Over/Under: An Unexpected History of Sports Betting is available now and has been named:
One of the most anticipated nonfiction books of the year by The New York Times.
An Editor’s Pick by Amazon.
A “must-read book” by Next Big Idea Club.
One of the books “our editors can’t wait to read this summer” by Cultured Magazine.
One of the “great books for summer” by The Information.
One of the “Season’s Top New Books” by AARP.
“Since 2018, sports betting in the U.S. has gone from a maligned hobby to a booming business. After digging into decades of data, and following fans, speculators and grifters across the country, Bockino makes the case that gambling isn’t just entangled with the history of American sports culture — it’s practically responsible for it.” - New York Times Book Review
“In a matter of years, sports betting escaped the shadows and hit the mainstream. Over/Under doesn’t just chronicle this game-changing shift in American culture, but it also introduces new characters and reveals untold stories that led to the creation of what many experts believe will ultimately become the largest legal sports betting market in the world.” - David Purdum, ESPN gambling writer
Order your copy HERE.
Taking readers on a rollicking journey through the history of American sports betting, Over/Under proposes a fascinating and unexpected theory: What if sports betting isn’t just a result of the multibillion-dollar American sports industry, but rather the primary reason for it? An essential catalyst for nearly two hundred years of sports fandom and obsession?
The narrative starts in mid-nineteenth-century New York City, as a new sport called baseball lures bettors out of shadowy gambling halls and into the fresh air. The story then heads to Churchill Downs and Augusta National Golf Club where sports betting dresses up in fancy outfits, to Chicago and Minneapolis where sports betting meets the Mafia and gets some structure, and to Las Vegas and the Caribbean where sports betting makes some people very rich.
Along the way, the story rolls out a cast of colorful characters: hustlers, wise guys, moguls, opportunists, grifters, touts. A parade of personalities, year after year, all trying to make a quick buck. Because isn’t that the whole point?
Written for those eager to explore the history of a recently-legalized industry—one that’s been described both as a financial bonanza and an impending disaster—Over/Under is poised to become the definitive history of a controversial industry in the midst of incredible, yet uncertain, growth.
To read or hear more about the book, you can read excerpts in Sports Business Journal or Reason magazine or my opinion piece in the Boston Globe. You can also listen to my interviews on The Indicator from Planet Money and Mountain Money.