The Take: Inside the rise of sports betting in the United States
Sports betting has become a mainstay in American culture. Are companies profiting off people’s compulsions?
![Connor McGovern #66 of the Buffalo Bills walks out of the tunnel before the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on November 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas [Tim Warner/Getty Images/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/AFP__20251121__2247703806__v3__HighRes__BuffaloBillsVHoustonTexans-1763767902.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Sports betting has become a mainstay in American culture. Are companies profiting off people’s compulsions?
![Connor McGovern #66 of the Buffalo Bills walks out of the tunnel before the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on November 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas [Tim Warner/Getty Images/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/AFP__20251121__2247703806__v3__HighRes__BuffaloBillsVHoustonTexans-1763767902.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)






![Arshad Nadeem, right, and Neeraj Chopra last competed against each other at the Paris Olympics 2024 on August 8, 2024 [File: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2024-08-08T000000Z_978226373_UP1EK881JYEGW_RTRMADP_3_OLYMPICS-2024-ATHLETICS-edit-1758135885.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)

Sweden’s Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis sails over the bar to set 14th pole vault record at the World Athletic Championships.
Alphonce Felix Simbu made history by becoming the first Tanzanian to win gold at a global athletic championship.
Coco Gauff breaks down in tears following her second-round US Open tennis win before praising Biles’s inspiration.










100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson addresses domestic violence arrest and apologizes to boyfriend Christian Coleman.
Mattia Debertolis discovered unconscious during an orienteering event in Chengdu on August 8 and died four days later.
Water polo players briefly left the pool after shots were fired near an under-20 World Cup game in Brazil.
Megan Romano announced as first female competitor at 2026 debut of Olympic-style Enhanced Games in Las Vegas.
World Athletics mandates gene test for female category eligibility setting September 1 deadline for Tokyo Championships.
The US football league has previously faced legal challenges over its failure to address players’ concussions.