Gamblemerica: How Sports Betting Apps Rewired a Generation's Relationship to Risk

This transcript has been edited and reorganized for clarity. Buy Jon’s book here! I had the incredible opportunity to moderate the opening panel at the Reagan National Economic Forum with Jason Furman and Doug Holtz-Eakin last Friday. I shared some quick thoughts here, but will be back next week with a more detailed piece1. This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Jon Cohen begins his new book Losing Big with a story about Kyle. Kyle really liked sports betting, and it seemed like he was pretty good at it! He made thousands of dollars betting in January 2023 and felt invincible. Working from home, he kept one screen for gambling, one for everything else. A dual monitor life, if you will. The confidence from his wins rewired his entire sense of reality. When his boss disagreed with him about a project, Kyle's gambling success made him overconfident enough to push back in ways he never would have before. He got

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