How Sports Betting Hit the Mainstream in America

This weekend, one of the most watched sporting events of the year, the Super Bowl, will draw an estimated $16 billion in bets from Americans, more than double last year’s total.

The booming trade is a sign of how gambling has gone from illegal to legal very quickly in many states — and hints at the enormous risks posed by the change.

Guest: Kenneth P. Vogel, an investigative correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Cigars, booze, money: A lobbying blitz helped to make sports betting ubiquitous.
• Government oversight of gambling in the United States offers scant consumer protections and looks to the industry to police itself, The Times found.

For more information on today’s episode, visit 

nytimes.com/thedaily

. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.