Back on March 27, The Hill published an opinion piece by Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., a computer science professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The title of the piece, “Will online sports gambling kill America,” seemed … just a bit outside.
Don't get me wrong — I love a good sensational headline. After all, I am the man responsible for “He Took It In The Butt” for The Trentonian newspaper, detailing steroid allegations against Roger Clemens. So I'm good with sensationalism.'But I can tick off about a million other items that might “kill America” before the ability to place a three-team parlay on my iPhone permanently does in the republic.'
Jacobson's piece, which was only slightly less hysterical than the headline, called for a “consortium” of sports betting companies to come together and work in a “unified manner” to lead the charge in pulling back on advertising and helping to prevent problem gambling in an effort to ensure America doesn't become a failed state. Jacobson, however, failed to do a little fact-check of his piece, because there happens to be a “consortium” that is attempting to work in a “unified” manner, and it's called the American Gaming Association.