How the US became hooked on sports betting – and the cost it’s having on lives

The billions of dollars that are being wagered has brought into sharp focus the US’ complicated relationship with sports gambling.

In August 2019, Saul Malek realized he’d hit rock bottom. His girlfriend had broken up with him, friendships had gone south, and he had money problems. “I noticed all my memories were really gambling related,” Malek explains to CNN Sport. “If I went out with my girlfriend and some friends, I’d tell her at the end of the night, ‘This is a great night because this bet won, and I was up this amount.’” In a last-ditch effort to resurrect his relationship with his girlfriend, Malek says he told his Gamblers Anonymous mentor that he wouldn’t place a bet for six months. Almost five years later, Malek still hasn’t bet. The billions of dollars that were bet on this year’s Super Bowl, the millions that will be wagered on Saturday’s Kentucky Derby and stories like Malek’s have brought into sharp focus the US’ complicated relationship with sports gambling.