Betting billions on the Super Bowl

+ being sad can be good for you US Edition - Today's top story: The Super Bowl gets the Vegas treatment, with 1 in 4 American adults expected to gamble on the big game [View in browser]( US Edition | 10 February 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Last year, Americans bet roughly $16 billion on the Super Bowl. This year, it’s estimated to be a whopping $23 billion. University of Iowa sports media scholar Thomas Oates isn’t shocked by this swift growth. Since the Supreme Court overturned a federal ban on sports betting in 2018, nearly 40 states have legalized sports wagering in some capacity. But [the NFL’s complete 180 on gambling]( has come as somewhat of a surprise. “Particularly in its early days, the NFL wanted to avoid the stain of bookies, bets, fixed games and the gambling crises that had befallen other professional sports leagues,” Oates writes. He points out that as recently as 2017, you could hear NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell dismissing gambling as a scourge on the “integrity” of the game. What changed? Much like a gambler salivating over the prospect of hitting the jackpot, the potential from marketing deals and sponsorships from sportsbooks proved too hard for the NFL to resist. This week, we also liked articles about the [benefits of breastfeeding](, the [downsides of liquefied natural gas](, and government support for [predictive policing](. [ [Get a global perspective on the news, with the best of The Conversation’s journalism from around the world, twice weekly.]( ] Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor Billions of dollars are being bet on the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. Ethan Miller/Getty Images [The Super Bowl gets the Vegas treatment, with 1 in 4 American adults expected to gamble on the big game]( Thomas Oates, University of Iowa What makes the NFL’s embrace of gambling so striking is that for most of its history, the league had pushed the government for stricter regulations – not more lenient ones. A bad feeling can trigger behavior that leads to something better. Rawpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus [Anger, sadness, boredom, anxiety – emotions that feel bad can be useful]( Heather Lench, Texas A&M University Lots of people will do a lot to avoid feeling negative emotions. But researchers are figuring out how these unpleasant feelings actually have benefits. Breastfeeding lowers the risk of diabetes as well as breast and ovarian cancers for mothers. Goodboy Picture Company/E+ via Getty Images [Breastfeeding benefits mothers as much as babies, but public health messaging often only tells half of the story]( Tisha Felder, University of South Carolina; Joynelle Jackson, University of South Carolina Some states, especially in the Southeastern US, have large disparities in breastfeeding among racial groups, making clear the need to lower barriers for breastfeeding in the workplace and elsewhere. - [Biden’s ‘hard look’ at liquefied natural gas exports raises a critical question: How does natural gas fit with US climate goals?]( Emily Grubert, University of Notre Dame The US, a minor liquefied natural gas supplier a decade ago, now is the world’s top source. That’s good for energy security, but bad for Earth’s climate. An energy scholar explains the trade-offs. - [DOJ funding pipeline subsidizes questionable big data surveillance technologies]( Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, American University Predictive policing has been a bust. The Department of Justice nurtured the technology from researchers’ minds to corporate production lines and into the hands of police departments. - [Take laughter, add tears − the secret recipe for the most-liked Super Bowl ads]( Niusha Jones, Boise State University; Anne Hamby, Boise State University Researchers examined the emotional content of nearly 300 Super Bowl ads that aired from 2018 to 2022. - [Super Bowl party foods can deliver political bite – choose wisely]( - [George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ is a story of jazz, race and the fraught notion of America’s melting pot]( - [Atlantic Ocean is headed for a tipping point − once melting glaciers shut down the Gulf Stream, we would see extreme climate change within decades, study shows]( - [Americans spend millions of dollars on Valentine’s Day roses. I calculated exactly how much]( - [Amid growing legalization, cannabis in culture and politics is the focus of this anthropology course]( - [Race is already a theme of the 2024 presidential election – continuing an American tradition]( - [Studying lake deposits in Idaho could give scientists insight into ancient traces of life on Mars]( - [Synthetic human embryos let researchers study early development while sidestepping ethical and logistical hurdles]( - [What’s sociology? A sociologist explains why Florida’s college students should get the chance to learn how social forces affect everyone’s lives]( - [It’s the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac − associated with good fortune, wisdom and success]( The Conversation Quiz 🧠- [The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz]( Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation Here’s the first question of [this week’s edition:]( The Lunar New Year is celebrated today. One tradition of the Chinese holiday is the giving of hóngbāo, or red envelopes. 🧧 What's in the envelopes? - A. Money - B. Love notes - C. Fortunes - D. Grocery coupons [Test your knowledge]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our weekly and biweekly emails: • [Weekly Highlights]( • [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( • [Global Perspectives]( • [Global Economy & Business]( Follow us on social media: • [Threads]( • [Bluesky]( • [Mastodon]( • [Post.news]( • [LinkedIn]( • [Instagram]( • [Facebook]( • Or [get a daily text from us]( - - About The Conversation We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. 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