But a growing body of evidence reveals that the sports betting boom leads to financial strain for bettors.
—
Alana Wise,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2026
The craze reached its apex in 1916, when Wall Street bettors wagered $10m (about $300m today) on the contest between President Woodrow Wilson and Charles Hughes — who, as governor of New York, had signed an anti-gambling law trying to ban the practice.
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