Gambling ads have become practically inescapable — plastered all over subways, billboards, websites, and TV broadcasts, all in an effort to lure in an audience struggling to make ends meet.
Experts warn of an gambling addiction epidemic, as an alarming proportion of the country admit to having used a sports betting app at least once or placing bets on the outcome of an event on a prediction platform, like Polymarket or Kalshi.
Promotion efforts for the gambling platforms are reaching ridiculous new heights, as Open Measures senior researcher and podcast host Jared Holt found out first hand. A picture he shared on social shows a fortune cookie he’s cracked open — revealing a paper slip advertising Polymarket.
“Yes, we paid for a fortune cookie ad,” Holt’s infuriating “fortune” reads, prompting him to scan a QR code.
