Sports betting is fun. It’s neat to place a couple of bets on your phone, kick back, and watch the game. It adds an extra edge to an experience you likely already enjoy, and, hey, if that makes the whole thing a little more entertaining, good for you. But that’s not what everyone who gambles on sports is doing. A small but not insignificant amount of the population is in over their heads in a way that’s getting increasingly scary. They’re winding up in the laps of debt collectors, missing car payments, and, in dire cases, they’re going bankrupt.
A new working paper from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California takes a look at what’s happened to consumer financial health in the 38…
