The big bet major US sports leagues have placed on gambling is looking riskier all the time.
Their tight embrace of Boston-based DraftKings, FanDuel, and other betting apps was only natural after the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision clearing the way for states to legalize sports wagering. After all, sports and gambling go together like thunder and lightning, peanut butter and jelly, and Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Massachusetts was slow to the cash dash; online sports betting didn’t start here until 2023. But the gambling scene has changed quickly since then. The volume of bets is surging as apps make wagering on virtually every aspect of any game easier than ordering dinner on DoorDash. Sports betting has generated more than $339 million in state tax revenue to date.
The array of available bets is staggering. A family member who enjoys making a lot of small bets sent me a list of wagers from one recent Sunday. There were more than 50! They included conventional “moneyline” bets on the winner of a game, “over/under” wagers on total points scored by both teams, and “futures,” which predict outcomes such as who will win the NBA championship this season.
There were also many “parlays” — which combine multiple bets into one — and “prop bets” on individual player stats such as touchdowns or receptions.
This explosion in possible wagers is exposing a new generation of younger gamblers — mostly men — to the dangers of addiction, thanks to the apps’ use of sophisticated engagement tactics pioneered by social media platforms. It also means more athletes could collude to influence the outcome of prop bets, as evidenced by recent scandals such as one involving former Celtics player Terry Rozier. How much cheating goes undetected? You have to wonder.
Of course, betting has long caused problems in sports. The Chicago “Black Sox” were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series, and several Boston College men’s basketball players allegedly “shaved points” during the 1978-79 season in a mob-involved scheme.
But online betting has opened the door to an ugly and corrupting influence that erodes confidence in the integrity of sports. No amount of revenue from gambling partnerships will offset the losses over time if fans lose faith in the games.
The stock market keeps climbing.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit another record high on Wednesday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was just 0.6 percent below its peak.
So why are some market pros uneasy?
They’re worried about “market breadth,” or how many stocks are taking part in the rally. Strong breadth — a lot of stocks rising — is bullish. Weak breadth — when indexes are driven higher by a minority of stocks — is a warning sign for investors.
“The rallies have become increasingly narrow, fueled by gains in a handful of large-cap technology stocks,” Jack Ablin, chief investment strategist at Cresset Capital Management, wrote in a note this week. “Most S&P constituents remain stuck in neutral or have declined.”
For example, 70 percent of S&P 500 stocks now trade more than 10 percent below their highs, according to Ablin. Only about 40 percent of stocks in the index are above their 50-day moving average, down from 80 percent just a few months ago.
In the past week, some of the AI-related mega stocks that drove the market higher have lost ground. Oracle has shed 12 percent since Nov. 3. Nvidia has retreated 6.3 percent and Meta is off 4.5 percent.
“Today’s market breadth is sub‐par for a sustainable broad-based rally,” Ablin said. “While the headline index may look comfortable, the internals suggest a fragile advance supported by a narrow constituency of stocks.”
The penny is dead. Are nickels next?
The US Mint in Philadelphia stamped out its last 1-cent coins on Wednesday, 232 years after they were first produced.
President Trump ordered the move earlier this year, saying it was wasteful to spend nearly 4 cents to produce each coin. Ending production will save $56 million a year, according to the Treasury Department. The mint will continue to make collector-edition pennies.
Existing pennies — an estimated 300 billion of them — remain legal tender and in circulation, though sitting in a big jar on your dresser isn’t exactly circulating.
In a report released in July, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said that phasing out the penny will likely lead businesses to round cash transactions to the nearest 5 cents, resulting in a “rounding tax” on consumers.
“We estimate that rounding tax could cost US consumers approximately $6 million annually,” the Richmond Fed said.
With penny production kaput, all eyes are on the nickel.
The five-cent coin costs nearly 14 cents to make. Production is already way down, with 202 million nickels shipped in fiscal 2024 compared with nearly 1.42 billion in the prior year.
A penny for your thoughts on the matter.
D’oh: In Monday’s newsletter I botched the name of a media outlet that produces a popular ranking of American colleges and universities. It is US News & World Report.
“I’m a New England Patriot. I’m a Patriot for life.”
— Rob Gronkowski, as he signed a one-day contract to retire as a Patriot. Gronk played his final two NFL seasons in Tampa Bay with Tom Brady.
Time to pause: After supporting two consecutive rate cuts, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said she favored holding interest rates steady amid still-strong growth that could slow or stall progress on cooling inflation.
Moving on: Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, will retire at the end of his current term in February, opening up a new seat on the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee as President Trump seeks to exert more control over the central bank.
Caveat emptor: The recent Visa-Mastercard legal settlement could lead to your rewards credit card getting declined.
Paper chase: Market Basket’s board accused former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas of not being forthcoming in providing the documents it has sought in the legal battle over his firing.
Meet the new boss: The Food and Drug Administration named Dr. Richard Pazdur, a longtime regulator of cancer medicines, to lead the agency’s drug center, its largest department.
Changing hands: The “Taylor Block,” a prominent stretch of mixed-use buildings on Washington and Central streets in Wellesley, has been acquired by a Quincy commercial real estate firm for $15.3 million.
3 percent
It’s called “streamflation”: the rising monthly subscription costs for Netflix, Apple TV, and other streaming services.
Here are the not-so-chill increases since 2019, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- Disney+: 172 percent
- Apple TV: 160 percent
- Peacock: 120 percent
- Hulu: 58 percent
- Paramount+: 40 percent
- Netflix: 38 percent
- HBO Max: 23 percent
In addition, the price of live television streaming has also climbed. YouTube TV’s monthly subscription is up 66 percent since 2019.
My household subscribes to Apple TV, Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, and YouTube TV. Combined with internet access, we’re paying more than $181 a month, or nearly $2,200 a year.
🚗 On this date in 1927, the Holland Tunnel opened, connecting New Jersey with lower Manhattan under the Hudson River. The toll was 50 cents each way, or about $9.39 in today’s dollars. Currently, autos pay $16.06 during peak hours to enter New York. Escaping the Big Apple is free.
👋 Thanks for reading.
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Larry Edelman can be reached at larry.edelman@globe.com.
