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Author: Brian Pempus
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Is Sports Betting To Blame For Pizza’s Decline?
Has the expansion of legal sports betting since 2018 played a role in the declining interest in pizza in the United States? The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article on Jan. 4 about the significant declines in sales of fresh/hot pizzas. People in the United States are “falling out of love with pizza,” the…
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Why Possible Problem-Gambling Video Goes Viral Repeatedly
For many people, there is something relatable about emotional reactions involving gambling and losing money. In early January 2026, an old video apparently showing a casino patron having a crisis went viral again. The clip was from June 2024, but many people on various social media platforms assumed the content was new or recent. The…
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Gambling History: 1890s Newspaper Sought Data On Gambling And Suicide
Why and how often does gambling lead people to suicide? While digging through old U.S. newspaper archives on gambling, I discovered a 19th-century article with a bit of prescient speculation. The paper predicted that data would show a close association between gambling and suicide. “If we could but obtain accurate statistics, we should find that…
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Chicago To Enact Nation’s First Citywide Sports Betting Tax
On Dec. 23, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson agreed not to veto a budget passed by the City Council that included an unprecedented new tax on sports betting companies. In the $16.6 billion budget, a first-of-its-kind municipal sports betting tax of 10.25% on the money online sports betting apps generate within city limits. It will go…
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Democratic Congressman Pens Word Salad Claiming Sports Betting Isn’t Gambling
Gobbledygook in support of online sports betting crosses party lines. U.S. Congressman Don Davis, a Democrat from North Carolina, penned written testimony backing so-called “prediction markets” — a form of stock-market-style sports betting. He said the product isn’t gambling, which is a disastrous misrepresentation that could harm his constituents through addiction and financial losses. Rep.…
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