Rigged by Design? Inside the Online Sports Betting Crisis | Breaking the Deadlock | Full Episode - March 24, 2026 -
Official website: https://to.pbs.org/4uLYe8u | #DeadlockPBS Online sports gambling has exploded, with young American men especially drawn to the experience. Should it be further regulated? What does it mean for college athletic programs and professional sports? How is AI transforming it? What is the public health impact? In BREAKING the DEADLOCK: Gambling with Your Life, moderator Aaron Tang presents a series of imagined scenarios to panelists drawn from business, journalism, sports and government, exploring dilemmas around the rapidly changing world of sports gambling, with the goal of finding common ground and a path forward.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction: The Explosive Rise of Online Sports Gambling.
01:32 Is AI Targeting Young Sports Fans Into Sports Betting?
13:08 The Get-Rich Trap: Inside a Gambling Spiral
26:21 Are Gambling Apps Too Powerful? Inside the Crackdown
31:21 How Gambling Hooks Us — and When It Goes Too Far
36:29 Ruby, the Girlfriend?
43:05 The Prediction Market Trap: When ‘Safer Bets’ Create Bigger Risks
50:05 Why Young Men Might Back Online Gambling Limits
52:41 What Do We Owe Young Gambling Addicts?
Breaking the Deadlock: Gambling with Your Life raises awareness about serious questions related to sports gambling. If you or someone you care about has developed a gambling problem, you can find resources in your area that provide confidential help: https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/
This program was recorded live at The New York Historical, collecting birthday wishes for the USA as it prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday. Learn more at www.nyhistory.org
Funding for BREAKING the DEADLOCK was made possible in part by PBS viewers.
Panelists: Tiki Barber, Midday Co-Host, Evan & Tiki on WFAN and NFL Analyst; Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator (D-CT); Jonathan D. Cohen, Policy Lead, American Institute for Boys and Men; Ed Elson, Co-Host, Prof G Markets Podcast; Shawn Fluharty, Head of Government Affairs, Play’n GO; Alan Levy, Founder of AIPredictions.ai; Anita Marks, ESPN Sports Gambling Analyst; Ben McDonald, Former MLB Player, Current MLB/Collegiate Sports Broadcaster; Stephanie Ruhle, Host of MS NOW’s “The 11th Hour” and NBC News Senior Business Analyst; Daniel Wallach, Founder, Wallach Legal LLC
For bios of the panelists, please visit https://to.pbs.org/4uLYe8u
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