Losing Big

Description: In 2018, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling permitted states to legalize sports gambling. To date, 38 have done so. The nation is already facing a sports gambling crisis, one that will worsen in the coming years. A central argument of Losing Big is that this burgeoning crisis is a product of public policy and could have been avoided if states had taken a more deliberate, careful approach to gambling legalization. Roughly one in five American adults has placed a bet on a sporting event in the last 12 months. For some, gambling remains a harmless pastime, but for many, particularly for young adults, it can be ruinous. Three percent of American adults qualify as moderate-risk or problem gamblers and in some states that number has reached twenty percent. Rates of problem gambling are disproportionately high among men, African Americans, Latinos, and lower-income individuals. One fifth of Americans aged 18-24 qualify as high risk for a gambling problem.