Episode summary
The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 10 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec · Guests: Danny Funt
Summary
Sports betting has gone from taboo to a huge consumer business, and Danny Funt argues the shift was driven less by principle than by money. He points to the leagues’ reversal after Adam Silver’s 2014 New York Times op-ed, the legalization wave after the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban, and the promise of bigger TV audiences and more lucrative media rights. Funt says the industry and the leagues were converted behind closed doors before the public fully understood the consequences.
Funt also argues that regulation can only do so much because online wagering is now available 24/7, with thousands of in-game bets and micro bets designed to be “sticky.” He says states have some tools, but the core product is inherently powerful and hard to police, especially when companies can collect taxes and revenue while users absorb the losses. He also draws a line between state-regulated sportsbooks and prediction markets, saying the consumer experience is nearly indistinguishable even if the legal framing is different.
The episode focuses on the personal damage behind the growth story. Funt describes bettors who lost six figures, including a Connecticut teacher who lost more than $100,000 on FanDuel and a Cheesecake Factory server who was given VIP treatment despite earning about $65,000 a year. He says these companies understand how to keep people engaged and spending, and that the business model depends on doing exactly that.
Key takeaways
- Danny Funt says the leagues embraced sports gambling only after they saw the upside for media rights and TV audiences, not because their views changed on principle.
- He argues online sports betting is a fundamentally new and hard-to-control product because it is available 24/7 and built around micro bets and “sticky” engagement.
- Funt says prediction markets can function like sports gambling even when they are framed as trading products regulated differently from sportsbooks.
- He cites bettors losing six figures and says VIP perks can make it harder for customers to walk away from losses.
- Funt says internal industry awareness of customer harm suggests litigation and regulation could become a bigger risk for DraftKings and FanDuel.
Notable quotes
“Our findings suggest that sports betting can have dramatic implications for household financial stability”
“the gambling industry was trying to persuade the other leagues to get on board”
“The NFL for example was told it would make more than $2 billion every year if gambling were legalized”
“my job was essentially to slowly bleed customers dry”
“he'd lost more than $100,000 on FanDuel”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts radio news. — You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenc on Bloomberg Radio. The story on the Bloomberg terminal last week getting our attention. It's kind of where all this stuff comes together.
Totally. — US states that have legalized sports betting have seen a rise in delinquency rates on consumer credit products and a decrease in credit scores. This is according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Here's what they said, Carol.
Our findings suggest that sports betting can have dramatic implications for household financial stability. — Yeah, this can't be good. Yeah, the author is putting that out right this week. Um, we're sure this comes as no surprise to our next guest, sports journalist Danny Font. He is the author of a new book. It was out in January. It's entitled Everybody Loses the Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambly. We are delighted to have him here in our Bloomberg Interactive Broker Studio. Welcome, welcome. Congratulations.
Thank you. Thanks for having me. — You know, it's kind of um disturbing and blown us away the gamification of our society
And sports gambling and especially college sports like you just think these things were sacred and things have changed. Um tell us about why you wanted to write this book and as you kind of started to dig into it, what more kind of came out came out? Well, I've been covering it for several years for the Washington Post mainly, and I felt like I was scratching the surface, particularly this fundamental question of why it was that the pro leagues went from calling gambling an evil and the deadliest possible thing that could happen to sports.
That's something the commissioner of baseball said barely a decade ago, right,
To becoming the most aggressive evangelist for gambling.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- sports gambling regulation
- responsible gambling programs
- gambling addiction support
- sports betting boom
- industry profit vs harm
Companies and tickers mentioned
- DKNG
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
Watch the episode
Watch “The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling | Bloomberg Businessweek” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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