The Sports Gambling Backlash Is Here

With football season creeping closer, sports broadcasters are preparing for record attention to the national pastime. Earlier this month, the NFL struck a “landmark” deal with ESPN, trading control of the league’s broadcast properties for a 10 percent stake in the network. The agreement is most notable because of ESPN’s nearly-billion-dollar sports betting arm, ESPN Bet. The deal thus creates the closest entanglement yet between a league and a newer national pastime: sports gambling, an industry worth nearly $14 billion and commanding the attention of nearly half of men ages 18 to 49.