The hidden costs of America’s gambling boom

Plus: Peter Thiel on Trump  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Richard Hall | September 28, 2026     Hello there. Online gambling has become a ubiquitous part of American life over the past few years. Its rise has coincided with growing concerns about addiction and household debt, but neither Republicans nor Democrats have shown much enthusiasm for federal regulation. Today we explore whether a move to ban online betting in Brazil could spark a debate here in the U.S. Our viral moment today is an unvarnished view from an early backer of President Donald Trump about why he believes the second Trump Administration has fallen short. IN TODAY’S BRIEF What we know about the U.K. terror plot Taxpayer-paid Trump ads Europe rallies round the ICC America’s gambling epidemic Hospitals using AI ‘Not very smart, but very loyal people’         READ THIS FIRST U.K. police investigate suspected terror plot targeting base used by U.S. forces Press Association via the Associated Press British counterterrorism police are leading an investigation after five men were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act near an air base used by U.S. forces. Police received a report at around 12:45 a.m. Sunday about three suspicious vehicles traveling toward RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, southwestern England. Armed officers responded and arrested the men in nearby Whelford. Fairford is used as a forward operating location for the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command. The base has hosted U.S. B-52 and B-1 bombers during the Iran war, according to ABC News. American forces have used Fairford to carry out strikes against Iranian missile sites, the Associated Press reported. When asked by reporters about the arrests, U.S. President Donald Trump called them “fantastic.” “They were looking to do big damage to our fort,” Trump said of the suspects, “and working with the British worked out great.” —Rebecca Schneid Read the full story here.         SPONSORED Some teams never seem to stop moving. They're on Attio, the agentic CRM. It’s your always-on revenue engine: agents and workflows build pipeline, chase every buying signal, and move deals forward alongside your team. Teams like Parallel, Turbopuffer, and Wordsmith build on Attio. Are you one of them? Try Attio now         HAPPENING NOW Trump’s tax-payer funded ads draw bipartisan criticism Screenshot from TRUTH Social “This is the final battle,” Donald Trump could be heard saying in one of the taxpayer-funded television ads that has elicited scrutiny across political parties for potential violations of federal law. The 30-second ad is a black-and-white video of Trump walking down a hall over audio of his warnings against “the deep state,” “warmongers,” “globalists,” “Marxists,” “communists,” and “fascists.” Trump posted the same video on his Truth Social platform in 2023, but with one difference: Then, the monochromatic ad ended with words on screen calling on the viewer to join Trump’s campaign and fine print saying it was “Paid for by Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc.” This time, the 2026 ad says at the bottom: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”  It’s one of multiple that ads appear to be part of a campaign blitz ahead of the November midterms, in which the GOP is hoping to defend its majorities in Congress. But some lawmakers, including from his own Republican Party, are raising concerns. The White House, meanwhile, defends them as “public service announcements.” —Chad de Guzman Read the full story here.         IN THE NEWS European leaders reject Trump's call to quit the ICC Michael M. Santiago—Getty Images European leaders are rallying behind the International Criminal Court (ICC) after President Donald Trump called for countries to "immediately" resign from the organization, amid a broader push by the U.S. Administration to dismantle it. Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin pledged his support for the ICC and said Ireland “strongly opposes efforts to undermine the court,” during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week. Referencing the Hague-based court as he discussed the conflict in Ukraine, Martin said Russia must be held “accountable” for its actions. “There can be no impunity for war crimes… that is why Ireland is a steadfast supporter of the International Criminal Court,” he said, stressing that all “measures against it should be immediately withdrawn.” Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten issued a similar defense of the ICC earlier in the day. Without directly mentioning Trump or the U.S., Jetten reflected on how the court has come “under attack” and asked how can anyone “possibly be opposed to prosecuting the very worst crimes?" —Tiago Ventura Read the full story here.         SPONSORED Don't be behind at the next campaign review Your team is already testing the channel you haven't read about yet. TLDR Marketing is the 5-minute daily brief that keeps you ahead. Free, and read by 330K+ marketers. Subscribe for free         IN FOCUS Brazil is treating gambling addiction as a public health issue. The U.S. lags behind  Aaron M. Sprecher—Associated Press Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a provisional measure on Friday banning fixed-odds betting, including sports gambling and online games, in a move designed to tackle an industry that was plunging many Brazilians into debt. Finance Minister Dario Durigan said it had become a “public health issue,” with Brazilians gambling around $11 billion annually.    It is a problem many American households face, too. But so far, neither Republicans nor Democrats have shown much appetite for federal regulation.  Sports betting in the U.S. has soared in recent years. A 2018 Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for states to legalize sports betting; some 21% of U.S. adults placed a sports bet in 2024. The market expanded rapidly as more states authorized sports betting, much of it online. Sports betting revenue hit $16.96 billion in 2025, according to the American Gaming Association, up from $1.53 billion in 2020. The amount wagered by Americans has jumped from around $22 billion to $167 billion during the same period. Today, sports gambling commercials starring top athletes are as ubiquitous as the sports themselves.  For many people, it can be a harmless pastime, but its rapid growth has had a marked effect on the finances of millions of Americans. A UCLA study found that in states that legalized online sports betting, bankruptcies increased by as much as 25% to 30% three to four years after legalization, while credit-card delinquencies also rose. At least one sports betting company used artificial intelligence to better target customers who were most likely to lose, according to a recent New York Times investigation.  In the wake of the sports betting boom, prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are now surging, allowing people to bet on anything from the outcome of political races to weather and entertainment. Donald Trump Jr. is an investor in Polymarket and a strategic adviser to Kalshi. While there have been moves to more tightly regulate prediction markets to prevent insider trading, the rise of gambling addiction more generally has been left largely unaddressed at the federal level.  Jody Bechtold, president of the International Problem Gambling and Gaming Certification Organization (IPGGC), has said her colleagues refer to the legalization of gambling as "the next opioid epidemic." The Trump Administration, meanwhile, has backed prediction markets in disputes against states that want to impose tighter regulations, and President Trump—a former casino owner himself—has said those companies "will thrive" under his leadership.         ONE NUMBER $942 million The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association says that the increased use of AI tools by hospitals appears to have contributed to a $942 million increase in healthcare costs. The association says hospitals are increasingly using the tools to find and bill for secondary diagnoses that can move patients into higher-paying, medically complex billing categories. SOURCE: BCBS         A VIRAL MOMENT Thiel on Trump 2 Peter Thiel, an influential Silicon Valley investor and early backer of Vice President JD Vance, offers some candid thoughts on where he believes the second Trump Administration has fallen short, in this podcast interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner.         SPONSORED The best influencer marketing advice never comes from a report It comes from someone who’s been there, done that, and has the receipts. Get ready for Return on Influence Festival ‘26. An entire day dedicated to influencer marketing with speakers running some of the best programs in the world.  October 21, 2026, 10 am - 5 pm ET.  Free and online. Save your spot now       Linked In this addictive word-association game, find the steps that will unite two seemingly unrelated words in just four moves. PLAY NOW       ALSO WORTH YOUR TIME IDEAS Nursing Homes Have Become Last-Resort Housing IDEAS  We Turned Sleep Into Homework. Now We’re Losing Sleep Over It       More Newsletters from Click to sign up. D.C. BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +HEALTH MATTERS +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Subscribe to TIME Email us: thebrief@time.com Received this from a friend? Sign up here Connect with TIME   PRIVACY POLICY     © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved. TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508, United States Unsubscribe