
The Indicator from Planet Money
Is gambling the reason we have pro sports?
Mittwoch, 17. Juni 2026 · 9 min
Kapitelklicken springt direkt hin
Shownotes
To hear author David Bockino tell it, gambling has always been a key ingredient of pro sports in the U.S.—it’s as American as apple pie. Bockino is the author of the new book Over/Under: An Unexpected History of Sports Betting (davidbockino.com/over-under). So what gave rise to this new wave of sports gambling? And what are we risking placing so many bets on games?
Fact checking by Sierra Juarez (npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez).
Your Next Listen
— Prediction markets are threatening national security. Who’s gonna fix it? (lnk.to/pRWjp2)
Connect with The Indicator
— Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter (npr.org/indicatornewsletter)
— Buy the Planet Money book (lnk.to/i3AukBdDWE)
— Find our socials, YouTube and more (linktr.ee/indicator_npr)!
— For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ (plus.npr.org)
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy (npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy)