For most of the last 80 years, sports betting was limited to Las Vegas. But after a 2018 Supreme Court decision loosened regulations on professional sports wagers, it became possible to place bets on games 24/7 — with nothing more than a smartphone and a bank account. 

In 2013, just five years prior to the landmark SCOTUS case, gambling was classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in a new category called “Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders.” This grouped gambling with alcohol use disorder and other addictions. Gambling is also known to have the highest suicide rate of any addiction.

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Over the past few years, a new category of mobile apps has quietly exploded into a multi-billion dollar business. They’re called “micro dramas” — short-form, mobile-first scripted shows designed to be watched vertically on your phone. Think soap opera meets TikTok, complete with secret billionaire romances, disapproving werewolf mothers-in-law, and cliffhangers engineered to keep users tapping. The leading […]

According to Index Ventures Partner Shardul Shah, cybersecurity startup Wiz sits “at the center of three tailwinds: AI, cloud, and security spend.” Those tailwinds powered what just became the largest venture-backed acquisition in history — Google’s $32 billion deal, finalized after a declined 2024 offer, antitrust review on both sides of the Atlantic, and an […]

Peacock is betting on new AI-powered video experiences, vertical clips, and mobile games to help its growth.