Legendary sportscaster has grim concerns about sports betting that aren't unfounded

Bob Costas hung up the microphone for the final time last year when he retired at the end of the 2024 MLB season. The legendary sportscaster had covered everything from Michael Jordan to the Olympics to the New York Yankees, and it was a career worthy of celebration.

However, his love and passion for sports didn't end when his commentary career ended. Costas still closely follows anything and everything related to football, baseball, basketball, and beyond.

Most recently, he sat down with Kristen Welker, the host of NBC's Meet the Press, and discussed everything from his career to his views on the current state of sports. In a slightly apocalyptic view, he gave a grim outlook for how betting and gambling will change the world he used to be so heavily intertwined with.

"So much of [sports] is for at least some portion of the audience, transactional now," Costas said while discussing sports gambling. "You got a bet on the game, you have a different relationship to how that game plays out than if you're just rooting for your team."

Costas then dove into the world of violations across various leagues, from MLB umpires caught in sports betting schemes to coaches fired for breaking one rule or another. He talked about how even the media side of sports has drifted from what it once was, opting for a screaming match or clickbait instead of quality journalism.

"The relationship between networks and leagues is the only one I can think of where the buyer has to continually flatter the seller," Costas said.

He isn't wrong. The world of sports is so closely tied to the money that comes alongside it... whether that be betting on games, the actual money that athletes and coaches are paid, or simply the various television networks vying for their airtime with the biggest games.

Costas continued by discussing just how unregulated sports betting is, and just how rapidly it can ruin the lives of people who don't learn how to approach it with a healthy balance or understanding.

"We're moving toward nearly all 50 states legalizing gambling at this point," Costas said. "In the big picture, the 'house' always wins. And some people, especially now because it's so easy... It's right there, and some of those people are going to become addicted to it, and it's going to ruin some lives."

Gambling and betting have negatively affected lives for centuries, but it wasn't until the turn of the century that people had quite as easy access to thousands, if not millions, of possible bets to put their money on.

Due to the easy access, as Costas discussed, more people are actually taking part in betting, whether it be on sports or something else. In turn, more people will have their lives affected, negatively or positively, by the said gambling.

Yes, Costas's view on sports betting is grim, and it's a little end-of-world-esque. However, it's impossible to deny that what he is saying could very easily come true, if it hasn't already.