“The Slot Machine of Professional Sports” This is Something to Think About 02.18.26

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Bill Bunkley’s “This Is Something to Think About”

Air Date Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Since the US Supreme Court cleared the way for additional sports gambling, $150 billion was wagered in 2024.

Today, you can gamble on everything imaginable during a sports event. The Seminole Tribe has exclusive Florida rights to sports gambling via the Hard Rock Bet platform.

But what the sports regulating bodies don’t want to talk about is the fallout of the pandemic problems of gambling, especially among young, even underage kids, financial ruin, and suicide.

Harry Levant is a sports addict-turned-therapist who recently spoke the truth about a growing national problem: Sports betting is a “non-stop slot machine.”

Gambling addiction is no different than heroin, opioids, tobacco, alcohol, and cocaine addictions.

Sports gambling is out of control.

Bill Bunkley is a 20-year veteran Salem Media talk show host based in Tampa. The Bill Bunkley Show airs on weekdays from 3 to 5 pm across central Florida. Bill is also President of the Florida Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the legislative consultant to the Florida Baptist State Convention (Southern Baptist Convention Churches), among other churches and entities. He has served as the legislative consultant to the Florida Baptist State Convention for the last 30 years at the state capitol in Tallahassee. By the Grace of his Lord Jesus, he is a cancer survivor diagnosed in 2018 with AML Leukemia, having successfully undergone a bone marrow transplant that same year. In 2025, he underwent successful open-heart surgery to repair a heart valve. His wife is Toni, his son is Zac, and he attends Idlewild Baptist Church.

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