Levin: Sports bet-shilling celebs today's Marlboro Men
Celebrities promoting sports betting echo tobacco's Marlboro Men, normalizing a risky product without warning of gambling's dangers.Summary
The article draws a parallel between modern celebrity endorsements of sports betting and mid-20th-century tobacco advertising. Just as athletes and movie stars once promoted cigarettes as part of a healthy lifestyle, today's stars like Tom Brady, LeBron James, and Kevin Hart shill for sportsbooks and prediction markets without mentioning risks like financial loss, psychological harm, and family disruption. Experts note that these endorsements are "inherently deceptive" in normalizing a dangerous product. The 2018 Supreme Court decision lifting the federal ban on sports betting has led to explosive growth, with 39 states and D.C. approving online wagering. The industry now offers AI-driven microbets that increase potential losses. The article warns that, as with tobacco, society may eventually look back on this celebrity hype with disdain.
(Source：The Boston Herald)