A Year as a Degenerate Sports Gambler
McKay Coppins on his experiment with sports gambling—and why it's a losing game for nearly everyone
March 12, 2026
32 min
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Episode 174 · March 12, 2026
A Year as a Degenerate Sports Gambler
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The Atlantic Episodes Around March 12, 2026
Episode 349 of 364 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
32:45This episodeA Year as a Degenerate Sports Gambler
Summary
Gambling is ever-present in America these days. After the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to legalized sports gambling, Americans went from legally betting $4.9 billion on sports in 2017 to at least $160 billion last year.
When the Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins wanted to do a story about sports gambling, he and his editor thought, Why not try it himself? He had never really gambled before. What could go wrong? The magazine staked him $10,000 (partly a religious workaround) and sent him on his way. But over the course of the NFL season—and betting whenever and wherever he could—Coppins ended up getting (and losing) more than he bargained for.
Read his full story here: "Sucker: My Year as a Degenerate Gambler."
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