Everybody Loses

This jaw-dropping book pulls back the curtain on the alluring yet perilous world of American sports gambling.
Everybody Loses is the first major investigation into America’s sports gambling industry. Journalist Danny Funt has obtained wild stories and stunning admissions by interviewing the power players of the betting boom. They reveal the alarming consequences playing out as our nation of sports fans transforms into a nation of sports gamblers.
Many people within the business, including high up at the dominant companies FanDuel and DraftKings, are increasingly troubled about the methods they’ve been using to bleed Americans dry. As one former sportsbook executive says, they’re “selling that you can win, but you can’t.” Another confesses “you don’t feel good about it, that’s for sure.” But the money has proven to be irresistible.
In Everybody Loses, sportsbook employees divulge the perks they offer their biggest losers to keep them hooked, from courtside seats to tossing the first pitch at an MLB game. Oddsmakers spill their methods of skewing the numbers in their favor. Lobbyists detail how they converted skeptical politicians into gambling industry cheerleaders. Professional gamblers describe the network of “beards” they use to circumvent the industry’s attempts to block them from winning. Insiders recall their secret meetings with NBA, NFL, and MLB executives, where they laid out how much money the leagues stood to make by partnering with sportsbooks. Athletes describe the tireless harassment they get from gamblers. Addicts talk about their attempts to hide their habit. Students who are legally too young to gamble talk about how easy it is to get on the apps.
Perfect for sports fans, concerned parents, and anyone intrigued by the intersection of money and morals, this book is crucial to understanding why sports gambling is suddenly everywhere—and why the odds are so great that things will soon spiral out of control.

Danny Funt covers sports betting as a contributor at The Washington Post. His reporting has also appeared in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and the Columbia Journalism Review. He previously worked as an editor at The Week magazine. A graduate of Georgetown University and the Columbia Journalism School, he lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, Sally, and their son, Louis.