1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,599
Speaker 1: Hey guys, Saga and Crystal here.

2
00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:05,240
Speaker 2: Independent media just played a truly massive role in this election,

3
00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:07,840
Speaker 2: and we are so excited about what that means for

4
00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:08,760
Speaker 2: the future of this show.

5
00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:10,760
Speaker 1: This is the only place where you can find honest

6
00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,280
Speaker 1: perspectives from the left and the right that simply does

7
00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:14,720
Speaker 1: not exist anywhere else.

8
00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,120
Speaker 2: So if that is something that's important to you, please

9
00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:19,639
Speaker 2: go to Breakingpoints dot com. Become a member today and

10
00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,759
Speaker 2: you'll get access to our full shows, unedited, ad free

11
00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,640
Speaker 2: and all put together for you every morning in your inbox.

12
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:27,560
Speaker 1: We need your help to build the future of independent

13
00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:29,960
Speaker 1: news media and we hope to see you at Breakingpoints

14
00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,360
Speaker 1: dot com.

15
00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:36,920
Speaker 2: So a crazy situation has been unfolding in the NATO

16
00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,519
Speaker 2: country of Romania. Let's go ahead and put this up

17
00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,640
Speaker 2: on the screen. Obviously hugely relevant for us because of

18
00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,559
Speaker 2: their NATO status, but also because of the role of misinformation,

19
00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,720
Speaker 2: which was used as justification by Romania's top court to

20
00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:56,200
Speaker 2: annul the first round of the presidential vote. To let

21
00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:57,760
Speaker 2: me just read you a little bit of this, so

22
00:00:57,800 --> 00:00:59,360
Speaker 2: I make sure I have the specifics right here, it

23
00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,240
Speaker 2: says top Romanian court on Friday and nulled the first

24
00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:06,039
Speaker 2: round of the country's presidential election days after allegations emerged

25
00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:08,920
Speaker 2: that Russia ran a coordinated online campaign what does that

26
00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,240
Speaker 2: sound familiar to to promote the far right outsider who

27
00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,760
Speaker 2: won the first round. The Consctitiational Court's unpresdented decision, which

28
00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:20,080
Speaker 2: is final, came after the president declassified intelligence on Wednesday

29
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,520
Speaker 2: that alleged Russia had organized thousands of social media accounts

30
00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:28,200
Speaker 2: to promote Colin georg Escu across platforms such as TikTok

31
00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,600
Speaker 2: and telegram. The court, without naming George Escu, said that

32
00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,440
Speaker 2: one of the thirteen candidates in the November twenty fourth

33
00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:39,960
Speaker 2: first round had improperly received preferential treatment on social media,

34
00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,920
Speaker 2: distorting the outcome of the vote. George Escu denounced the

35
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,320
Speaker 2: verdict as an officialized coup and an attack on democracy,

36
00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,960
Speaker 2: as did the second place finisher, reformist Alna Lasconi of

37
00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:57,120
Speaker 2: the center right Save Romania Union Party. So, obviously, Soder

38
00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,960
Speaker 2: raised a lot of alarms among Cloch watchers here because

39
00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,680
Speaker 2: the contours of the allegations are very similar to the

40
00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:09,320
Speaker 2: Russia Gate allegations back in twenty sixteen of this you know,

41
00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:16,200
Speaker 2: coordinated Russian influence campaign. The current president released these intelligence

42
00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,600
Speaker 2: reports that indicated and didn't even come to the conclusion

43
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,320
Speaker 2: that these TikTok accounts and whatever had changed the election result.

44
00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,160
Speaker 2: Didn't even directly reach the conclusion, just sort of alleged

45
00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,600
Speaker 2: and hinted in that direction that it was Russia that

46
00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,600
Speaker 2: had created these accounts and was running them and you know,

47
00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:38,560
Speaker 2: conducting this malign influence campaign and then they use this

48
00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,680
Speaker 2: as justification to completely annul the results of this election.

49
00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,280
Speaker 2: Also worth noting here, so you know, the politics of

50
00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:48,239
Speaker 2: this guy, George Esco or not my politics. He's a

51
00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,560
Speaker 2: far right politician. He was the only candidate that was

52
00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:59,000
Speaker 2: sort of aggressively against Romania support for Ukrainian military aid,

53
00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,440
Speaker 2: and you know, was sort of adversarial visa VI NATO

54
00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,440
Speaker 2: was more kind of pro rustion aligned in terms of

55
00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,720
Speaker 2: his rhetoric. And this is a big deal because Romania

56
00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:12,480
Speaker 2: has been an important military partner in that region and

57
00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,000
Speaker 2: there's a huge NATO base that is being planned for

58
00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,560
Speaker 2: Romania as well. So this was a problem not just

59
00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:21,640
Speaker 2: for you know, the people who are currently in power

60
00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,960
Speaker 2: in Romania, it was also a problem for US and

61
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,640
Speaker 2: our other NATO allies because it's signaled potentially, you know,

62
00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,000
Speaker 2: Romania could be going in a different direction and not

63
00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:35,120
Speaker 2: be a reliable NATO ally and you know the seat

64
00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,240
Speaker 2: of this giant military base that's being planned.

65
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:42,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is just classic NATO diplomacy right where NATO

66
00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,520
Speaker 1: itself is more important than the literal will of the

67
00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,160
Speaker 1: Romanian people. Also, maybe it's a good reason as to

68
00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,280
Speaker 1: why former Soviet republics should not be in NATO, right

69
00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,680
Speaker 1: because maybe they have complicated feelings and populations, and if

70
00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,200
Speaker 1: you have a restricted number of countries that have more

71
00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,080
Speaker 1: of a unified message and goal, then it's a little

72
00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:03,160
Speaker 1: bit easier to defend.

73
00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,480
Speaker 2: I feel bad for these countries. Do you do get

74
00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,520
Speaker 2: end up being used like our ponds and Russia's ponds

75
00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:10,760
Speaker 2: in the region and brought in this like you know,

76
00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,640
Speaker 2: tug of war between Europe and between Russia. I mean

77
00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,560
Speaker 2: it's the same dynamic plan that played out in Ukraine.

78
00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,400
Speaker 1: Exactly, and actually in Romania, in Hungary and all these

79
00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,960
Speaker 1: other Slovenia, you know, countries like that. They have long

80
00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,640
Speaker 1: histories of both, so making them choose is ridiculous. It

81
00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,600
Speaker 1: should be up to their own democratic populations.

82
00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:32,120
Speaker 2: And if they want to be unaligned also.

83
00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,839
Speaker 1: Yeah, go for it, exactly. Look, Romania is a proud people,

84
00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,800
Speaker 1: proud country with a long history, you know, very interesting place,

85
00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:44,000
Speaker 1: and it's not right that they're basically having this like

86
00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,240
Speaker 1: Western style coup, which is effectively what this is, by

87
00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:53,080
Speaker 1: canceling the election where within their own system this man won.

88
00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:54,919
Speaker 1: And again it's funny when you read the press, like

89
00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,320
Speaker 1: the Financial Time. Let's put this up there on the screen,

90
00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:02,480
Speaker 1: the absolute vast majority, this thing is just oh, Romania's

91
00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,279
Speaker 1: Romania's western partners are worried about a key ally turning

92
00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,440
Speaker 1: towards Moscow, as Bucharest is a NATO and an EU

93
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,560
Speaker 1: member that has so far supported Western efforts to back

94
00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,279
Speaker 1: Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. And here's the thing.

95
00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,800
Speaker 1: He did not even Georgie Escu did not deny or

96
00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:22,800
Speaker 1: he denied saying that he wants to take Ukraine or

97
00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,000
Speaker 1: Romania out of the US military Alliance and he said, quote,

98
00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:30,000
Speaker 1: he wants to renegotiate the terms of its membership. Okay,

99
00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:32,760
Speaker 1: so what Donald Trump's has said stuff like that too.

100
00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,480
Speaker 1: There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, and yet you know,

101
00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:40,599
Speaker 1: he wins what is it twenty two? Sorry. The largest

102
00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,480
Speaker 1: share of the vote was won by the center left party,

103
00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,200
Speaker 1: followed by the nationalists, so he won.

104
00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:50,640
Speaker 2: The first presidential voting round. This article is about the

105
00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:57,000
Speaker 2: parliamentary elections where the centrist parties, mainstream parties did well enough,

106
00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,160
Speaker 2: even though there were huge gains by the nationalists are

107
00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,440
Speaker 2: right groups, but they did well enough that it looks

108
00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,040
Speaker 2: like they'll be able to form a sort of you know,

109
00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,960
Speaker 2: mainstream party governing coalition. So all of the NATO types

110
00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:13,200
Speaker 2: were breathing big sigh of relief about this result. But

111
00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,440
Speaker 2: it you know, now the first round of the presidential

112
00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,599
Speaker 2: vote has been an old They're probably going to redo

113
00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:20,520
Speaker 2: the vote sometime in the spring and we'll see what

114
00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,039
Speaker 2: happens there. But you know, I mean, this would be

115
00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:26,120
Speaker 2: like if in the US in twenty sixteen, after there

116
00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,440
Speaker 2: was Russian influence in our campaign, which we all know,

117
00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:31,800
Speaker 2: I mean, we run multi billion dollar campaigns here, like

118
00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,120
Speaker 2: the idea that the weird memes that they were putting

119
00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,440
Speaker 2: on Facebook was determined as preposterous. But anyway, if that

120
00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:42,200
Speaker 2: had been used to actually overturn the election, or imagine

121
00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,039
Speaker 2: imagine this time, because Twitter is you know, run by

122
00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:48,400
Speaker 2: Elon Musk, who put a quarter of a billion dollars

123
00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,120
Speaker 2: into Donald Trump's campaign. If that was used to overturn

124
00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:53,760
Speaker 2: the results of this election. And you can see how

125
00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:56,320
Speaker 2: this could be used in both directions, right, because then

126
00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,120
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty they could have said, hey, you know,

127
00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:02,080
Speaker 2: the censoring of the Hunt Biden laptop story that renders

128
00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:06,120
Speaker 2: this election illegitimate and it should be overturned. And so

129
00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:08,080
Speaker 2: you can see how, you know, this would be the

130
00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:10,760
Speaker 2: road to how and the road to completely you know,

131
00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,400
Speaker 2: just disregarding the will of the people. And you know,

132
00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,679
Speaker 2: to my knowledge, in spite of our State Department's rhetoric

133
00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,280
Speaker 2: about how much they are committed to democracy blah blah blah,

134
00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,640
Speaker 2: I don't think that they've objected to any of these

135
00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:24,520
Speaker 2: doings in Romania.

136
00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,280
Speaker 1: Why would they write this is the project, this is

137
00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:29,480
Speaker 1: there what they actually want? Put the next one up

138
00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,960
Speaker 1: there on the screen, because it's interesting where they point

139
00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,360
Speaker 1: out how the long history with Romania and their own

140
00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:40,640
Speaker 1: struggles and all of that are exactly what this quote

141
00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:43,640
Speaker 1: unquote resurrect's dark memories of So in their bid to

142
00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:49,239
Speaker 1: save democracy, they are recalling their own dictatorial past, which

143
00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:54,160
Speaker 1: they probably want to get away from, exactly by expressing

144
00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,240
Speaker 1: it through their democratic process. So if it's a democratic

145
00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,600
Speaker 1: will of the people to elect somebody who wants to

146
00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,520
Speaker 1: end aid to Ukraine, then so be it. And you know,

147
00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,240
Speaker 1: the funny thing is this may seem like fringe issues

148
00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:07,280
Speaker 1: and stuff to us because Ukraine is just one of

149
00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,600
Speaker 1: a number of things. But if you Romania is actually

150
00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:11,760
Speaker 1: a big deal, right, guess like, not only you're a NATO,

151
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,520
Speaker 1: this is a country which you're very close to. You've

152
00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,920
Speaker 1: got some of your population who can probably recall some

153
00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,840
Speaker 1: of the USSR times and others and their own dark

154
00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:26,200
Speaker 1: history as well. And so you're overturning this election basically

155
00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,640
Speaker 1: based upon the will of the European Union and of NATO.

156
00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,720
Speaker 1: I cannot think of a better example to justify so

157
00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,920
Speaker 1: much of the European far right hatred which is now

158
00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:40,599
Speaker 1: basically pan European at this point of exactly these institutions

159
00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,360
Speaker 1: which claim to act in the name of democracy and

160
00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:44,680
Speaker 1: are obviously committed to anything.

161
00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,560
Speaker 2: But yeah, no, that's absolutely right. And the last thing

162
00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:49,320
Speaker 2: I mentioned this base. I just wanted to give you

163
00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:50,960
Speaker 2: some of the details because I do think this is

164
00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:55,040
Speaker 2: very significant to understanding the geopolitical dynamics here. This is

165
00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,839
Speaker 2: from another article that military base in Southeast Romania on

166
00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:01,480
Speaker 2: the Black Sea coast, would become the largest NATO military

167
00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,440
Speaker 2: base in all of Europe, will surpass the US military

168
00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:06,959
Speaker 2: base in Remstein. Is that how you say that Germany

169
00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,880
Speaker 2: in size? The new base will give Romania an increased

170
00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:12,720
Speaker 2: role in natosecurity architecture, a position of greater strength in

171
00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,160
Speaker 2: the Black Sea, which the militarily dominated by Russia. Will

172
00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:18,600
Speaker 2: be able to host ten thousand soldiers in civilians by

173
00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,920
Speaker 2: twenty thirty. So that's why we have such an interest

174
00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,839
Speaker 2: in what is going on in this election, and also

175
00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,320
Speaker 2: because of Romania already being an important ally in terms

176
00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,280
Speaker 2: of our position in the Ukrainian War. But I mean,

177
00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,520
Speaker 2: obviously the hypocrisy is clear, and it's very troubling. And

178
00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:40,600
Speaker 2: so the first, first controversial decision was the outgoing president

179
00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:45,240
Speaker 2: deciding to release these intelligence reports which fueled all of

180
00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:49,719
Speaker 2: this speculation and concern about Russian meddling in their politics.

181
00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:53,120
Speaker 2: And then following on the heels of that was the

182
00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:58,400
Speaker 2: Top Court in an unappealable decision using those intelligence reports

183
00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,840
Speaker 2: as the basis for annulling the presidential election results. So

184
00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:09,439
Speaker 2: there you go, all right, Sager, be much anticipated anti

185
00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,679
Speaker 2: online sports gambling monologue. Let's have it.

186
00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:14,640
Speaker 1: I want you to close your eyes and think back

187
00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:16,880
Speaker 1: to the year twenty eighteen. Some ways feels like a

188
00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,440
Speaker 1: long way away, but objectively it wasn't. It was six

189
00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,440
Speaker 1: short years. And yet in those six short years, one

190
00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,680
Speaker 1: of the most sweeping social revolutions in the United States

191
00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,320
Speaker 1: has happened beneath our feet, and we are only just

192
00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:31,720
Speaker 1: starting to grapple with it. That is, the mass legalization

193
00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,960
Speaker 1: and normalization of online sports gambling. The mass legalization and

194
00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,480
Speaker 1: normalization of sports gambling has the potential to rival the

195
00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,000
Speaker 1: opioid epidemic in the United States its destruction of the

196
00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:46,679
Speaker 1: American family unit, and yet today almost all lawmakers are

197
00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,560
Speaker 1: lockstep in their support of it. The roots of online

198
00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,560
Speaker 1: sports gambling boom in the United States trace back to

199
00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:56,440
Speaker 1: a twenty eighteen Supreme Court decision after a petition was

200
00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,240
Speaker 1: filed by the State of New Jersey challenging something known

201
00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:04,000
Speaker 1: as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, or PASPA. PASPA,

202
00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,840
Speaker 1: passed in nineteen ninety two, effectively restricted all legal sports

203
00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,800
Speaker 1: gambling action to the state of Nevada, and now this

204
00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,400
Speaker 1: is stuck in New Jersey's cross. In two thousand and nine,

205
00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,440
Speaker 1: especially after the Great Recession, they needed a way to

206
00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,560
Speaker 1: bail out Atlantic City casinos, so on their behalf, they

207
00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:21,719
Speaker 1: brought the suit against the law, where it would be

208
00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,560
Speaker 1: eventually resolved in their favor in twenty eighteen. Now, in

209
00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,439
Speaker 1: the nine years where New Jersey brought the suit against PASPA,

210
00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:32,040
Speaker 1: something important also happened, the absolute explosion of something called

211
00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:36,319
Speaker 1: daily fantasy sports. Daily fantasy sports was effectively a loophole

212
00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,520
Speaker 1: allowing people to place wagers on fantasy sports leagues in

213
00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,480
Speaker 1: daily payouts, something that many Americans were already doing in

214
00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,160
Speaker 1: their spare time. It aligned perfectly with the rise of

215
00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,880
Speaker 1: the smartphone. Companies like DraftKings and FanDuel began their entry

216
00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,280
Speaker 1: into the market under this guise. So it was at

217
00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:53,680
Speaker 1: this time where the roots of the epidemic were laid.

218
00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,200
Speaker 1: Wagers were already being placed in mass by millions of Americans,

219
00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:59,880
Speaker 1: and the normalization of gambling on the phone was planned.

220
00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:04,160
Speaker 1: Perhaps most importantly, though, these companies began to hone their strategies,

221
00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,960
Speaker 1: which include insane levels of marketing focused on a one

222
00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,880
Speaker 1: specific message, it's a game of skill and you can

223
00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:14,360
Speaker 1: hit it big. Now, in a sense they are correct,

224
00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:16,440
Speaker 1: but there's a lot more subtexts removed, which I will

225
00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:20,320
Speaker 1: return to later. Suffice to say this, they were already tanned, rested,

226
00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,640
Speaker 1: and ready for the Supreme Court decision which opened the floodgates.

227
00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:27,439
Speaker 1: On May fourteenth, twenty eighteen, the Supreme Court struck down PASPA.

228
00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,360
Speaker 1: Within a month, the state of Delaware began accepting single

229
00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:33,400
Speaker 1: game wagers, which would be seen as tamed today. By

230
00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,960
Speaker 1: the end of the month, seven states had legalized sports gambling,

231
00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:40,320
Speaker 1: and by today, as I speak, thirty nine states, including

232
00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,040
Speaker 1: the District of Columbia, have now ha it legalized. Now,

233
00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:45,840
Speaker 1: it's important to note when I say legalized, it doesn't

234
00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:47,720
Speaker 1: mean that it's a free for all. What it really

235
00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:51,040
Speaker 1: means is that a few mega companies like DraftKings, FanDuel,

236
00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,040
Speaker 1: Prize Picks, and others have effectively rolled up the legal

237
00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:57,520
Speaker 1: sports betting market by getting separate states to grant them

238
00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:01,320
Speaker 1: preferential licenses to run action in their state. This is

239
00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:05,360
Speaker 1: important because the quasi monopolistic way that sports gambling runs

240
00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:07,640
Speaker 1: on a state by state basis means that it is

241
00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,719
Speaker 1: not a fair marketplace. And two, it means that their

242
00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:16,000
Speaker 1: excesses and sins are multiplied to absolutely stupendous profit and

243
00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,320
Speaker 1: fundamentally are altering the way that American sports leagues will

244
00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:22,240
Speaker 1: operate for decades to come. So let's take some time

245
00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:24,680
Speaker 1: to ruminate on gambling itself and the attitudes of the

246
00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,360
Speaker 1: United States towards it over the years. It's fair to

247
00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:31,079
Speaker 1: say the US has undergone an extraordinary transition from effectively

248
00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,920
Speaker 1: a nation of prudish Christians to much more secular libertarians

249
00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:37,240
Speaker 1: in the span of just a few decades. This is

250
00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,400
Speaker 1: evident in current social attitudes, from everything on abortion, gay marriage,

251
00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,200
Speaker 1: to marijuana and now sports gambling. Gambling itself was traditionally

252
00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,920
Speaker 1: viewed as a sinful, backwards activity that was actually discouraged

253
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:51,600
Speaker 1: by the state for centuries. Now, the compromise that we

254
00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:54,080
Speaker 1: got to was one that I actually think is quite simpsensible.

255
00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:56,679
Speaker 1: People will always gamble. Let's not make it too easy.

256
00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:57,880
Speaker 1: You can do it, but you have to go to

257
00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:00,480
Speaker 1: a physical casino. There are governing bodies like the Nevada

258
00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:03,240
Speaker 1: Gaming Commission which make sure that these games are run fairly,

259
00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:05,840
Speaker 1: and in general, that attitude was to confine it to

260
00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:09,240
Speaker 1: as small places as possible that are accessible who are committed,

261
00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:11,120
Speaker 1: but who did not want to make it part of

262
00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,199
Speaker 1: everyday life. Quite sensible, in my opinion, should be applied

263
00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:16,800
Speaker 1: to all vices. We understand they exist, but it shouldn't

264
00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:19,240
Speaker 1: be too easy to indulge, from cigarettes to alcohol. And

265
00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:21,720
Speaker 1: this has been a attitude in America now for decades.

266
00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:23,840
Speaker 1: But then everything changed and now all of a sudden,

267
00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,680
Speaker 1: sports gambling is not just legal, but it's available everywhere,

268
00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:28,560
Speaker 1: at the click of a button on your smartphone that's

269
00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:31,560
Speaker 1: always in your pocket, two hundreds of millions of Americans,

270
00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,760
Speaker 1: and the results are in. They're astonishing. Since twenty eighteen,

271
00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,800
Speaker 1: US customers have placed approximately half a trillion dollars in

272
00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:41,880
Speaker 1: bets at legal sports books and climbing, turning a nation

273
00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,920
Speaker 1: that had rare access to sports gambling into the largest

274
00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,960
Speaker 1: gambling marketplace on Earth. This has transformed the finances of

275
00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,400
Speaker 1: every Americans in a way that has not happened in generations.

276
00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,920
Speaker 1: My friend Charles Lehman summed up three separate large scale studies.

277
00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,840
Speaker 1: The top line findings are this, for every one dollar

278
00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,560
Speaker 1: waged on sports bet, household savings is depleted by two dollars.

279
00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,240
Speaker 1: Legalized online gambling has increased the risk of household bankruptcy

280
00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:08,800
Speaker 1: in a state by twenty five to thirty percent and

281
00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,440
Speaker 1: worst of all, legalized sports gambling has massively increased the

282
00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:17,400
Speaker 1: rates of domestic violence, specifically against spouses of those who lose. Unsurprisingly,

283
00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,080
Speaker 1: all of these effects are felt by the most economically

284
00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,160
Speaker 1: precarious households, and the financial effects are concentrated amongst young men.

285
00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:26,600
Speaker 1: Fair to say, it's been a disaster. So let's go

286
00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:28,960
Speaker 1: through the arguments for why, even though all of this

287
00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:33,680
Speaker 1: is really bad, we should overlook it. First is philosophical argument.

288
00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:35,920
Speaker 1: This is what living in a free society looks like.

289
00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:38,520
Speaker 1: That's just because some people can't control themselves, we shouldn't

290
00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:41,000
Speaker 1: ruin the fund for everyone. I understand that argument, I

291
00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:43,080
Speaker 1: agree with it partially, but I would say this the

292
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:45,960
Speaker 1: US is recognized always that we can respect freedom of

293
00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:48,920
Speaker 1: choice while also recognizing them when something is bad and

294
00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,360
Speaker 1: trying to reduce said behavior for the societal benefit of

295
00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,200
Speaker 1: all citizens. We should We have arrived at this with

296
00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:57,200
Speaker 1: a sensible attitude. For example, towards cigarettes, we know civiretes

297
00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,320
Speaker 1: are bad, so we tax them, we restrict their place

298
00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,760
Speaker 1: of sale, don't allow cigarette companies to advertise on television.

299
00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,760
Speaker 1: We have developed good social norms around not wanting people

300
00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,680
Speaker 1: to smoke. Nonetheless, something like twenty percent of Americans still smoke,

301
00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:11,840
Speaker 1: but it's down from a record of like forty or

302
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,200
Speaker 1: fifty percent decades ago, and new uptake in smoking continues

303
00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:19,760
Speaker 1: to reduce. Now. Compare cigarettes to online gambling. Draftkinks, FanDuel

304
00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,320
Speaker 1: bet MGM prize picks are allowed to flood the airwaves

305
00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,600
Speaker 1: with a single message. All you have to do is

306
00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,480
Speaker 1: use your skill and your genius and you can become

307
00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:30,680
Speaker 1: a winner. I will explain soon how this is a

308
00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:32,840
Speaker 1: complete lie. But second is this and what I want

309
00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:37,040
Speaker 1: people to understand. It is impossible for these companies to

310
00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,200
Speaker 1: run a fair operation that does not rely on exploiting

311
00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,080
Speaker 1: gambling addicts and to still make a profit. A new

312
00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,720
Speaker 1: study by the Southern Methodist University tracks seven hundred thousand

313
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,080
Speaker 1: online sports betters for five years. They found less than

314
00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,080
Speaker 1: five percent of users ever with grardy profit. The remainder

315
00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:56,800
Speaker 1: of the users either broke even or lost money covering

316
00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:00,080
Speaker 1: the winnings of those five But worst is this three

317
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,400
Speaker 1: percent of all betters who lost the most accounted for

318
00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:07,120
Speaker 1: fifty percent total revenue of these online sports betting companies.

319
00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:09,879
Speaker 1: In other words, less than five percent of people actually

320
00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:13,280
Speaker 1: realize any profit. The rest were losers, and the big

321
00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:15,679
Speaker 1: losers lost so much they made up fifty percent of

322
00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,520
Speaker 1: total revenue. Now couple this with the dirty secret of

323
00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:21,280
Speaker 1: online sports betting. If you are one of the less

324
00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:24,080
Speaker 1: than five percent who win, you're lucky if you're allowed

325
00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:26,760
Speaker 1: to gamble for even a few months on these apps.

326
00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:30,640
Speaker 1: Once you start to win consistently, these gambling companies are

327
00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:34,520
Speaker 1: fully within their rights to limit your bet size to

328
00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,840
Speaker 1: amounts to less than ten or even one dollar, meaning

329
00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,400
Speaker 1: that if you're any good, they are allowed to restrict

330
00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,479
Speaker 1: your action and their potential exposure. So this is an

331
00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,840
Speaker 1: outrageously good business, isn't it. You can promise people they

332
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,880
Speaker 1: can get rich. If they actually do, you cut them off.

333
00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:54,440
Speaker 1: Then you employ all company resources towards extracting as much

334
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,840
Speaker 1: as humanly possible from gambling addicts to make up fifty

335
00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,800
Speaker 1: percent of your revenue. In other words, if these gambling

336
00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:03,919
Speaker 1: companies were forced to allow fair play and then follow

337
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:08,160
Speaker 1: their own guidelines around restricting addicts, something they are legally

338
00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,040
Speaker 1: required to do, they would go bankrupt and this entire

339
00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:13,720
Speaker 1: farce would fall apart. Take the story of a New

340
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:17,639
Speaker 1: Jersey man knowing known to us as Mdalo nineteen ninety

341
00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:21,280
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty, this man never placed a betness life.

342
00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,680
Speaker 1: By twenty twenty four, he had lost approximately one million

343
00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,640
Speaker 1: dollars despite making an income of one hundred and seventy

344
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,400
Speaker 1: five thousand dollars per year. He drained his wife's investments,

345
00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:32,760
Speaker 1: He maxed out their credit cards, He drained his young

346
00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,480
Speaker 1: children's savings accounts, and sold the gifts that they were

347
00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:38,840
Speaker 1: given for Cress's Christmas and their baptisms. Now that's really

348
00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,199
Speaker 1: easy to say, Yeah, it's his fault, screw him. But

349
00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:45,119
Speaker 1: according to his wife's lawsuit, this user was contacted on

350
00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,960
Speaker 1: a daily basis by draft gigs VIP hosts. They facilitated

351
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:53,159
Speaker 1: his access to gambling products despite knowing it was impossible

352
00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,159
Speaker 1: for him to be able to support the amount of

353
00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:57,359
Speaker 1: money that he was placing on wagers with his W

354
00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:00,359
Speaker 1: two income. Their own policies, as dictated by the state,

355
00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,880
Speaker 1: require them to have gamblers placing large sums prove their

356
00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,040
Speaker 1: ability to furnish funds by providing them a W two

357
00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:09,800
Speaker 1: statement or bank statements. According to his wife quote, they

358
00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:13,520
Speaker 1: knew he would not be able to continue to gamble

359
00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:17,120
Speaker 1: large sums of money if they required verification, and they

360
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,360
Speaker 1: also knew the source of the money was quote illegitimate.

361
00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,840
Speaker 1: A modest amount of due diligence required by their own

362
00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,520
Speaker 1: policies would have shown he did not have the ability

363
00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:29,880
Speaker 1: to wager literally four times his literal W two salary.

364
00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:34,040
Speaker 1: Throughout this entire time, again on a daily basis, DraftKings

365
00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:38,160
Speaker 1: threw so called free promotions at him, whiskey glasses, VIP

366
00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:40,720
Speaker 1: tickets and more. Now they do not do this out

367
00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:42,800
Speaker 1: of the goodness of their heart. As I said earlier,

368
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,600
Speaker 1: people like this man constitute only three percent of gamblers,

369
00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,800
Speaker 1: but make up fifty percent of revenue. In fact, some

370
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,879
Speaker 1: people have caught on a new number of pro sports

371
00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,840
Speaker 1: betters are mimicking the behavior of people like Imdalo nineteen ninety.

372
00:19:57,040 --> 00:19:58,960
Speaker 1: They log into their accounts in the middle of the

373
00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:01,520
Speaker 1: night to make it seem like they cannot sleep without

374
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,959
Speaker 1: checking their bets. Why because it flags to the algorithm

375
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,120
Speaker 1: that they are gambling addicts. It means that the company

376
00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,359
Speaker 1: is more likely to shower you with so called free

377
00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:15,080
Speaker 1: promotional money and to continue your addiction chain. This is

378
00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:19,840
Speaker 1: fundamentally different than alcohol or cigarette companies. Cigarette companies are

379
00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:24,280
Speaker 1: not allowed to advertise period, let alone literally sponsor major

380
00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,680
Speaker 1: sporting events. Furthermore, cigarette companies are not allowed to identify

381
00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,359
Speaker 1: their so called super smokers and shower them in free

382
00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,960
Speaker 1: and addictive cigarettes to encourage their addiction, same with alcohol

383
00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:39,359
Speaker 1: companies or any other vice. In this case, the statistics

384
00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,000
Speaker 1: show us that the profit margins and the very business

385
00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,959
Speaker 1: model of these companies rely on so called problem gamblers

386
00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,040
Speaker 1: to prop up the revenue of the entire company. And

387
00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,240
Speaker 1: now let me teck it take it even a step further,

388
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:54,920
Speaker 1: because now imagine if cigarette companies had a super addictive

389
00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,359
Speaker 1: special cigarette and that cigarette was the one that they

390
00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:01,959
Speaker 1: are marketing the most, pushing and making the most money on.

391
00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:05,080
Speaker 1: That is the case of online sportsbooks who are pushing

392
00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:08,000
Speaker 1: a particular type of bet called a parlay bet. Most

393
00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:10,280
Speaker 1: of you probably know what it is, but it's simple.

394
00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:13,400
Speaker 1: A parlay bet is a contingent bet where several discrete

395
00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:15,960
Speaker 1: events have to happen for you to win. Parlay bets

396
00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,119
Speaker 1: unsurprisingly have the biggest payouts and on surprisingly they have

397
00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:22,520
Speaker 1: the biggest loss rate for gamblers. Why because they're unlikely,

398
00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,040
Speaker 1: and yet this exact bet, the parlay bet, is the

399
00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:28,959
Speaker 1: one and most pushed, most marketed, and most used by

400
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,680
Speaker 1: online sports betters. The largest online sportsbook in the United States,

401
00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,080
Speaker 1: FanDuel has amassed forty six percent market share in the

402
00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:41,240
Speaker 1: United States, specifically by marketing massively profitable single game parlay bets,

403
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:45,119
Speaker 1: which are gigantically profitable for the company. We don't have

404
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,840
Speaker 1: exact data, we do know this from the state of Illinois.

405
00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:51,400
Speaker 1: Sixty percent of all wagers in the state wagered online

406
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,359
Speaker 1: are parlay bets. We also know that the online sportsbook

407
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:58,040
Speaker 1: know that they will win with such regularity they build

408
00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,359
Speaker 1: it into their profit forecast before for the customers even

409
00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:05,400
Speaker 1: officially lose, and they remain the single most profitable bet

410
00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,600
Speaker 1: to the company. So again, bringing it back to a

411
00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:11,480
Speaker 1: cigarette comparison, you target the most addicted and you sell

412
00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,560
Speaker 1: them the worst thing for them. The system is built

413
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,119
Speaker 1: on a simple premise band winners milk losers for all

414
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,240
Speaker 1: their worth. All of you who are placing small wagers

415
00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,920
Speaker 1: for fun is great, But the thing is it's only

416
00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:29,280
Speaker 1: enabled by crippling addicts. Already, Gambler's Anonymous is reporting massive

417
00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,240
Speaker 1: spikes in the number of young betters calling their hotline

418
00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,679
Speaker 1: coming to their meetings. Some children as young as fourteen

419
00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:38,320
Speaker 1: have found their ways to bet their parents' phones are

420
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,760
Speaker 1: full atticts. This will only continue, which brings me back

421
00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,040
Speaker 1: to the comparison I made at the top. It took

422
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,679
Speaker 1: nearly a decade to reckon with Purdue Pharma and the

423
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:52,960
Speaker 1: OxyContin crisis. It created an entire generation of previously not

424
00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,480
Speaker 1: known heroin addicts, but the signs a few years were

425
00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,760
Speaker 1: all there. And now we've unleased in addiction with one

426
00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,640
Speaker 1: of these the highest rates of people taking their own

427
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:06,840
Speaker 1: lives and made it easily accessible to hundreds of millions

428
00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:10,359
Speaker 1: of Americans. If anything, this trend is accelerating. Literally, just

429
00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,000
Speaker 1: a few days ago, the state of Missouri legalized sports gambling,

430
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,360
Speaker 1: now the fortieth state to do so. And so when

431
00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:17,199
Speaker 1: people come back to this in a decade and we

432
00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,719
Speaker 1: have millions of gambling addicts, high rates of domestic violence, alcoholism,

433
00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:22,440
Speaker 1: and we need to figure out what to do, let

434
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,119
Speaker 1: me offer this modest proposal. The solution is staring us

435
00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:27,280
Speaker 1: all on the face more of what we used to do.

436
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,960
Speaker 1: Paspa was correct about one thing. It is not fair

437
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,280
Speaker 1: that Nevada is the only monopoly on sports gambling. So

438
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,600
Speaker 1: instead adapta model what the UK used to have. Sports

439
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,720
Speaker 1: betting is legal and available in person at parlors which

440
00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,760
Speaker 1: are widely accessible. People can access it, but it requires

441
00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:45,280
Speaker 1: physically having to go to a location with cash. This

442
00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:48,680
Speaker 1: introduces the same level of friction that all other vices

443
00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:52,639
Speaker 1: are governed by in the US. Second, betting organizations must

444
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,800
Speaker 1: be subject to fairness rules. If they advertise anyone can win,

445
00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:00,040
Speaker 1: then everyone must be allowed to win they can. It

446
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,160
Speaker 1: cannot be allowed to limit sharp sports betters and must

447
00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:07,359
Speaker 1: have a truly free marketplace. Three, we must have heavy

448
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:12,000
Speaker 1: oversight on the ongoing fusion between professional sports and gambling companies.

449
00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:14,320
Speaker 1: You can call this nanty state intervention if you want,

450
00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:17,480
Speaker 1: but here's the truth. The NFL, the National Football League itself,

451
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,359
Speaker 1: it only exists because of multiple acts of Congress and

452
00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,120
Speaker 1: preferential treatment from the US government. Sports and the NFL

453
00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:28,480
Speaker 1: are important to the American character. Gambling corruption scandals are

454
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:32,200
Speaker 1: already beginning to question the very integrity of the game itself.

455
00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:37,520
Speaker 1: Leagues have become physically intertwined with multi billion dollar gambling behemits.

456
00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,480
Speaker 1: Is a recipe for corruption and disaster. So I will

457
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:42,440
Speaker 1: end with a warning that I gave many years ago.

458
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:45,600
Speaker 1: Sometimes private industry can be just as much of a

459
00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:48,000
Speaker 1: threat to your freedom as liberty to your freedom and

460
00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:51,040
Speaker 1: liberty as the government itself. And in this case, I

461
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,960
Speaker 1: think it is quite clear the damage gambling companies have

462
00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,680
Speaker 1: wrought and will continue to do to America's families poses

463
00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:01,639
Speaker 1: a direct threat to our country. Clearyde it will only

464
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:03,720
Speaker 1: get worse. But I hope I could help all of

465
00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:05,919
Speaker 1: you at least think about what I believe is going

466
00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,040
Speaker 1: to be a major problem of our time. So what

467
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:09,320
Speaker 1: do you think, Chrys Would I convince you?

468
00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 2: And if you want to hear my reaction to Cyger's monologue,

469
00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:19,640
Speaker 2: become a premium subscriber today at Breakingpoints dot com. Luigi Mangioni,

470
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:23,000
Speaker 2: the alleged killer of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, wanted

471
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,760
Speaker 2: to send a message to the world that much is clear.

472
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:30,000
Speaker 2: Police found bullet casings with the words deny, defend, and depose.

473
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,840
Speaker 2: His backpack was found in Central Park stuffed with monopoly money.

474
00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:36,800
Speaker 2: When police arrested him at a Pennsylvania McDonald's, he was

475
00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,480
Speaker 2: in possession of a manifesto that read, in part quote,

476
00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:42,280
Speaker 2: I do apologize for any strife or trauma, but it

477
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:46,600
Speaker 2: had to be done. These parasites had it coming even

478
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:49,159
Speaker 2: louder than this message, though, was the public response to

479
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:52,720
Speaker 2: the cold blooded, broad daylight murder of a CEO. From

480
00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:56,320
Speaker 2: TikTok to Facebook to the Ben Shapiro Comments Section, Americans

481
00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 2: of all political ideologies and backgrounds came together to express

482
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,440
Speaker 2: their utter incomplete disgusted at a healthcare system that they

483
00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,639
Speaker 2: experience as violent, which treats their lives as just as

484
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,879
Speaker 2: disposable as Mangioni treated Brian Thompson's life. They're discussed by

485
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:13,199
Speaker 2: the way, it's well founded. Here in the US, we

486
00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:16,399
Speaker 2: don't really have a healthcare system. We have a profit

487
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:21,000
Speaker 2: maximizing price gouging system. Your health is at best incidental.

488
00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:24,680
Speaker 2: Among wealthy nations, we spend more per capita than any

489
00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:28,000
Speaker 2: other nation by a long shot, we should have the

490
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:31,040
Speaker 2: best healthcare on the planet and the healthiest population. But

491
00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:34,120
Speaker 2: of course the reality is out of these same wealthy nations,

492
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:38,199
Speaker 2: we also have the lowest life expectancy. The UK is

493
00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:40,920
Speaker 2: the second worst, and their citizens live on average nearly

494
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,560
Speaker 2: half a decade longer than we do. We are having

495
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:49,040
Speaker 2: entire years of our lives stolen from us now. Sometimes

496
00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:51,560
Speaker 2: the problems with having a system built around profit instead

497
00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:54,359
Speaker 2: of around health can feel kind of abstract. But recent

498
00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:58,520
Speaker 2: New York Times investigation into methadone clinics dug deep into

499
00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,199
Speaker 2: the way that these sick inc can play out in

500
00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,360
Speaker 2: the real world. These clinics are a sort of microcosm

501
00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,320
Speaker 2: of the way that profit motive perverts every corner of

502
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 2: our healthcare system. So here is that backstory. Kadia Healthcare

503
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:15,480
Speaker 2: is a large hospital chain started by a former financier

504
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:19,040
Speaker 2: that has aggressively moved into the addiction recovery space in

505
00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:21,959
Speaker 2: recent years, after purchasing a for profit chain of one

506
00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:25,040
Speaker 2: hundred and sixty five methodone clinics from the private equity

507
00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,320
Speaker 2: firm Bane Capital. Between the financia founder and the private

508
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:30,800
Speaker 2: equity connection, I'm sure you already feel really great about

509
00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:34,399
Speaker 2: the care that these chains provide. Now, at these methodone clinics,

510
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,240
Speaker 2: recovering opioid addicts can receive a daily dose of the

511
00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:40,520
Speaker 2: narcotic methodome to help curb their cravings for more damaging

512
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,920
Speaker 2: opioids like heroin and fentanyl. These clinics are, of course,

513
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,560
Speaker 2: heavily regulated by state and federal authorities, but part of

514
00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:50,960
Speaker 2: the times, a Kadia uses all kinds of lies and

515
00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,920
Speaker 2: tricks to skirt the rules and to juice their profits.

516
00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:56,679
Speaker 2: As reported by The Times in their piece Fraud and

517
00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,320
Speaker 2: Fakery At the country's largest chain of methodone clinics, Adias

518
00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:04,600
Speaker 2: Clinics aggressively push quantity over quality. The more patients they

519
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:06,920
Speaker 2: take on and the more cups of methodone they hand out,

520
00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:10,760
Speaker 2: the greater their insurance and federal government reimbursements. Now, I'm

521
00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:13,560
Speaker 2: sure you can imagine the sort of behavior that this drives.

522
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:18,159
Speaker 2: Staff are overloaded, they're underpaid, They have massive caseloads that

523
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,400
Speaker 2: they cannot possibly handle. They take on patients who are

524
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,160
Speaker 2: not even opioid addicts to be able to fill out

525
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,440
Speaker 2: their quotas. They routinely falsify records in order to meet

526
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:30,240
Speaker 2: federal and state guidelines which require that the cup of

527
00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,560
Speaker 2: methadone come with a certain amount of counseling and therapy.

528
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,640
Speaker 2: One staff member, for example, bragged that if they even

529
00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,800
Speaker 2: said hello to a patient, they counted that as one

530
00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:43,160
Speaker 2: of those mandatory therapy sessions. Now, I'll note here an

531
00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:46,600
Speaker 2: Acadian spokesperson denies these allegations, as they operate in compliance

532
00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:50,000
Speaker 2: with all rules and regulations. The Methodone business, though, has

533
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,760
Speaker 2: proven quite profitable for a Kadia, as the federal government

534
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,520
Speaker 2: has gotten more serious about dealing with opioid addiction following

535
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:58,480
Speaker 2: a drug company fueled addiction crisis, a Kadia has seen

536
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,800
Speaker 2: their methodone clinic profits spike thirty percent, adding about three

537
00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:04,800
Speaker 2: million dollars in revenue to the larger hospital chains bottom

538
00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:08,400
Speaker 2: line each and every year. Their green fueled business practices

539
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:11,240
Speaker 2: do not end with treating patients like cash cows instead

540
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:14,000
Speaker 2: of humans. However, according to the Times, they are working

541
00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:16,040
Speaker 2: to get their money grubbing hands on some of the

542
00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:20,400
Speaker 2: settlement money secured by states and counties nationwide from those

543
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,680
Speaker 2: big pharma companies like Purdue pharmaceutical which helped to create

544
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:26,800
Speaker 2: the opioid crisis in the first place. In other words,

545
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:30,760
Speaker 2: Acadia is both profiting handsomely off of this epidemic by

546
00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:34,760
Speaker 2: providing substandard treatment and also trying to bilk the very

547
00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,360
Speaker 2: money that is meant to go to the victims of

548
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,680
Speaker 2: this epidemic. It is truly sick. This may seem like

549
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:42,920
Speaker 2: a long shot, but the effort is already bearing fruit,

550
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,920
Speaker 2: according to the Times quote. This year, for example, the

551
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:50,080
Speaker 2: company successfully lobbied the Kansas legislature to allow for profit

552
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,960
Speaker 2: companies to receive grants from that settlement money. Christopher Hunter,

553
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:57,680
Speaker 2: Acadian's Acadia's chief executive has told investors that the settlement

554
00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,840
Speaker 2: funds will be quote a really nice tailwind for the company.

555
00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:05,120
Speaker 2: G can't imagine why people despise these companies and the

556
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:08,120
Speaker 2: people that run them. In addition, they have been busy

557
00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:10,000
Speaker 2: working the halls of Congress to avoid what would be

558
00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,240
Speaker 2: a deadly threat to their business model, allowing people to

559
00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:16,280
Speaker 2: avoid methodone clinics altogether and receive their dose from the

560
00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:20,520
Speaker 2: pharmacy like other medications. Ironically, Katie has been arguing that

561
00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:22,920
Speaker 2: this bill should be blocked because of how critical it

562
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,600
Speaker 2: is to combine methodone with their quote individualized care and

563
00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:30,400
Speaker 2: quote gold standard suite of services. You know, the very

564
00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:32,720
Speaker 2: services that The New York Times found this company was

565
00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:37,320
Speaker 2: often not actually providing and routinely lying about so. At

566
00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:40,160
Speaker 2: the nation's largest methodone chain, humans are treated like cattle.

567
00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:42,840
Speaker 2: They are denied therapy that could help them with the recovery.

568
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:46,400
Speaker 2: Staffers are overworked and put under intense sales like pressure

569
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:50,120
Speaker 2: to deliver numbers. Records are outright falsified and faked in

570
00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,200
Speaker 2: what can only be described as mass fraud. And this

571
00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:57,680
Speaker 2: is just one little corner of our profit. First healthcare system.

572
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:01,040
Speaker 2: It doesn't serve the patients or society. It serves only

573
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:03,840
Speaker 2: the corporate executives and shareholders who are at the top

574
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,040
Speaker 2: of that chain. Now, if you want to see how

575
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,280
Speaker 2: this plays out in other corners of the healthcare system,

576
00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,000
Speaker 2: you could start by taking a look at the separate

577
00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,160
Speaker 2: investigation from these same New York Times journalists into Akadia

578
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:18,400
Speaker 2: psychiatric hospitals. In that expos a, you'll learn how they

579
00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,040
Speaker 2: literally trap patients against their will and against the law

580
00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:25,320
Speaker 2: so that they can maximize insurance pants And if that

581
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,480
Speaker 2: isn't dark enough for you, Akadia employees have been accused

582
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:32,320
Speaker 2: by dozens of patients of assault and neglect. A Utah

583
00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:37,000
Speaker 2: A Kadia hospital was closed after state regulators investigated dozens

584
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:41,080
Speaker 2: of charges of assault and rape. Tennessee regulators found that

585
00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:43,480
Speaker 2: A Kadia had lied in their medical charts, claiming they

586
00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:47,000
Speaker 2: checked on a patient every fifteen minutes. In reality, that

587
00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:51,280
Speaker 2: patient wasn't found dead for hours had already entered a

588
00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,480
Speaker 2: state of rigor mortis. Now, perhaps not all actors in

589
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,160
Speaker 2: our healthcare system are as negligent, abusive, and fraudulent as

590
00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:01,360
Speaker 2: A Kadia is accused of being. However, of abusing patients

591
00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:04,080
Speaker 2: for profit is in fact exactly what you should expect

592
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,000
Speaker 2: from the system that we have set up. Every greedy

593
00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:10,360
Speaker 2: middleman google in the system getting their cut and patients

594
00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:13,360
Speaker 2: getting sick and stuck with the bill. New poll from

595
00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:17,040
Speaker 2: Gallop shows that even before the CEO was slain, Americans

596
00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,640
Speaker 2: were absolutely clamoring for a radical departure from the healthcare

597
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:24,400
Speaker 2: status quo. Gallup finds a new post Obamacare high in

598
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:29,080
Speaker 2: support for the federal government guaranteeing a right to healthcare coverage.

599
00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,280
Speaker 2: Only thirty two percent of the country disagrees. And yet,

600
00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,560
Speaker 2: because there is so much money being made, so much

601
00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,400
Speaker 2: cash flowing from those profits into the campaign coffers of

602
00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:42,400
Speaker 2: DC politicians, health care reform has been all but abandoned

603
00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:46,240
Speaker 2: as a national issue. We went from Bernie pushing medicare

604
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:49,720
Speaker 2: for all, to Biden briefly pretending to fight for a

605
00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:53,040
Speaker 2: public option, to Kamala crowing about dropping prices for a

606
00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:56,520
Speaker 2: handful of drugs with savings only going to Medicare recipients.

607
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:59,640
Speaker 2: That's how far we've fallen, and how quickly. If Democrats

608
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:03,480
Speaker 2: are actual serious about getting back into power and truly

609
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,239
Speaker 2: delivering for the nation, they will heed the message that

610
00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:09,240
Speaker 2: was sent laden clear this week and fight to cut

611
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:13,040
Speaker 2: these parasites off once and for all. By making our

612
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:18,000
Speaker 2: country more humane, they will save lives, including potentially the

613
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:21,720
Speaker 2: lives of the CEO War two and saber Kind.

614
00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:24,840
Speaker 1: And if you want to hear my reaction to Crystal's monologue,

615
00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:28,320
Speaker 1: become a premium subscriber today at breakingpoints dot com. Thank

616
00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:30,280
Speaker 1: you guys so much for watching. We appreciate you. Great

617
00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:32,240
Speaker 1: Counterpoints show for everyone tomorrow and we'll see you the