Zeros

The House Always Wins (Twice?) : When Crypto Meets Sports Betting Remember when the most complicated part of betting was finding a bookie who looked like he stepped out of a Scorsese film? Well, welcome to 2025, where your friendly neighborhood gambling operation might be hiding behind anime avatars and promising free cryptocurrency. Something's brewing in the digital Wild West, and it's got more twists than a Christopher Nolan movie. The Old School: Why Gambling Was Illegal (And What's a Bookie Anyway?) Before we dive into the crypto rabbit hole, let's rewind. Traditional gambling was largely illegal in most U.S. states for decades because of concerns about organized crime , addiction , and the general chaos that comes with unregulated money changing hands. A "bookmaker" or "bookie" was someone who accepted bets on sporting events, setting odds and collecting money from losers while paying out winners—minus their cut, of course. Think ...