Historian EXPOSES How DraftKings & FanDuel Engineer Gambling Addiction

They know everything about you. That's not a conspiracy theory — it's the business model.

In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan Cohen, award-winning historian and author of Losing Big: America's Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling — one of the leading voices examining how legalized sports betting exploded across America and what it's really costing us. Jonathan isn't in recovery. He's a scholar. And what he's uncovered studying DraftKings, FanDuel, and the sports betting industry confirms everything those of us in recovery have lived firsthand.

We get into:

▶ How sportsbooks hire armies of PhD psychologists to engineer addiction into their apps — "they can't pump oxygen through your phone, so they design the platforms to mimic it"▶ Why gambling went from a frat-house thing to a seventh-grade thing in under a decade▶ The Ohtani scandal — and the dinner where I asked Matt Bowyer point blank: was it him or not?▶ Terry Rozier, college athletes, and the scandals the leagues saw coming▶ Why a 22-year-old's brain is biologically incapable of stopping — and why "responsible gambling" puts all the blame on the individual anyway▶ The one simple guardrail that could save thousands of lives — and why the industry will never allow it▶ My story: my first casino at 15, a bookie in college, and the night I sat with a plan to end my life, $1 million in debt, with a ten-month-old baby at home▶ The real DM I received the morning of this recording — $30K lost in 45 days — and what I told him

Whether you bet every Sunday, love someone who does, or you're one of the millions caught in the fastest-growing addiction in America — this conversation is for you.

🔔 Real stories. Raw comebacks. Nothing’s off the table.

I sit down with people who’ve faced it all: addiction, loss, redemption—and came out stronger. These are unfiltered conversations about resilience, recovery, and finding purpose again.

🎙️ Hosted by Louis Ruggiero

📱 Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/nothingsoffpod)

📹 TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@nothingsoffpod)

🔗 Linktree: (https://www.linktr.ee/nothingsoffthetable)

🧢 Buy a Nothing's Off The Table Hat: (https://nothings-off-the-table-with-louis-ruggiero.myshopify.com)