Is gambling the reason we have pro sports?

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 <a href="https://www.davidbockino.com/over-under" target="_blank">Over/Under: An Unexpected History of Sports Betting</a>. So what gave rise to this new wave of sports gambling? And what are we risking placing so many bets on games? <br /><br />Fact checking by <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez" target="_blank">Sierra Juarez</a>. <br /><br /><strong>Your Next Listen </strong><br />— <a href="http://lnk.to/pRWjp2" target="_blank">Prediction markets are threatening national security. Who’s gonna fix it?</a> <br /><br /><strong>Connect with The Indicator </strong><br />— Sign up for <a href="https://npr.org/indicatornewsletter" target="_blank">The Indicator’s brand new newsletter</a> <br />— Buy the <a href="https://lnk.to/i3AukBdDWE" target="_blank">Planet Money book</a> <br />— Find our <a href="https://linktr.ee/indicator_npr" target="_blank">socials, YouTube and more</a>! <br />— For sponsor-free episodes, <a href="https://plus.npr.org/" target="_blank">subscribe to NPR+</a> <br /><br /><br />See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>