Journalist loses nearly $10,000 in year-long NFL gambling experiment

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Comedian Bill Maher targeted the rise of gambling in America during an episode of ‘Real Time' and said it allowed people to forget that they're in control of their own destinies. A prominent journalist lost nearly $10,000 gifted from his employer as an experiment to cover gambling in America and the pitfalls of the growing sports betting industry. The Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins penned a lengthy feature, "Sucker: My year as a degenerate gambler," in which the suburban dad and practicing Mormon "prohibited from indulging in games of chance" was given $10,000 by the publication to wager during the 2025 NFL season. Since the cash belonged to The Atlantic, it did not interfere with his religious constraints, and the magazine planned to cover his losses and split any winnings with him to ensure his "emotional investment." Coppins, who consulted hi