The Conversation - Betting billions on the Super Bowl

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Last year, Americans bet roughly $16 billion on the Super Bowl.

This year, it’s estimated to be a whopping $23 billion.

University of Iowa sports media scholar Thomas Oates isn’t shocked by this swift growth. Since the Supreme Court overturned a federal ban on sports betting in 2018, nearly 40 states have legalized sports wagering in some capacity.

But the NFL’s complete 180 on gambling has come as somewhat of a surprise.

“Particularly in its early days, the NFL wanted to avoid the stain of bookies, bets, fixed games and the gambling crises that had befallen other professional sports leagues,” Oates writes. He points out that as recently as 2017, you could hear NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell dismissing gambling as a scourge on the “integrity” of the game.

What changed?

Much like a gambler salivating over the prospect of hitting the jackpot, the potential from marketing deals and sponsorships from sportsbooks proved too hard for the NFL to resist.

This week, we also liked articles about the benefits of breastfeeding, the downsides of liquefied natural gas, and government support for predictive policing.

[ Get a global perspective on the news, with the best of The Conversation’s journalism from around the world, twice weekly. ]

Nick Lehr

Arts + Culture Editor

Billions of dollars are being bet on the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Super Bowl gets the Vegas treatment, with 1 in 4 American adults expected to gamble on the big game

Thomas Oates, University of Iowa

What makes the NFL’s embrace of gambling so striking is that for most of its history, the league had pushed the government for stricter regulations – not more lenient ones.

A bad feeling can trigger behavior that leads to something better. Rawpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Anger, sadness, boredom, anxiety – emotions that feel bad can be useful

Heather Lench, Texas A&M University

Lots of people will do a lot to avoid feeling negative emotions. But researchers are figuring out how these unpleasant feelings actually have benefits.

Breastfeeding lowers the risk of diabetes as well as breast and ovarian cancers for mothers. Goodboy Picture Company/E+ via Getty Images

Breastfeeding benefits mothers as much as babies, but public health messaging often only tells half of the story

Tisha Felder, University of South Carolina; Joynelle Jackson, University of South Carolina

Some states, especially in the Southeastern US, have large disparities in breastfeeding among racial groups, making clear the need to lower barriers for breastfeeding in the workplace and elsewhere.

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