Over/Under: An Unexpected History of Sports Betting

by David Bockino

Named one of the most anticipated nonfiction books of 2026 by The New York Times Book Review

The definitive, colorful history of American sports betting that challenges the dialogue around one of our country’s fastest growing (and most controversial) industries.

For close to two hundred years, sports gambling in the United States has been a discreet affair. Placing a bet meant a weekend in Vegas or being introduced to somebody’s guy or giving your credit card to a shady website. Then one day in 2018, nine Americans in black robes had a discussion and took a vote. And before you knew it sports gambling was legal—and it was everywhere.

So what happens now? In Over/Under, David Bockino sets out to answer that question by borrowing a lesson from the pros. Equipped with decades of historical sports data, the world’s most successful bettors use what has happened in past contests to predict what might happen.

When Bockino applies that approach to the sports gambling industry itself, he uncovers a fascinating and unexpected betting is not a result of the multi-billion-dollar American sports landscape, but rather is a primary reason for it. Gambling has been there from the very beginning, an essential catalyst for nearly two hundred years of sports obsession and fandom.

Over/Under takes readers on a rollicking journey through the history of American sports betting. It starts in mid-nineteenth century New York City, as a new sport lured bettors out of shadowy gambling halls and into the fresh air. The story then heads to Churchill Downs and Augusta National Golf Club where sports gambling dresses up in fancy outfits, to Chicago and Minneapolis where sports gambling makes people do dishonest things, and to Las Vegas and the Caribbean where sports gambling makes some people very rich.

And through it all, the narrative rolls out a cast of colorful hustlers, wise guys, moguls, opportunists, grifters, speculators, touts, who are all trying to make a quick buck. Written for those eager to learn more about a recently-legalized industry—one that’s been described both as a financial bonanza and an impending disaster—Over/Under is poised to become the definitive book of a controversial industry in the midst of incredible yet uncertain growth.

Genres: Sports, History, Nonfiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 2, 2026

About the author

I'm a professor in the School of Communications at Elon University where I teach classes in sport management, communications, and media analytics. When I’m not in the classroom, I like to ride bikes, go up mountains, and play in the woods with my family. I was born and raised in New York and live in Durham, North Carolina with my wife and three children.

Reviews

[Victoria]

probably the most important take away from this is that gambling platforms today are trying to RE-insert sports betting into the day-to-day experience of a sports fan, not force the habit on the public for the very first time

[Ed Schmauder]

The history of sports gambling

[Matthew Fitch]

I'm no intellectual but if I like a book I can't put it down. This one I struggled to pick up and it's a subject I adore.....Oh well, I could have took the $ and put it on a World Cup parlay........

[Mike Cheng]

Professor and former ESPN associate David Bockino presents a lighthearted exposition about the history of sportsbetting, presented as a prelude to its widespread legalization in the United States. A central thesis of the book is paraphrased by MLB historian John Thorne: Gambling, statistics, and publicity are necessary ingredients for the growth of a sport. As such and according to Mr. Bockino, the rise of the country’s most popular sports (football, baseball, basketball, golf, horseracing, etc.) did so in symbiosis with the various betting mediums that developed over time, including the parimutuel betting, the point spread, and parlays - culminating with the organization of bookmaking and establishment of the Las Vegas sportsbooks. An extreme example is the contention that the excitement of gambling on March Madness in its early inception is what saved the NCAA because at the time college basketball kept the entire organization afloat. The book also spends a good amount of space discussing the role of organized crime, including the infamous Chicago Black Sox Scandal of 1919. Mr. Bockino ends with the evolution from fantasy sports to the rise of FanDuel and DraftKings, whose early presence allowed them to be relatively first to market in terms of legalized online sportsbetting. (The book was published in June of 2026, but not soon enough to discuss the rise of the online prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket.) Although Mr. Bockino himself does not take a stance on the ethics of gambling, the following statement about why Americans enjoy such may be apt: Risk is part of the pioneer spirit.

[Darnell]

Normally a nonfiction book with an average rating this low has something wrong with it, like academic malfeasance or flagrant deception. In this case, it seems like an entirely reasonable work of light nonfiction just hit the wrong audience. As someone who doesn't think either subject is inherently interesting, I found it engaging all the way through and I don't see any substantial criticisms.

That said, it barely nods to the ethical questions, as the author is mostly interested in the history of gambling. I think the book would be better if it didn't really address the arguments about it, because the treatment is so cursory. The way it tries to set up a "Is this good or bad? Maybe time will tell." tone is ridiculous when he doesn't even mention skyrocketing bankruptcy rates.

[Jake]

Frequently fascinating, occasionally terrifying. Really illuminating on gambling's foundational support in the rise of sports and sport culture at large. This is rectified by the sheer amount of sleaze you'll encounter in each new character introduced.

Probably essential that it doesn't (necessarily) function as an outright condemnation, but the acknowledgements nevertheless end with the author advising his kids never to bet on parlays. You have to laugh.

[Ella Bishop]

Very well researched with some incredible anecdotes (including that someone tried to dynamite James Norris of the NHL’s Norris trophy?????), but I was left a bit hollow by the lack of contention with how the lived experience of gambling for both gamblers and athletes has changed over this time. The atlantic’s my year as a degenerate gambler would still be my first suggestion for someone who wants to read about this subject.

[Phillip Fiore]

As a sports gambler myself, I enjoyed this look under the hood. I was most surprised at how prevalent sports gambling was then was made to not be and now is again. It should be no surprise how big DraftKings and FanDuel (and kalshi and Polymarket) are given the history that’s painted here. There might be some liberties of just how much gambling influenced growth of sports but who am I to say that. Overall entertaining read for anyone interested in the subject.

[Julie Ambrose]

Fast moving with lots of twists! I didn’t think I had much interest in the topic yet loved reading it. This book will interest sports and betting fans, but also fiction/novel readers and historians. Great read!

[Stefan Persson]

what the heck was this...it was certainly not about gambling....unreal what a massive pile of garbage

[Paul Romanelli]

Awesome book! Entertaining and super interesting stories....paints a picture of a world that is right with us all the time but we don't always see it!

[Jeff Vande]

Entertaining. Feels sort of like journalism, but considering the topic, I feel like I really don’t know how much is true?

[Randy Williams]

Really enjoyed the first two-thirds. Felt slow and too specific in the last one-third.

[Samantha]

Surprisingly less surprising than I anticipated