PBS hosted a panel-style debate on the U.S. online sports betting industry, which aired on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. If you’re interested in the topic, I recommend watching it.
The hour-long segment featured:
- Aaron Tang, UC Davis law professor and PBS host/moderator
- Tiki Barber, former NFL player and current analyst
- Richard Blumenthal, U.S. senator from Connecticut
- Jonathan D. Cohen, gambling policy lead at the American Institute for Boys and Men
- Ed Elson, co-host of the Prof G Markets podcast
- Shawn Fluharty, former WV legislator who spearheaded the legalization of online betting and the current head of government affairs at the online gambling supplier Play’n GO
- Alan Levy, founder of AIPredictions.ai
- Anita Marks, ESPN sports betting analyst and radio host
- Ben McDonald, former MLB player and current MLB/college baseball broadcaster
- Stephanie Ruhle, host of The 11th Hour and NBC News senior business analyst
- Daniel Wallach, founder of Wallach Legal LLC and a gaming attorney
The segment — “Breaking the Deadlock: Gambling With Your Life” — provided a range of perspectives on the industry. However, despite the ambitious title, it ultimately did not move the needle to resolve the deep divisions on the topic.
Throughout the discussion, the segment hit viewers with an avalanche of information and opinions. That said, there was little data, such as that half of online sports bettors chase losses. Or that Americans spent nearly $17 billion on these state-sanctioned platforms last year ($27 billion if you count online casinos).
While I found myself disagreeing most with Levy, Fluharty, and Marks, I want to focus on the positives and highlight people I enjoyed the most. That was Ruhle and Cohen.
In my view, Ruhle best went to the heart of the matter. She suggested that avoiding these harmful products should be a foundational message for advocates and policymakers. In my view, abstinence messaging is crucial for people who haven’t yet used these addictive betting apps.
Of course, revamping the regulation around the technology so it is more than just a PR “responsible gambling” message, as Cohen eloquently described in multiple sports during the segment, is needed. He uses the words “friction” and “speed bumps.”
Building on this, what’s also key here is considering whether people should be exposed to sports betting advertising during or at sports games, and whether these apps should, at the very least, have large warning labels like cigarette packs. Policymakers could also pursue a ban on direct marketing.
Some people get pleasure from smoking, and some people get pleasure from using a betting app. I would advise everyone I know to avoid both, but I know they will exist, as things some people do.
Some states have considered legislation to repeal their arguably reckless laws that sanctioned online sports betting. I believe voters in a state should directly decide whether to ban them, along with prediction-market-style sports betting, through a referendum, without the industry flooding the airwaves with political propaganda. Meanwhile, the federal government should use every tool at its disposal to dismantle the offshore betting space by targeting the supply chain that supports both regulated and unregulated betting platforms.
But Ruhle pointed out the much-needed radical approach to dealing with the “crisis” (PBS’s term). That is giving people, especially young people, more of a life worth living and a future to look forward to, so online gambling makes less sense for them, especially as a way to earn money or get ahead.
“I hear that we’re talking about perfecting gambling, but we’re leaving out the idea of not gambling,” Ruhle said. “If we weren’t focused on perfecting gambling and making it superstar fantastic, maybe we could roll it back.”
She later added: “It’s not just saying don’t gamble, you have to help [young people] find something else in life to fill that void.”
The online gambling boom does seem to cause society to take a hard look in the mirror at fixing a deeper crisis. Maybe there’s a silver lining here.
