On today’s episode, reporter and author Danny Funt joins the show to discuss his new book, Everybody Loses, which uncovers the realities of sports betting in America—including a story that hits close to home for me.

🤝 How I Quit Gambling: https://youtu.be/ZUx9qIm4sNY About Danny: Danny Funt covers sports betting as a contributor at The Washington Post. His reporting has also appeared in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and the Columbia Journalism Review. He previously worked as an editor at The Week magazine. A graduate of Georgetown University and the Columbia Journalism School, he lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife and son. Book Link: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Everybody-Loses/Danny-Funt/9781668062043

You will hear how sportsbooks and leagues sold the public on a story about safety and integrity, while building a system that rewards constant play, pushes misleading marketing, and treats the biggest losers as the most valuable customers. Danny shares what he learned from people inside the industry, including how VIP programs work, why meaningful guardrails get blocked the moment they threaten revenue, and why self-policing fails when the incentives are upside down. We also get into the ripple effects on sports itself: athletes and coaches getting flooded with abuse and threats after games, fans burning out on watching unless they have money on the line, and a whole generation learning that placing bets is just part of being a sports fan. Finally, Danny explains where this is headed next, including the bigger push for online casino and the rise of microbetting designed to keep you locked into your phone every few minutes.

This channel is dedicated to spreading awareness about gambling addiction and helping individuals better understand the risks of excessive gambling. Through powerful storytelling, educational content, and real-life experiences, we aim to shine a light on the dangers of gambling and provide tools for recovery. Whether you're seeking help, supporting a loved one, or simply looking to learn more, our mission is to create a safe space for open conversations about gambling addiction.

🙏🏻 Recovery Resources: https://odaatgamblingawareness.com/resources

👀 Do you have a gambling addiction? Watch this to find out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPmaejpuzCcnfWaFOaPt2mSu&si=_pg9d3S7ddsnX-xb

1️⃣ First day trying to stop gambling? Start here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPneNZshy-heKIhm9ftfqpwm&si=RgIHxiIJjC0Wi7yr

🧐 Recently Relapse? Watch This: https://youtu.be/QB2eJmU86Bk?si=vsTdyeXYhO4Kj1qz

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Randy L shares how gambling addiction cost him businesses, money, and nearly his life.

🤝 How I Quit Gambling: https://youtu.be/ZUx9qIm4sNY

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Randy thought gambling could fix his financial stress, but it nearly took his life. In this episode, he opens up about a 10–11 year gambling addiction that escalated from casual casino trips to high-stakes baccarat, online casino apps, and desperate sports bets. At his lowest point, he took out a personal loan to pay debt… then used most of it at the casino and lost it within two days. He describes the warped value of money, the chase, the superstitions, the comps, the binge cycles, and the brutal reality of going from winning five figures to walking out with nothing. We break down what baccarat is, why it feels like you can “figure it out,” and how the casino environment keeps people trapped. Randy also talks about the moment he realized he was out of control, the last bets he made, and what the first months of recovery really looked like: staying busy, working multiple jobs, rebuilding one brick at a time, and learning to value money again. From beginner’s luck to baccarat, debt, and rock bottom, this episode breaks down how fast gambling can spiral and what it took to finally walk away.

This channel is dedicated to spreading awareness about gambling addiction and helping individuals better understand the risks of excessive gambling. Through powerful storytelling, educational content, and real-life experiences, we aim to shine a light on the dangers of gambling and provide tools for recovery. Whether you're seeking help, supporting a loved one, or simply looking to learn more, our mission is to create a safe space for open conversations about gambling addiction.

🙏🏻 Recovery Resources: https://odaatgamblingawareness.com/resources

👀 Do you have a gambling addiction? Watch this to find out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPmaejpuzCcnfWaFOaPt2mSu&si=_pg9d3S7ddsnX-xb

1️⃣ First day trying to stop gambling? Start here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPneNZshy-heKIhm9ftfqpwm&si=RgIHxiIJjC0Wi7yr

🧐 Recently Relapse? Watch This: https://youtu.be/QB2eJmU86Bk?si=vsTdyeXYhO4Kj1qz

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Melissa shares her story as someone impacted by the gambling addiction of her partner.

🤝 How I Quit Gambling: https://youtu.be/ZUx9qIm4sNY

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In this video, I interview Melissa, who shares her personal journey of being married to someone whose gambling addiction profoundly affected her life. Melissa raises awareness about the devastating impact gambling addiction can have on families and relationships. If you or someone you love is struggling with gambling, this conversation offers insight, understanding, and support.

🎧 Listen to Melissa’s podcast, Making Bets in a Burning House, on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CqXAxF1psNelUbx2qNSaa?si=1d9b581c898e4f60

In this episode, Melissa shares what it’s really like to love someone with a gambling addiction and how it impacts money, trust, safety, and your sense of stability. Her story is unique because she was affected by the gambling of both her ex-husband and her current husband, and she explains how quickly it can escalate from seemingly harmless sports betting into secrecy, debt, hidden loans, and fear about paying bills. We talk about why family members often stay silent, how shame and stigma keep people from getting help, and the empathy gap that can form between gamblers and the people they hurt.

Melissa also breaks down what Gam-Anon is (a 12-step fellowship for the family and friends of compulsive gamblers), what it teaches, and why it is not a place to attack the gambler, but a place to rebuild yourself through boundaries, support, and clarity.

🙏🏻 Recovery Resources: https://odaatgamblingawareness.com/resources

👀 Do you have a gambling addiction? Watch this to find out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPmaejpuzCcnfWaFOaPt2mSu&si=_pg9d3S7ddsnX-xb

1️⃣ First day trying to stop gambling? Start here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPneNZshy-heKIhm9ftfqpwm&si=RgIHxiIJjC0Wi7yr

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😅 Subscribe To Avoid Making The Same Mistakes I Did: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH8s1lNHQbXzltQg_aXMAQA?sub_confirmation=1

Scott Meyer shares his story of gambling addiction and recovery

🤝 How I Quit Gambling: https://youtu.be/ZUx9qIm4sNY

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Scott Meyer shares one of the most powerful gambling addiction recovery stories you’ll ever hear. From running a successful accounting firm and raising five children to offshore online casino gambling, financial collapse, prison, and multiple suicide attempts, Scott’s story exposes the real harm caused by gambling addiction.

In this episode of the One Day at a Time Gambling Addiction Podcast, Scott explains how casino inducements, online gambling access, and digital slot machines fueled years of destructive behavior. He breaks down how gambling addiction rewires the brain, why intelligence and financial knowledge don’t protect you, and how shame, isolation, and secrecy nearly cost him his life. Today, Scott is in long-term recovery and works as a peer recovery coach helping others struggling with gambling harm. This conversation covers gambling addiction, online casinos, sports betting parallels, recovery, prison, family impact, mental health, and why gambling addiction is not a financial problem but a behavioral one. If you or someone you love is struggling with gambling, this story could be the wake-up call that saves a life.

This channel is dedicated to spreading awareness about gambling addiction and helping individuals better understand the risks of excessive gambling. Through powerful storytelling, educational content, and real-life experiences, we aim to shine a light on the dangers of gambling and provide tools for recovery. Whether you're seeking help, supporting a loved one, or simply looking to learn more, our mission is to create a safe space for open conversations about gambling addiction.

🙏🏻 Recovery Resources: https://odaatgamblingawareness.com/resources

👀 Do you have a gambling addiction? Watch this to find out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPmaejpuzCcnfWaFOaPt2mSu&si=_pg9d3S7ddsnX-xb

1️⃣ First day trying to stop gambling? Start here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPneNZshy-heKIhm9ftfqpwm&si=RgIHxiIJjC0Wi7yr

🧐 Recently Relapse? Watch This: https://youtu.be/QB2eJmU86Bk?si=vsTdyeXYhO4Kj1qz

😅 Subscribe To Avoid Making The Same Mistakes I Did: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH8s1lNHQbXzltQg_aXMAQA?sub_confirmation=1

Owen shares how his gambling streaming led to a gambling addiction

🤝 How I Quit Gambling: https://youtu.be/ZUx9qIm4sNY

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Gambling streamers often start out believing they’re in control. Many begin by gambling casually on stream for entertainment, sponsorship obligations, or audience engagement. But streaming changes the relationship with gambling in dangerous ways. When money is flowing in from sponsorships, affiliate deals, and viewer donations, losses feel abstract. The stakes get higher, sessions get longer, and gambling becomes tied to identity, income, and validation. The constant pressure to be entertaining pushes streamers toward bigger bets and riskier behavior. Wins are clipped, shared, and celebrated. Losses are normalized, reframed as content, or justified by future wins.

Over time, this creates the same psychological traps seen in any gambling addiction: chasing losses, distorted thinking, emotional dependence, and loss of control. What makes streamers especially vulnerable is the feedback loop. Viewers cheer risk-taking. Algorithms reward extreme behavior. Sponsorships often incentivize volume, not health. Eventually, gambling stops being something they do and becomes something they must do to maintain relevance, income, and self-worth. Many gambling streamers don’t realize they’ve developed an addiction until the stream turns off and the money, control, or mental health is gone. What looks like entertainment on screen is often addiction quietly unfolding in real time.

This channel is dedicated to spreading awareness about gambling addiction and helping individuals better understand the risks of excessive gambling. Through powerful storytelling, educational content, and real-life experiences, we aim to shine a light on the dangers of gambling and provide tools for recovery. Whether you're seeking help, supporting a loved one, or simply looking to learn more, our mission is to create a safe space for open conversations about gambling addiction.

🙏🏻 Recovery Resources: https://odaatgamblingawareness.com/resources

👀 Do you have a gambling addiction? Watch this to find out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPmaejpuzCcnfWaFOaPt2mSu&si=_pg9d3S7ddsnX-xb

1️⃣ First day trying to stop gambling? Start here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPneNZshy-heKIhm9ftfqpwm&si=RgIHxiIJjC0Wi7yr

🧐 Recently Relapse? Watch This: https://youtu.be/QB2eJmU86Bk?si=vsTdyeXYhO4Kj1qz

😅 Subscribe To Avoid Making The Same Mistakes I Did: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH8s1lNHQbXzltQg_aXMAQA?sub_confirmation=1

Tracy M shares her gambling addiction story

🤝 How I Quit Gambling: https://youtu.be/ZUx9qIm4sNY

🙌 Gamban is an awesome blocking software for your devices to get rid of access to gambling websites and apps. If you're struggling to stop gambling, this could be exactly what you need to help leave it behind for good: http://gamban.com/getapp Tracy M shares one of the most powerful gambling addiction recovery stories you will ever hear. After gambling for more than 40 years, Tracy’s addiction led to multiple nervous breakdowns, suicide attempts, and ultimately seven strokes that left her unable to walk or speak for over a year.

🙏🏻 Recovery Resources: https://odaatgamblingawareness.com/resources

👀 Do you have a gambling addiction? Watch this to find out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPmaejpuzCcnfWaFOaPt2mSu&si=_pg9d3S7ddsnX-xb

1️⃣ First day trying to stop gambling? Start here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPneNZshy-heKIhm9ftfqpwm&si=RgIHxiIJjC0Wi7yr

🧐 Recently Relapse? Watch This: https://youtu.be/QB2eJmU86Bk?si=vsTdyeXYhO4Kj1qz

😅 Subscribe To Avoid Making The Same Mistakes I Did: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH8s1lNHQbXzltQg_aXMAQA?sub_confirmation=1

John Schmidt shares his incredible gambling addiction story

🤝 How I Quit Gambling: https://youtu.be/ZUx9qIm4sNY

🙌 Gamban is an awesome blocking software for your devices to get rid of access to gambling websites and apps. If you're struggling to stop gambling, this could be exactly what you need to help leave it behind for good: http://gamban.com/getapp

Gambling addiction doesn’t just take money. It takes time, sleep, attention, self-respect, and eventually it can take your entire life off track. And when it gets severe, it doesn’t stay contained to casinos or apps. It spreads into your relationships, your work, your identity, and your decision-making.

Today’s guest is John Schmidt, Director of Youth Prevention Services for the Delaware Council on Gambling Problems. John shares the full story of how early exposure to gambling in childhood, sports betting as a way to bond with his dad, and the slow normalization of risk escalated into a full-blown addiction. What starts as habits and “homework” turns into obsession, chasing losses, and living inside gambling logic where every problem feels solvable with one more bet.

🙏🏻 Recovery Resources: https://odaatgamblingawareness.com/resources

👀 Do you have a gambling addiction? Watch this to find out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPmaejpuzCcnfWaFOaPt2mSu&si=_pg9d3S7ddsnX-xb

1️⃣ First day trying to stop gambling? Start here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPneNZshy-heKIhm9ftfqpwm&si=RgIHxiIJjC0Wi7yr

🧐 Recently Relapse? Watch This: https://youtu.be/QB2eJmU86Bk?si=vsTdyeXYhO4Kj1qz

😅 Subscribe To Avoid Making The Same Mistakes I Did: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH8s1lNHQbXzltQg_aXMAQA?sub_confirmation=1

I interview Matthew Litt, a lawyer who represents gambling addiction clients against the gambling industry.

🤝 How I Quit Gambling: https://youtu.be/ZUx9qIm4sNY

🙌 Gamban is an awesome blocking software for your devices to get rid of access to gambling websites and apps. If you're struggling to stop gambling, this could be exactly what you need to help leave it behind for good: http://gamban.com/getapp

Matthew Litt's Information: Matthew Litt has dedicated nearly his entire legal practice to challenging the predatory practices of casinos. He’s appeared on The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, ABC Nightly News with DeMarco Morgan, and Vice TV’s Out of Bounds, and has provided testimony to the state legislatures in Minnesota, Hawaii, Georgia, and Nebraska discussing predatory gambling issues with a focus on problems relating to VIP programs and VIP hosts.

Learn more about Matthew on his website www.BettorLawyers.com.

Casinos aren’t just offering entertainment — they’re building real-time systems designed to keep people gambling long after they want to stop.

In this episode, attorney Matthew Litt breaks down the predatory tactics used by VIP hosts, “free bets,” deposit matches, and targeted inducements that keep addicted gamblers hooked. We talk about how the definition of a “whale” has changed, why responsible gambling messaging fails, how VIP hosts fuel addiction in real time, and what it takes to build a legal case against a casino. Matt shares the inside details of major lawsuits, the evolution of gambling laws, and the truth about why public policy is so far behind the science. If you or someone you love has been impacted by gambling addiction, this conversation will help you understand the industry’s tactics — and why so many people get trapped.

Let’s keep bringing the truth into the light, one day at a time. This channel is dedicated to spreading awareness about gambling addiction and helping individuals better understand the risks of excessive gambling. Through powerful storytelling, educational content, and real-life experiences, we aim to shine a light on the dangers of gambling and provide tools for recovery. Whether you're seeking help, supporting a loved one, or simply looking to learn more, our mission is to create a safe space for open conversations about gambling addiction.

🙏🏻 Recovery Resources: https://odaatgamblingawareness.com/resources

👀 Do you have a gambling addiction? Watch this to find out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPmaejpuzCcnfWaFOaPt2mSu&si=_pg9d3S7ddsnX-xb

1️⃣ First day trying to stop gambling? Start here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQirxbLdrgPneNZshy-heKIhm9ftfqpwm&si=RgIHxiIJjC0Wi7yr

😅 Subscribe To Avoid Making The Same Mistakes I Did: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH8s1lNHQbXzltQg_aXMAQA?sub_confirmation=1