Las Vegas to become the gaming capital of the US.
Critics of the rising industry say sports betting has become a serious social problem in the US, especially for boys and young men. Explore Sports Betting
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Find out the difference between prediction markets, sports betting, and investingAs one expert put it, "investing is a long-term strategy to build wealth over time, speculation is an attempt to predict the future, and gambling is a game of luck." KiplingerThe 2011 film 'Moneyball' shifted ideas about sports and statisticsBased on the Michael Lewis book of the same name, the film starring Brad Pitt depicts the attempts of the 2002 Oakland A's to leverage data analysis to overcome their low-budget woes ($41M) and compete with big-budget teams like the New York Yankees ($125M). Other sports and leagues, including the NBA and NFL, would adopt a similar logic: find what the market undervalues and exploit it. NBCHow much does sports betting generate?According to 2025 data, sports betting generated $2.7B in state tax revenue. That number has increased every year since the government began collecting data in 2021. USAFactsHow prediction markets differ from sportsbooks matters for regulationThere are a number of differences and similarities between sportsbooks and prediction markets, despite both allowing people to bet on outcomes for sports-related events. For instance, prediction markets typically earn revenue through transaction fees rather than taking directional exposure to outcomes. Sports IllustratedWinter Olympic sports highlight various laws and principles of physicsFigure skaters leverage the conservation of angular momentum during spins by tightening their bodies, and the skintight suits used in ski jumping help reduce drag. Centripetal force allows speedskaters to make tight turns, while friction on skis helps ski mountaineers climb slopes. No action can violate the conservation of energy. The ConversationThe business plan for Blue Ribbon Sports came from a Stanford assignmentNike cofounder Phil Knight’s original idea was to begin selling Japanese shoes, which were cheaper and just as light and durable as the leading German shoes from Adidas and Puma, at a lower price in the American market. His last assignment in business school at Stanford became the original business plan for Blue Ribbon Sports. QuartrHow math whizzes exploit sportsbooks Chris Dirkus is a professional sports bettor who approaches the hobby as a math problem, not from a fan's perspective. He focuses on mispriced odds in popular games where many fans are betting for high liquidity. He's one of a rare segment of sports bettors exploiting slow models and human mistakes. VICE SportsTalese’s story on Joe DiMaggio examined the sports star’s life post-retirementThe profile, written in the aftermath of his popular “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” similarly offered a close look at an American icon after their prime. In DiMaggio’s story, however, the Yankees player seeks to vanish into obscurity and live a quiet life, golfing and mourning his ex-wife Marilyn Monroe. Random HouseAthletes are captured in moments of victory and defeat in 6 powerful sports imagesSee shots like Muhammad Ali knocking out Sonny Liston in 1965, or Brandi Chastain after winning the World Cup final in 1999. the GuardianFantasy sports can also offer community Fantasy leagues often carry over from year to year, allowing people to hang on to (or forge) connections with others. Matthew Berry, a fantasy football analyst for NBC Sports, argues, “the truth is it’s all about the people. It’s not the draft, it’s not the trash talk or the punishments … It’s the people who make the draft and the trash talk and the punishments and the winning what it is.” The Sports EthicistFantasy sports can have adverse health effects Experts warn that fantasy sports, including fantasy football, can encourage obsessive use because they offer hits of dopamine. Daily fantasy games, which function more like gambling, are especially problematic. www.heart.orgFantasy sports have turned fans into 'second screen' consumersThe rise of smartphones made fantasy sports more accessible and contributed to a phenomenon called “second screen consumption,” where sports fans are not only watching a live broadcast but are simultaneously watching the statistics from that game play out in their fantasy matchup. The ConversationWhere you fall on the sports misery index Only one team can win it all each season, which means the majority of fans are disappointed. This bot mines the data on how your teams have performed in recent years and measures your misery index (the higher, the more miserable). ESPNThe X Games is an annual extreme sports competitionThe official X Games site offers event schedules, athlete profiles, competition results, and news for both summer and winter editions—along with videos and highlights from skateboarding, BMX, motocross, and other action sports. X GamesA quote from sports journalist Stuart Scott"In football, as in life, the hits you don’t see coming are the ones that do the most damage." NovelvoxWhy governments are betting big on sportsCountries in the Middle East, as well as China, are investing heavily in beloved sports franchises, from English Premier League soccer teams to rogue golf leagues like LIV Golf. The purpose is to gain soft power, where countries can gain credibility and legitimacy through cultural events. FreakonomicsStudies show correlations between women's sports and leadership rolesA 2024 Women’s Sports Foundation report showed 69% of women who played sports held leadership roles. Similarly, a 2015 study showed 94% of women in C-suite roles had been involved with athletics. Fast CompanyThe law increased female participation in sports, along with Olympic medalsIn the decades since Title IX’s passage, there has been a significant rise in female participation in high school (an increase of 239%) and college athletics (an increase of over 1000%). That pattern has led to changes in the highest levels of sport, with more American women winning Olympic medals in the Title IX era. the GuardianBefore Title IX, boys competing in high school sports far outnumbered girlsIn 1971, the year before Title IX was passed, about 294,000 girls were playing high school sports. That paled in comparison to the number of boys: 3.7M. The New York TimesSaudi Arabia began investing in international sports in the mid-2010sThe country's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has argued that embracing sports and tourism will diversify the Saudi economy away from a dependency on oil. Critics argue the events are being used to distract from the regime's human rights violations. BBC Sport‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ became associated with sports at the 1918 World SeriesThe song is often played at the start of amateur and professional sports games, a tradition that historians say became popular during World War I. During the seventh-inning stretch of the first game of the 1918 World Series, a band started an impromptu version. Red Sox player Fred Thomas, on leave from the Navy, turned to salute the flag, and the crowd followed his lead. National WWI Museum and MemorialThe 100 most significant sports moments between 2000 and 2025This list ranks the 100 most significant sports moments of the first 25 years of the 21st century. The editors compiled the collection based on a list of factors, including the "collective joy" factor, whether it made you curse in disbelief, and how much it transcended the sport and entered the broader culture. The top moment: The improbable "helmet catch" during the Super Bowl in 2008. The RingerExplaining the rise in adult sports leaguesCommunity sports leagues shifted from publicly supported entities to privatized ones in the 1990s, as tech advances streamlined registration processes. Millennial interest drove significant growth in social sports leagues for adults, growing much faster than other kinds of sports. A few industry leaders have benefited from this shift. The HustleThe sports competition developed on the Alaskan tundraAlaska's NYO Games invite high school athletes from the state's over 270 indigenous tribes to compete in numerous events based on survival tactics developed by their ancestors. This short documentary from Great Big Story walks through some of the more grueling events and speaks with the Games' coaches and young athletes about how the event preserves their shared culture. Great Big StoryThe 1968 'Game of the Century' turned college sports into prime-time TVThe 1968 NCAA men's championship was the first game broadcast live in prime time. It met the moment, offering a legendary rematch between UCLA (led by a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Houston (led by standout center Elvin Hayes). This retrospective breaks down what made the game such a successful spectacle and how it transformed the market for all college athletics. LA Daily News'NIL' in college sports refers to 'name, image, and likeness'In 2021, the NCAA began allowing its student-athletes to profit from using their name, image, and likeness, now often called NIL. While this is now permitted by the NCAA, state law (and school policies) largely dictate what is permitted. ESPNThe story behind the greatest outburst in sports historyIt's a line that's still perplexing all these years later: "Who do you think you are? I am!" Those words were uttered by Pete Weber, an iconic bowler who was somewhere between John McEnroe and Happy Gilmore. This oral history from the Ringer provides some context for the bizarre insult and a backstory that turns what appears to be a non sequitur into a triumphant celebration. The Ringer'Moneyball' author Michael Lewis believes sports betting is a problem for young menThe noted journalist and author of "Moneyball," "The Big Short," and "The Blind Side" has now fixed his discerning eye on the sports-betting industry. In this interview, he explains why he sees sports betting as a problem for American society, especially boys and young men, and why he believes the government needs to regulate the nascent industry more seriously. Channels with Peter KafkaAmericans spent nearly $150B in sports-related bets in 2024These bets ranged from who would win the World Series to what color clothes famous celebrities would wear to the Super Bowl. Experts believe the industry will continue to grow. Legal Sports ReportTitle IX provided much-needed funding for women's sportsWhen Title IX was passed in 1972, it addressed gender discrimination in education. Although its expected impact on sports was minimal, it ended up being one of the most significant laws in women's sports history. TED-EdSports betting, explainedSince a 2018 Supreme Court decision overturned the Bradley Act, which spurred a state-by-state legalization of online gambling, sports betting has become a rapidly growing multibillion-dollar industry. 1440Even athletes aren't immune to the sports-betting crazeWhile gambling scandals occasionally blew up before 2018, the widespread legalization of sports betting provided athletes with more opportunities to bet on the games they were playing. Bloomberg OriginalsSports leagues have attempted to prevent athletes from bettingAs pro and collegiate sports embrace betting (and the revenue that comes with it), each league works diligently to ensure the integrity of the games by hiring private firms to analyze irregular bets. These companies have flagged bets that led to the firing of Alabama’s baseball coach, the suspension of multiple athletes at Iowa and Iowa State, and, most recently, a lifetime ban on former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter by the NBA in April 2024. Sports IllustratedSports media have also embraced sports bettingFor decades, ESPN kept its distance between reporting on games and talking about gambling lines. Sports teams refused to have franchises in Las Vegas, fearing it would harm the sport. But since 2018, that has changed. ESPN’s personalities regularly pick games, and the company has also launched its own betting app. Outside the LinesDecoding sports-betting languageThe world of sports gambling is filled with insider lingo: What's a "spread"? How about a "moneyline" or a "parlay"? This resource breaks down the jargon, helping you navigate the industry or, at least, giving you the keys to talk about it. CoversA timeline of sports-betting scandalsThis timeline examines memorable moments from three decades of sports-betting history. It breaks down key political moments, as well as some historical moments such as when the internet pushed underground bookmaking online. There are also multiple descriptions of betting scandals from 1989 on. ESPNIn 1992, sports betting was outlawed in places where it wasn't already legalOn Oct. 29, 1992, then-President George HW Bush signed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, outlawing sports gambling where it was not already legal. Sports IllustratedThe World Football League, the most disastrous sports league everIn the mid-1970s, a group of investors attempted to compete with the dominant National Football League. This short video highlights the league's intriguing innovations and speedy downfall. The investors dubbed their project the World Football... YouTubeMartha Stewart lands Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover at 81At 81, lifestyle icon Martha Stewart appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit edition, marking the oldest woman to do so in the magazine's 59-year history. The magazine described the photo shoot as an embrace of changing beauty... YahooMeta disclosed Mark Zuckerberg's interest in martial arts as an investment riskDuring the pandemic, Zuckerberg began practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu and even won gold and silver medals at his first tournament in 2023. His interest in martial arts and water sports, like wakesurfing and hydrofoiling, prompted the company to disclose those hobbies as risks for potential investors, given they pose a threat to Zuckerberg's health and he retains a significant amount of control over Meta. CNBCFrictionless online gambling platforms accelerate compulsive behaviorAs of late 2025, as much as 95% of bets are placed online, where "always on" betting and a variety of formats, such as prop bets and parlays, encourage users to keep participating. Experts warn that the normalization of gambling through advertisements also reduces the perceived danger of addictive gambling. Horizons with PBS NewsAxelle Berthoumieu bit Ireland's Aoife Wafer during the Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter‑final in 2025
Biting, waxing pool balls, and modifying ski suits are just a few of the various instances of bad sportsmanship in 2025. It appears that cheating is much harder to get away with in the era of smartphones. the GuardianIn 2018, SpaceX launched a Tesla Roadster into heliocentric orbit for publicityAs of February 2023, the vehicle and its mannequin driver—dubbed "Starman"—have completed three and a quarter revolutions around the sun. One paper estimated that the car has a 22% chance of crashing into Earth within the next 15 million years. CNNHow pitcher Pedro Martinez helped reverse the curse of the Red SoxThe team had not won a World Series for nearly 100 years—while their rivals, the Yankees, had won 26. The Dominican pitcher joined the club in 1997 and helped lead the team to reverse the curse. Cliche MagA 2024 cheating scandal cast doubt on the industryIn 2024, National Fantasy Football Championship, a fantasy league with big payouts, fired one of its employees for manipulating data. The episode cast doubt on the relatively unregulated industry, despite the league coming down hard on the nefarious worker. NBC NewsBy the 1980s, fantasy football was a national activityThe Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League was a private league, but by the end of the ‘60s, a bar in Oakland opened the first public fantasy football league. Over the next few decades, the game grew more popular, as evidenced by this how-to article from a 1980 issue of “Inside Sports.” Internet ArchiveAn estimated 49 million people played fantasy football in 2022The number, estimated by the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association, has grown exponentially since the start of the century. While fantasy sports in general are popular, football is the most popular, with an estimated 79% of fantasy participants playing fantasy football. Fantasy Sports & Gaming AssociationThe marathon was not an event in the ancient form of the OlympicsThe ancient Olympics started with just one footrace, a roughly 3-mile jaunt dubbed the "dolichos." Over the centuries, it blossomed into multiple running events, field events, combat sports, and equestrian events—all performed in the nude. This list showcases eight more lesser-known facts about the ancient Games. SmithsonianExperts suggest the industry could be a $45B businessSports betting used to primarily consist of who would win and the points spread, but the rise of online betting apps has fueled a substantial increase in parlay bets. "Existing markets are still growing at a rapid clip," said Noah Naparst, who evaluates sports-betting companies for Goldman Sachs. "So we’re not mature yet, but we’re not in the early wildcat days of the market anymore, either.” Goldman SachsA visual guide to the athletic events the Olympics left behindThe series of competitions in today's version of the Olympic Games are the survivors of years of experimentation. This illustrated guide details some of the sports and creative competitions that didn't make the cut. Some sports were dropped due to their lack of visual appeal, while others were simply too specific, like the swim limited to sailors of the Royal Greek Navy. Reuters
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