The state of things
Gambling used to mean going somewhere. Now the sportsbook sponsors the broadcast, the commentators read the odds between plays, and the parlay ad runs before the highlight does. Prediction markets took the same bet, called it a contract, and skipped the part where anyone has to call it gambling.
None of this arrived because people asked for it. It arrived because it pays — and it lands hardest on young men who grew up with a phone in hand and a bet one tap away. The industry's model is simple: make access effortless, and make quitting lonely.