Tucker Carlson, Saagar Enjeti RIP Sports Betting in America

Key Points:

• Tucker Carlson and Saagar Enjeti argue that legalized mobile sports betting is creating a social and economic crisis, especially for young men.

• They say sportsbooks profit from individuals addicted to gambling, who make up just 3% of users but generate nearly 50% of revenue.

• “Winners” are often banned or restricted, while “losers” are enticed to keep betting with promotions and gifts.

• Enjeti says the system is a quasi-monopoly propped up by state licensure, and it distorts sports culture and harms families.

• Enjeti proposes rolling back online betting and returning to in-person-only gambling with strong oversight.

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In an interview segment on The Tucker Carlson Show, journalist Saagar Enjeti once again didn’t hold back sharing his feelings around legalized sports betting. Enjeti believes legalized mobile sports gambling is the next opioid crisis, warning that American society is sleepwalking into addictive apps, billionaire-backed sportsbooks and legislative negligence. Together with Carlson, the two broke down the business of online betting platforms and the questionable infrastructure that props them up.

From its origins in a 2018 Supreme Court decision to the predatory VIP programs targeting people with gambling addiction today, Enjeti and Carlson feel we are watching a slow-motion societal collapse occurring via our phones.

Why Tucker and Saagar are disgusted by sports gambling industry

The duo began by tracing the roots of the explosion in sports betting to the ruling that lifted federal restrictions and gave states the green light to legalize it. New Jersey, under then-Governor Chris Christie, was the first to jump in after its legal challenge that was successful when it reached the Supreme Court.

Since that ruling, 39 states plus D.C. have legalized sports betting. In 2024 alone, Americans gambled hundreds of billions of dollars, with sportsbook revenue reaching $14 billion, which was more than the U.S. film box office. And Enjeti estimates from past studies that nearly half of that revenue came from just 3% of users, many of whom have gambling problems.

Enjeti broke it down further, saying that if you’re a disciplined or successful bettor, companies like DraftKings and FanDuel will throttle your wagers, sometimes limiting you to bets as low as cents. Meanwhile, if you're a compulsive gambler, you’ll get daily phone calls, texts, promotions, gifts and personal attention from VIP hosts.

“They violate their own policies to keep these people betting,” Enjeti said. In one case, a man who never earned more than $200,000 lost $1.4 million. He started gambling in 2020. By 2024, everything was gone.

Enjeti pointed to the normalization of risky, impulsive behavior, particularly through “single-game parlays,” which bundle several bets into one and offer enticing payouts. In Illinois, 60% of online sportsbook money is wagered on these bets, which are priced to almost guarantee failure long term. 

Saagar Enjeti’s previous criticisms of sports betting in America

Enjeti has voiced his condemnation of legalized online gambling before. In a December 2024 post, he called out the “insane levels of marketing honing in on ‘it’s a game of skill and knowledge,’ and you can hit it big!’” But in reality, he argues, it’s a rigged system that preys on the vulnerable.

He pointed to SMU research monitoring 700,000 bettors: fewer than 5% withdrew a profit. Of the rest, the bottom 3% lost so much money they accounted for half of all revenue. These are the users sportsbooks reward. “The business model is simple: ban winners and milk losers for all they’re worth.”

Enjeti criticized the quasi-monopolistic structure of the industry. States grant preferential licenses to a handful of companies like FanDuel and DraftKings. These licenses insulate sportsbooks from true competition while ensuring regulatory leniency. “It’s not a fair market,” he wrote. “And the excesses and sins are multiplied to stupendous profit.”

The social fallout is significant. He points out that household bankruptcies have increased by up to 30% in states with legalized mobile betting. Domestic violence, particularly following lost bets, has spiked. And the demographic hit hardest is young men.

He also took issue with the tight relationship between leagues and sportsbooks. “Cigarette companies are not allowed to partner with sports leagues,” Enjeti noted, “but gambling platforms are.” That pairing is eroding trust in the integrity of professional sports. NFL athletes, he said, have reported harassment from bettors blaming them for losing money.

Enjeti’s proposed solution: Bring back the friction

Enjeti’s fix is to create more friction. Legal sports betting should be restricted to physical locations, where people must wager with cash. This would instantly reduce impulsive betting and screen out addicts from nonstop wagering opportunities.

He also wants to end the practice of banning skilled bettors. A fair market, he argues, requires that everyone has the same rules. Finally, Enjeti calls for strict oversight of leagues’ gambling partnerships.

“We use a smartphone as an addictive platform to enable one of the worst vices we’ve always recognized in American history,” Enjeti said. The solution, he believes, is simple: limit it, regulate it and stop pretending the current system is anything but a high-tech scam.

Enjeti and Carlson maintain that the mobile sports gambling boom is about exploitation. With a business model that thrives on addiction, a regulatory environment full of blind spots and a generation of young men increasingly drawn into its trap, the need for reform is urgent.

Until then, millions of Americans will continue to bet on a game where “the house” owns the rulebook.