Danny Funt
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dannyfunt.bsky.social
Danny Funt
@dannyfunt.bsky.social
Author, EVERYBODY LOSES: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling (Jan '26)

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Everybody-Loses/Danny-Funt/9781668062029

Reporting in @WashingtonPost.com, etc.
dannyfunt1@gmail(dot)com
dannyfunt.substack.com
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"EVERYBODY LOSES: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling" is available for preorder!

What's at stake as billions of dollars are spent to turn a nation of sports fans into a nation of sports gamblers?

My findings after 300+ interviews are alarming.

www.simonandschuster.com/books/Everyb...
Everybody Loses
This jaw-dropping book pulls back the curtain on the alluring yet perilous world of American sports gambling.Everybody Loses is the first major inv...
www.simonandschuster.com
Excited to be on @nbcnews.com at 3:15 ET to discuss the MLB indictments and the growing concern that legal gambling is corrupting sports.
November 10, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Two Cleveland Guardians pitchers were arrested yesterday for allegedly manipulating their play in coordination with bettors.

Seems like a good time to re-up my recent
@newyorker.com piece explaining why people inside sports predicted this kind of corruption.

www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
The Sports-Betting Disaster
How the rise of “prop” bets helped create the conditions for the N.B.A.’s latest gambling scandal.
www.newyorker.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Really enjoyed @jessedougherty.bsky.social's reflections on sportswriters also being fans.

I find it annoying when journalists ham up rooting for "their" team.

I also find it annoying when journalists are joyless about sports they cover.

What's the happy medium?
open.substack.com/pub/colleges...
One Thing About Distance
Connecting with an East Carolina football fan about fandom.
open.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Thrilled to read this starred review in @ala-booklist.bsky.social. Thank you!

"Funt masterfully chronicles the meteoric rise in gambling and societal acceptance of a predatory business in a book that will simultaneously inform and alarm readers."

"Everybody Loses" is available for preorder.
November 5, 2025 at 2:30 PM
I was hyped to be listening to the @houseofstrauss.skystack.xyz
podcast and hear this really generous shoutout for my book "Everybody Loses" by @bomani-jones.bsky.social. Thank you both!

It's available now for preorder on Amazon, B&N, etc. or through your local bookstore

youtu.be/11fiWyRSOvA?...
The NBA Story Nobody Wants To Talk About...
YouTube video by House of Strauss
youtu.be
November 3, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Danny Funt
"Integrity monitors such as Sportradar are responsible for flagging sports gambling-related corruption, so I was alarmed to hear both of the men I phoned use the same expression to describe a fundamental defect in that oversight:

'A fox in the henhouse.'"

via @dannyfunt.bsky.social
Opinion | Legalized sports gambling isn’t going to police itself
To stop gambling from corrupting sports, states need more than a “pinky promise” from betting companies to ensure legal and ethical compliance.
www.msnbc.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Integrity monitors are responsible for flagging sports gambling-related corruption, so I was alarmed to hear two veterans of the field use the same expression to describe a fundamental defect in that oversight:

"A fox in the henhouse."

I get into why for @msnbc.com

www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | Legalized sports gambling isn’t going to police itself
To stop gambling from corrupting sports, states need more than a “pinky promise” from betting companies to ensure legal and ethical compliance.
www.msnbc.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:40 PM
"Gambling advocates can’t lose. When time passes without a scandal, they say it proves fears about legal gambling are overblown. When a player is caught betting, they say, The system is working."
Leagues claim that the legalization of gambling protects the integrity of sports. But as the scandals rack up, this claim has become flimsier, and fans have started to lose faith in the legitimacy of what they’re watching.
The Sports-Betting Disaster
How the rise of “prop” bets helped create the conditions for the N.B.A.’s latest gambling scandal.
www.newyorker.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by Danny Funt
Leagues claim that the legalization of gambling protects the integrity of sports. But as the scandals rack up, this claim has become flimsier, and fans have started to lose faith in the legitimacy of what they’re watching.
The Sports-Betting Disaster
How the rise of “prop” bets helped create the conditions for the N.B.A.’s latest gambling scandal.
www.newyorker.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Sports gambling "integrity monitoring" often prioritizes sportsbook profits, not the integrity of games.

Saying otherwise, acknowledged one integrity monitor veteran, "frankly is bullshit."

My @newyorker.com dive into the NBA bombshell and an emerging scourge of corruption 👇
The Sports-Betting Disaster
How the rise of “prop” bets helped create the conditions for the N.B.A.’s latest gambling scandal.
www.newyorker.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Woke up to epic Steph Curry highlights. Also see the Thunder played yet another double-OT thriller. There have been a ton of awesome moments in just the the first few days of NBA action.

Got me feeling really bummed about the gambling scandals. They run the risk of sapping the joy from sports.
October 24, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Really looking forward to discussing the Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups gambling arrests — and what they might reveal about corruption in sports — with
@jaketapper.bsky.social on @cnn.com tonight. I should come on around 6:15 ET
October 23, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Just gonna drop this here. There is a full chapter about how gambling is corrupting sports, and how the leagues, sportsbooks, and their "integrity monitor" partners don't seem remotely equipped to stop it.

www.simonandschuster.com/books/Everyb...
Everybody Loses
This jaw-dropping book pulls back the curtain on the alluring yet perilous world of American sports gambling. Built around explosive interviews wit...
www.simonandschuster.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Remember: Sportsbooks almost never issue refunds to customers who bet on a game that turned out to be fixed.
October 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
How many years of Wemby will it be before I can watch him without constantly thinking "damn he is so tall"?
October 23, 2025 at 2:23 AM
My latest newsletter features an exclusive interview with the writer of a memorable sports gambling episode of "The Sopranos."

But I also wrote about The New York Times's unhinged account of a New Jersey baseball game in 1884.

Here's a taste of what I mean:

dannyfunt.substack.com/p/what-the-s...
October 15, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Matthew Weiner wrote a remarkable episode of "The Sopranos" about Tony's descent into compulsive sports gambling.

For the first time, Weiner explains what that storyline sought to convey about the dangers of sports betting.

It's more resonant than ever. (link👇)
October 14, 2025 at 2:17 PM
This is exactly the point I was trying to make in my previous tweet. People admitting that gambling hurts their personal relationships is not a matter of "narrative."
October 7, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Per @johngramlich.bsky.social in @pewresearch.org, Americans increasingly believe:

--legal sports gambling is bad for the country (34% in 2022 to 43% now)

-- and bad for sports (from 33% to 40%)

In response ...

(1/2) ...
October 7, 2025 at 2:17 PM
I've heard sharp sports bettors dream of gaining access to that very data, for golfers especially.
Okay this is wonderful: viewers can watch Justin Thomas's heart rate monitor in the Ryder Cup. He just stood over a short putt with his ticker galloping at 122 -- and missed. It jumped to 125.
September 26, 2025 at 1:13 PM
@drewmagary.bsky.social presses @pablo.show to give straight answers on questions I and probably a lot of people have been wondering about, namely, "How on earth does Pablo have time to dig up so much so consistently?" Great interview.

www.sfgate.com/sports/artic...
I found out how Pablo Torre finds out
SFGATE's Drew Magary chats with Pablo Torre on how the podcast sausage is made.
www.sfgate.com
September 24, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Danny Funt
I had to pick my jaw off the floor after reading this lede in @rachelmonroe.bsky.social on self-defense insurance. Like out of an Elmore Leonard novel. www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
Your First Call After You Shoot Someone
In the era of Stand Your Ground, self-defense insurance is increasingly popular. Does it promote gun violence?
www.newyorker.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Right after Trump's '24 election, Adam Gopnik of the @newyorker.com offered a prediction that seemed improbable and oddly specific at the time:

He said one of MAGA's first priorities would be to find a way to get Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel out of late night.
September 17, 2025 at 11:33 PM
So much intrigue in this NCAA release on Fresno State and San Jose State men's basketball players gambling and colluding with bettors.

One important point is that some games were manipulated to ensure certain bets *won*. Too often people assume fixing always = failing.

www.ncaa.org/news/2025/9/...
NCAA uncovers sports betting-related game manipulation and other violations by 3 DI men’s basketball student-athletes; eligibility revoked permanently - NCAA.org
The NCAA Committee on Infractions released the findings after an NCAA enforcement investigation uncovered violations by three student-athletes who competed in men's
www.ncaa.org
September 10, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Every time the car GPS says to do something in 350 feet, 500 feet, etc., I imagine a home run traveling that distance and it seems oddly short. Am I alone?
September 10, 2025 at 12:04 PM