The Scourge of Online Sports Betting

This article appears in the February 2026 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Read more from the issue.

WASHINGTON – The room checks all the dive-bar boxes: cheap beer and cocktails, big-screen TVs, high-top tables, and one scuzzy restroom. The rain-splattered Liberty Bowl, with Navy battering Cincinnati, is on ESPN and turned up loud, while the rest of the muted screens feature competing teams of sharp-dressed sportscasters.

There’s nothing worth Instagramming here.