Why making Americans bet with cash could protect people from gambling problems

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · Sep 24, 2026 · 1309 words · By Jay L Zagorsky

Digital vs. Physical Currency Financial Regulation Gambling Addiction

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What to know about Digital vs. Physical Currency

The author, an economist, argues that the ease of digital gambling has led to increased addiction and corruption. He proposes requiring gamblers to use physical cash to introduce 'friction' into the process, which he believes would reduce gambling frequency and increase transparency.

Propaganda risk 30%

Claims checked 16

Techniques found 3

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left12%

Center76%

Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

American casinos and sportsbooks earned US$79 billion in 2025, up nearly 20% from the $66.5 billion just two years earlier.

Why it matters

That doesn’t include the enormous sums earned by prediction market companies, which are technically not considered gambling but instead help forecast future events.

Common ground

Regrettably, but not unexpectedly, the widespread ability to gamble is also causing major scandals.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Causal Oversimplification, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Digital vs. Physical Currency story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The number of those jobs peaked in 2007... at almost 70,000 workers?
How does this story connect Digital vs. Physical Currency with Financial Regulation over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/why-making-americans-bet-with-cash-could-protect-peo…

analyticsAnalysis

30%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 90%

Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Causal Oversimplification 70% confidence

Assuming a single cause for a complex issue.

Why it matters: Recognizing causal oversimplification helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 60% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 6

check_circle Corroborated 3

verified Verified By Reference 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 2

cancel Disputed 1

schedule

Claim 1: “The number of those jobs peaked in 2007... at almost 70,000 workers”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 2: “the highest-denomination U.S. bill is $100”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 3: “American casinos and sportsbooks earned US$79 billion in 2025”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence does not contain any information regarding total US casino and sportsbook earnings for the year 2025.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Us, us, uS, or US commonly refers to: Us (pronoun), the objective case of the English first-person plural pronoun we United States Us, us, uS, or US may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This Is Us is an American drama television series created by Dan Fogelman that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents and their…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Us

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 4: “In the U.S., any cash transaction of $10,000 or more must be reported with a Currency Transaction Report”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 5: “The U.S. Census Bureau tracks the number of people employed in online gambling and also includes lottery, high-stakes bingo and poker room workers in this group”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 6: “These markets operate outside of state control, bypassing gaming regulations because they are regulated at the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources state that prediction markets are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) at the federal level rather than by state gaming boards.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In finance, a futures contract (often just called a future) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futures_contract

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A futures exchange or futures market is a central financial exchange where people can trade standardized futures contracts defined by the exchange. Futures contracts are derivatives contracts to buy o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futures_exchange

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government. Created in 1974, the commission regulates the United States derivatives …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Commodity_Future…

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 7: “U.S. estimates suggest around 20 million Americans are problem gamblers – about 6% of the population”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim.

cancel

Claim 8: “The World Health Organization estimates about 1.2% of the world has a gambling problem”

DISPUTED

Two different estimates are provided in the evidence: one source states that estimates suggest 1.2% of the world's adult population has a gambling disorder, while another source attributes a 'roughly one per cent' estimate to the World Health Organization.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In world demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently alive. It was estimated by the United Nations to have exceeded 8 billion (8,000,000,000) on November 15, 2022.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Key facts. Standardized global estimation of gambling harms has been limited, but estimates suggest that 1.2% of the world’s adult population has a gambling disorder. Harm from gambling by others is a…
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/gambling

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The World Health Organization estimates roughly one per cent of the general population struggles with a gambling disorder. (new window), though the issue has increasingly made headlines in Canada.
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/2252517/the-night-st…

info

Claim 9: “Montana’s and Nebraska’s rules that all sports betting is done in person”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant results for a betting site (SportyBet), a UK betting site (bwin), and an IPTV service in Montana. No evidence regarding state laws in Montana or Nebraska was found.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — SportyBet offers the best odds, a lite APP with the fastest live betting experience, instant deposits and withdrawals, and great bonuses. Get Sporty, Bet Sporty!
https://www.sportybet.com/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Elevate your sports experience with online betting at bwin UK. Bet on football, F1, cycling, and more.
https://www.bwin.com/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — beIN Sports, Exxen, Netflix ve tüm Türk kanalları tek abonelikte. Nerede olursan ol — donmadan, kesintisiz izle. 3 saat ücretsiz dene, kart bilgisi gerekmez.“Avusturya'da spor kanalı bulmak zor ve pah…
https://montanahd4.com/

info

Claim 10: “blanket prohibitions on sports betting like those currently in California, Texas, and some other states”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence discusses general proxy betting rules and a YouTube video about surviving on betting profits, but does not confirm the current legal status of sports betting in California and Texas.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Sports betting is everywhere now—here are the rules bettors might not realize they're breaking.Known as proxy betting, placing a wager on someone else's behalf is prohibited because it can be used to …
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/09/betting-on-sports-online-her…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Is Sports Betting Actually Profitable?Joe Newman46K views • 1 month agoLivePlaylist ()Mix (50+). 24:22.In this video i go homeless and survive 3 days on ONLY my sports betting profits! My Other Channe…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFxZzg_HiII

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Get Sporty, Bet Sporty!A banker is a selection which a customer believes is certain to win. If a Banker is selected, it will be included in every combination and must win in order to provide a return …
https://www.sportybet.com/

verified

Claim 11: “In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association that individual states have the power to decide whether to legalize sports betting inside their borders”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple legal/news summaries confirm that in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (2018), the Supreme Court ruled that the federal ban on sports betting (PASPA) was unconstitutional, allowing states to legalize it.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Grant House and Sedona Prince v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, et al. is a class action lawsuit brought against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and five collegiate athl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_v._NCAA

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, No. 16-476, 584 U.S. 453 (2018) [138 S. Ct. 1461], was a landmark United States Supreme Court case involving the Tenth Amendment to the United State…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy_v._National_Collegiate_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Patrick Thomas Murphy (born November 28, 1958) is an American professional baseball coach who is the manager for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as the inter…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Murphy_(baseball_manager)

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 12: “a Special Forces soldier was arrested and charged on April 23, 2026, for winning more than $400,000 on bets based on classified information of when the military would take out Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim.

check_circle

Claim 13: “the chief of police in New Haven, Connecticut, allegedly embezzled government funds to bet almost $4.5 million on sports”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web sources report that former New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson was arrested/accused of embezzling city funds and betting over $4 million (specifically cited as $4.4M or $4.5M) on sports betting apps.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Haven_County,_Connecticut

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since the 1870s, mayoral elections have been held every two years to elect the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayoral_elections_in_New_Haven…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 134,023 at the 2020 census, it is the third-mos…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Haven,_Connecticut

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 14: “the French gambler who bet heavily on Donald Trump winning the 2024 presidential election”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 15: “up nearly 20% from the $66.5 billion just two years earlier”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources, including the American Gaming Association (AGA), Forbes, and AP, confirm that U.S. commercial gaming revenue reached $66.5 billion in 2023.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geog…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 16: “The number fell to less than 47,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently rebounded to 67,000 in 2024”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.