An independent public health & consumer protection publication by former FORBES managing editor Brian Pempus

Category: History

  • How Gambling Was Invented Before You Could Lose Anything
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    How Gambling Was Invented Before You Could Lose Anything

    The origins of gambling point to a radically different world and a potentially better future for the activity. New research shows that humanity’s earliest gambling practices date back 12,000 years in present-day North America, challenging the belief that gambling’s beginnings are tied to loss or exploitation. Researcher Robert Madden of Colorado State University described far…

  • Have Las Vegas Sportsbooks Ever Lost On The Super Bowl?

    Have Las Vegas Sportsbooks Ever Lost On The Super Bowl?

    Nevada sportsbooks, led by those in glitzy Las Vegas casinos, always win over time. Once in a blue moon, bettors collectively get the upper hand on a single event like the NFL Super Bowl. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has been tracking the local gambling industry’s Super Bowl results since 1991. From 1991 to 2025,…

  • Gambling History: 1890s Newspaper Sought Data On Gambling And Suicide
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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…