My presentations blend history, economics, psychology, and math, weaving captivating stories with dynamic data visualizations to illustrate how the sports gambling industry targets young Americans. I will demonstrate mathematically that predicting winners in sports betting is as random as flipping a coin, and that the odds set by sportsbooks ensure long-term losses. Key topics include:

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• The History of Sports Gambling: We’ll explore the colorful history of gambling in America up to the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision that allowed states to legalize sports betting.

• The Meteoric Rise of the Sports Books: The emergence of a $135 billion-a-year industry.

• The Financials: We’ll use data visualizations to explore the business side of the industry, demonstrating how sports books are steering customers toward the worst bets.

• Marketing Strategies: Unlike the alcohol and tobacco industries, sportsbooks are allowed to directly advertise to our students.

• Expected Value: We’ll expose the mathematical edge imposed by the books. A simple example will help students understand what they are up against.

• Market Efficiency: Using data from every NFL game since 1966, we will visualize the efficiency of the betting markets. The biggest football fan in the audience has no more predictive power than a blindfolded monkey throwing darts.

• The Law of Large Numbers: In the short run, gambling can be fun and exciting. Anything can happen. But in the long run, the house’s edge grinds down every bettor.

• Addiction and Financial Implications: We’ll explore the latest research on the harmful effects of gambling on society.