Jordan Harbinger

A guy at a bar whips out his phone.

He's six beers deep and in the middle of watching his favorite team play.

Not exactly drunk, but definitely not sober.

He decides it's time to put his mortgage payment on an in-play bet, a bet placed after the game has started.

He follows the sport closely.

He knows both teams well.

He even knows the spread.

Plus, it comes with a risk-free bet that if he hits both, it's going to pay his mortgage for the entire year.

So why not?

right?

Well, of course, the bet doesn't hit.

And now five seconds spent on his phone has him wondering how he's going to stay in his house this month.

He's not a habitual loser.

In fact, he wins more than he loses.

But when he loses, he loses big and often finds himself worried about how he's going to make ends meet this month.

And he is not alone.

Since the legalization of sports betting at the federal level, there's been a flood of apps that make it easier than ever to put your hard-earned money on a sure thing.

But is any of this a good thing?

Who's making the money and who's losing it?

And what are the broader social effects?