{"product_id":"the-house-always-wins-roger-bate-9798228995017","title":"The House Always Wins: The Business, Politics, and Human Cost of Sports Betting","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn investigative narrative revealing how smartphones, deregulation, and pandemic isolation turned America's pastime into its newest addiction.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe House Always Wins\u003c\/i\u003e traces the rise of legal sports betting from a fringe hobby to a $120-billion-a-year industry, reshaping how Americans watch, wager, and lose. Economist and health policy analyst Roger Bate explores how pandemic isolation, relentless digital marketing, and permissive state policy created a perfect storm of opportunity and risk. Bate draws on original surveys, field interviews, and international case studies to reveal how betting moved from racetracks to smartphones--and how a culture built on self-control began to mistake speed for freedom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom suburban bars to billion-dollar platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel, \u003ci\u003eThe House Always Wins\u003c\/i\u003e uncovers the moral and economic contradictions of a market built on human weakness and where over 95 percent of participants lose, some catastrophically. Bate argues that the challenge isn't whether people should gamble, but whether a democracy can manage risk at the speed of an app. Combining investigative reportage with humane insight, this book exposes the hidden arithmetic behind America's newest public-health crisis.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Roger Bate\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798228995017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Blackstone Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/04\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e CD","brand":"Roger Bate","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":48874692608255,"sku":"9798228995017","price":39.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-house-always-wins-roger-bate-9798228995017","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}