Your sports gambling data can tell a very important story.
Online sportsbooks and prediction markets are under scrutiny these days for how they may offer gambling inducements to people who may have a problem with their play. This scrutiny comes as a former U.S. Surgeon General described online sports betting as the “new opioid crisis.”
ProPublica is a leading nonprofit newsroom conducting an extensive investigation into how DraftKings and FanDuel, two of the largest online gambling companies, operate.
The project aims to better understand how the algorithms on the most sophisticated sports betting apps work. ProPublica’s award-winning reporters want to know when these apps use promos, boosts, bonus bets, and VIP perks, and who they’re targeting with them.
How to Participate
ProPublica built an easy-to-use browser extension that allows users to upload their betting history so reporters can identify these trends.
As of writing, 74 people have shared their data. The newsroom is looking for at least 250.
Your file goes straight to ProPublica. It is not shared with the sportsbooks or anyone outside the newsroom.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach ProPublica’s sports betting team at sportsbetting@propublica.org.
Why You Should Participate
As mentioned, online sports betting can be a harmful product. One gambling addiction typically harms 5-10 others, depending on the research.
Sports betting has exploded in popularity in recent years, and with it many links to population-level financial harm.
We know that very few gamblers win money in the near term, and the industry typically generates most of its revenue from a minority of users.
Disclosure: GamblingHarm.org has no financial relationship with ProPublica and received nothing of value for this article. We published this article because ProPublica’s mission aligns with GamblingHarm.org’s.
