<
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/04/online-sports-betting-app-addiction/686061/?gift=66OeTwjwIWd7-zlTK2lFDi3Q8DuxbBUQfdARMQEcv-Y>
"On a Thursday evening in September, I excused myself from the family dinner
table and slipped into my bedroom. I didn’t want my kids to see what I was
about to do.
With the door locked behind me, I pulled out my phone and downloaded the
DraftKings betting app. I felt a certain thrill as I typed in my debit-card
information and deposited $500. The first game of the NFL season was a few
minutes away. Anything seemed possible.
I am not, by temperament, a gambling man. As a suburban dad with four kids, a
mortgage, and a minivan, I’m more likely to be found wrestling a toddler into a
car seat than scouring moneylines or consulting betting touts. And as a
practicing Mormon, I am prohibited from indulging in games of chance. Besides,
I had always thought of gambling as a waste of time. This makes me an outlier
among my generational peers: Since 2018, Americans have wagered more than half
a trillion dollars on sports, and roughly half of men ages 18 to 49 have an
active account with an online sportsbook.
When I set out to report on the sports-betting industry—its explosive growth,
its sudden cultural ubiquity, and what it’s doing to America—my editors thought
I should experience the phenomenon firsthand. Mindful of my religious
constraints, they proposed a work-around:
The Atlantic would stake me $10,000
to gamble with over the course of the upcoming NFL season. The magazine would
cover any losses, and—to ensure my ongoing emotional investment—split any
winnings with me, 50–50. Surely God would approve of such an arrangement, my
editors reasoned, because I wouldn’t be risking my own hard-earned money."
Via
Garbage Day: Day 17 of America’s Timothée Chalamet crisis
<
https://www.garbageday.email/p/day-17-of-america-s-timoth-e-chalamet-crisis>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
