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I wrote EVERYBODY LOSES (out today!) because I believe sports fans—and really all Americans—deserve answers to basic questions that the people behind the betting boom have largely avoided.
I was optimistic that I’d get to speak with sportsbook execs and league commissioners. But I was determined to shed light on how this industry really works, and how it thinks about customers, regardless.
A reporting trip to New York is illustrative of what ended up happening. One of the first people I met that week was Chris Jones, then VP of communications at FanDuel. I assumed we were meeting to plan various interviews that he’d help arrange. But over the next 45 minutes, Jones explained why FanDuel would not be participating in my book. (He asked that I not share his reasons.)
Afterward, I hustled across town to meet Nik Bonaddio, the former head of product at FanDuel. He was surprisingly reflective about his time there, conceding how “shitty” it was to offer misleading “risk-free” promotions and how he suspects that the vast majority of customers fail to understand that the house edge is considerably bigger on parlays, sportsbooks’ biggest moneymaker.
Two days later, I took the train to the commuter town of Mamaroneck, home of Nigel Eccles, FanDuel's founding CEO. He, too, spoke expansively, expressing dismay about the trajectory of the sports betting industry. “I think their advertising is untruthful,” he said of sportsbooks in the U.S., including his former company. “They’re selling that you can win, but you can’t.”
Toward the end of my trip, I met with Jessica Leeser, who had served as FanDuel’s director of brand and marketing insights. She shared revealing takeaways from internal customer surveys. For example, many of FanDuel’s customers said they were disinclined to recommend the app—not because they didn’t like the user experience, but because they were reluctant to admit they gamble. “Maybe there is some shame attached to it,” Leeser said, “or some embarrassment.”
Over the ensuing months, I spoke with many other former and active employees at FanDuel, as well as at all the other top sportsbooks. (DraftKings was similarly uncooperative. I wasn’t even granted an interview with the person appointed, to much fanfare, as the industry’s first chief responsible gaming officer.)
There are, to be sure, many people in the betting industry who insist sports gambling is perfectly safe and that customers are treated fairly. But the overall impression I gathered from interviewing more than 300 people is that sportsbooks are brazenly taking advantage of customers, and, in some cases, outright endangering them.
A cautionary note from a former sportsbook executive sums that up. “You can make good money,” he told me, “but you don’t feel good about it, that’s for sure.”
Americans have been cheated out of the sort of robust national debate that legalizing sports betting across the country would seem to warrant. I hope "EVERYBODY LOSES: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling" forces people to engage in that conversation, including those who would prefer this book come and go quietly.
I could use your help. Anything you can do to spread the word is hugely appreciated. The link to the book is below 👇
I was optimistic that I’d get to speak with sportsbook execs and league commissioners. But I was determined to shed light on how this industry really works, and how it thinks about customers, regardless.
A reporting trip to New York is illustrative of what ended up happening. One of the first people I met that week was Chris Jones, then VP of communications at FanDuel. I assumed we were meeting to plan various interviews that he’d help arrange. But over the next 45 minutes, Jones explained why FanDuel would not be participating in my book. (He asked that I not share his reasons.)
Afterward, I hustled across town to meet Nik Bonaddio, the former head of product at FanDuel. He was surprisingly reflective about his time there, conceding how “shitty” it was to offer misleading “risk-free” promotions and how he suspects that the vast majority of customers fail to understand that the house edge is considerably bigger on parlays, sportsbooks’ biggest moneymaker.
Two days later, I took the train to the commuter town of Mamaroneck, home of Nigel Eccles, FanDuel's founding CEO. He, too, spoke expansively, expressing dismay about the trajectory of the sports betting industry. “I think their advertising is untruthful,” he said of sportsbooks in the U.S., including his former company. “They’re selling that you can win, but you can’t.”
Toward the end of my trip, I met with Jessica Leeser, who had served as FanDuel’s director of brand and marketing insights. She shared revealing takeaways from internal customer surveys. For example, many of FanDuel’s customers said they were disinclined to recommend the app—not because they didn’t like the user experience, but because they were reluctant to admit they gamble. “Maybe there is some shame attached to it,” Leeser said, “or some embarrassment.”
Over the ensuing months, I spoke with many other former and active employees at FanDuel, as well as at all the other top sportsbooks. (DraftKings was similarly uncooperative. I wasn’t even granted an interview with the person appointed, to much fanfare, as the industry’s first chief responsible gaming officer.)
There are, to be sure, many people in the betting industry who insist sports gambling is perfectly safe and that customers are treated fairly. But the overall impression I gathered from interviewing more than 300 people is that sportsbooks are brazenly taking advantage of customers, and, in some cases, outright endangering them.
A cautionary note from a former sportsbook executive sums that up. “You can make good money,” he told me, “but you don’t feel good about it, that’s for sure.”
Americans have been cheated out of the sort of robust national debate that legalizing sports betting across the country would seem to warrant. I hope "EVERYBODY LOSES: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling" forces people to engage in that conversation, including those who would prefer this book come and go quietly.
I could use your help. Anything you can do to spread the word is hugely appreciated. The link to the book is below 👇
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Danny Funt retweeted
“I didn’t watch the NBA much, I just watched highlights” is bumming me out.
Asked #Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg about the Luka Doncic matchup. He said he “lost all respect” for Doncic.
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This is niche but I've been waiting for someone to post the Russillo meme and the caption "I actually came away more impressed with Tommy's knowledge of the Constitution."
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Grateful to see my @CJR interview with Nicole Noren in one of my favorite newsletters, @sundaylongread.
mailchi.mp/sundaylongread…
mailchi.mp/sundaylongread…
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Respect for Joe Mazzulla taking calls from @NBCSBoston listeners and giving respectful, substantive answers. A breath of fresh air!
Also appreciate the listener who said being snippy w/ reporters at press conferences is disrespectful to fans.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=oIgJwe…
Also appreciate the listener who said being snippy w/ reporters at press conferences is disrespectful to fans.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=oIgJwe…
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Danny Funt retweeted
This answer from an accomplished reporter is pretty damming for ESPN's church and state.
After a decorated 24-year run at ESPN, Nicole Noren resigned in protest.
She couldn’t go along with the network’s all-out embrace of gambling.
For the first time publicly, in @CJR, Noren shares the deeply personal reasons behind her decision.
cjr.org/the-interview/…
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Danny Funt retweeted
An award-winning ESPN producer resigned after 24 years over the network's embrace of sports betting: “I’m not going to work for a gambling company and have blood on my hands.” cjr.org/the-interview/…
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Danny Funt retweeted
Important interview with a former ESPN colleague:
“My brother died thirteen years ago on the sidewalk in downtown Las Vegas. It’s a stark reality, but it illustrates the tragic arc of being brought there as kids so our dad could gamble at sportsbooks, to then surviving on the streets there as a homeless person and dying at 36”
“My brother died thirteen years ago on the sidewalk in downtown Las Vegas. It’s a stark reality, but it illustrates the tragic arc of being brought there as kids so our dad could gamble at sportsbooks, to then surviving on the streets there as a homeless person and dying at 36”
After a decorated 24-year run at ESPN, Nicole Noren resigned in protest.
She couldn’t go along with the network’s all-out embrace of gambling.
For the first time publicly, in @CJR, Noren shares the deeply personal reasons behind her decision.
cjr.org/the-interview/…
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After a decorated 24-year run at ESPN, Nicole Noren resigned in protest.
She couldn’t go along with the network’s all-out embrace of gambling.
For the first time publicly, in @CJR, Noren shares the deeply personal reasons behind her decision.
cjr.org/the-interview/…
She couldn’t go along with the network’s all-out embrace of gambling.
For the first time publicly, in @CJR, Noren shares the deeply personal reasons behind her decision.
cjr.org/the-interview/…
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The New York Times's list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century is spot on, top to bottom. No notes.
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Excited to join @WajahatAli at 1 pm EST today on @Substack Live to discuss my book, EVERYBODY LOSES, and some crazy recent stories you might have heard about involving sports gambling.
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Super embarrassing to admit, but I run in this brand's shoes and thought until this moment it was called "DQ," not "On."
Dream On, Football.
I still dream of playing football.
That might surprise you, coming from someone who plays it for a living.
But it’s true.
I still dream of playing with my friends.
Playing until sunset. Until dinner.
Playing just because it was a game, long before it
I have followed this dream for as long as I can remember.
Once again it has led me to one of the biggest changes in my life.
Now, I find myself surrounded by innovators who dream of the same things I do.
Of bringing foot as close as possible to ball.
Of bringing the people as close as possible to the game.
Of bringing the world as close as possible to play.
I guess that’s the thing about dreams that refuse to change.
They’re usually the ones that change everything.
Dream On.
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Great interview
David Remnick talks to the former N.F.L. quarterback Colin Kaepernick about why he took a knee, the people who refused to support him, and the consequences of his activism.
newyorker.com/culture/the-ne…
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Danny Funt retweeted
The death of local newspapers is a disaster that will really play out in the decades come to come, especially with declining media literacy. The thing here is that a lot of jabrones lump everyone in "The Media" together.
"The Media" can technically consist of multi-million dollar ESPN takesman, a crime reporter from the Grand Forks Herald and an NFL podcaster. But the person covering crime or local politics for say the Lexington Herald-Leader isn't some CNN anchor making millions or some high-profile political columnist. It's almost always a regular Joe or Jane who lives in the community they cover and makes just enough to pay the bills. Sure, some online and independent sites will fill in some gaps. But if you are a young person and you see this, why on earth would you enter the local news profession given the annual drumbeat of layoffs and AI eventually covering some of this stuff? Smart young people will rightfully flee to anything safer, which is everything else. A disaster.
"The Media" can technically consist of multi-million dollar ESPN takesman, a crime reporter from the Grand Forks Herald and an NFL podcaster. But the person covering crime or local politics for say the Lexington Herald-Leader isn't some CNN anchor making millions or some high-profile political columnist. It's almost always a regular Joe or Jane who lives in the community they cover and makes just enough to pay the bills. Sure, some online and independent sites will fill in some gaps. But if you are a young person and you see this, why on earth would you enter the local news profession given the annual drumbeat of layoffs and AI eventually covering some of this stuff? Smart young people will rightfully flee to anything safer, which is everything else. A disaster.
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Danny Funt retweeted
In this Conversation I’m joined by @dannyfunt, the author of “Everybody Loses” which takes readers inside the rise of sports gambling in the U.S. It’s a startling read that lays bare the dangers of the activity. thesportsfanproject.com/2026/09/03/con…
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I think Pablo Torre is awesome and deserves every award.
I think it's good to dunk on the people who belittled his work.
But this ongoing rage about Pablo not getting his flowers is so bizarre. Has there been a more celebrated investigative reporter since Woodward & Bernstein?
I think it's good to dunk on the people who belittled his work.
But this ongoing rage about Pablo not getting his flowers is so bizarre. Has there been a more celebrated investigative reporter since Woodward & Bernstein?
It is shameful that @nytimes @TheAthletic buried the fact that the biggest punishment in NBA history was the result of an investigation by journalist @PabloTorre. And to call it the result of a "podcast episode" is a further slap in the face. He won a Pulitzer for this story and they call it an "episode" instead of, at the outset -- crediting him with exposing this scandal. Really really lame.
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Danny Funt retweeted
NEW COLUMN @YahooSports:
By dropping a sledgehammer on the LA Clippers, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is squaring off against the richest owner in sports, Steve Ballmer.
My read on the situation: that's two strikes on Ballmer. Three strikes, he's out.
sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/by…
By dropping a sledgehammer on the LA Clippers, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is squaring off against the richest owner in sports, Steve Ballmer.
My read on the situation: that's two strikes on Ballmer. Three strikes, he's out.
sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/by…
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Danny Funt retweeted
A FanDuel spokesperson tells @YahooSports re: the Bill Simmons proxy betting situation:
"We became aware of the issue and handled it consistent with our Terms and Conditions and Massachusetts Gaming Commission regulations, including reporting the matter to the MGC, voiding the bets, and actioning the account."
"We became aware of the issue and handled it consistent with our Terms and Conditions and Massachusetts Gaming Commission regulations, including reporting the matter to the MGC, voiding the bets, and actioning the account."
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There's a section in my book about the conflicts and contradictions of how Simmons talks gambling, including the conspicuous vagueness about how he bets from CA.
It was always likely that it's through a proxy or offshore. Still, wild to hear him cop to that so bluntly.
It was always likely that it's through a proxy or offshore. Still, wild to hear him cop to that so bluntly.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission tells me that it is aware of Bill Simmons's recent comments that he had his daughter's boyfriend place proxy bets for him and that it is currently reviewing the matter.
First At @FOS: frontofficesports.com/article/massac…
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