About the Book
A pioneering investigation into the tech-fuelled world of online gambling—its explosive growth, and the transformational impact it is having on sports, fandom, and society.
When the puck drops and the game begins, so too does the relentless bombardment from gambling brands. Stake a bet. Amplify your fandom. Become part of the game.
It has never been easier to place a bet. The smartphone in your pocket unlocks an immersive digital world in which gambling is faceless and frictionless, available 24/7 on almost any aspect of any sport.
Wall-to-wall ads have hijacked every sporting event—from college hockey and basketball to the Super Bowl, the World Cup, and the Olympics. Many feature household names like Auston Matthews, Wayne Gretzky, and Drake, demonstrating just how mainstream sports betting has become.
Since its origins, online sports gambling has evolved into a globe-straddling behemoth, with extraordinary growth over the past decade. Sometimes, it can feel as if the point of sports is to bet.
But how did a new wave of gambling brands hijack sport on a global scale? In this revelatory exposé, Darragh McGee travels the world to tell the incredible story of the digital brands that unleashed this new era of sports gambling on a new generation of fans—and got very rich doing so.
From the tech hubs of London to betting markets in Africa and arenas across Canada, McGee uncovers why sports fans, parents, policymakers, and anyone interested in the intersection of tech and politics should take urgent action to protect against the harm and human misery that gambling leaves behind. Along the way, McGee offers practical solutions for creating a healthier future for sports and society.
About the Author :
DARRAGH MCGEE is an academic based at the University of Bath and an authority on the changing relationship between gambling and sport. He has led a decade of cutting-edge research into the growth of online sports gambling, including its public health impacts on a new generation of young people. His research and writing have appeared in global media outlets, including The Guardian, BBC, Wired, The Globe and Mail, CBC, and Men’s Health. He holds a doctorate from the University of Toronto, where he played varsity soccer.
Review :
Advance Praise for Imitation Games:
“McGee takes readers on a gripping journey through the dark machinery of modern sports betting—from punts and push notifications to data tracking, debt, and addiction, revealing how an industry built on predation has weaponized technology to exploit human vulnerability.”
—Natasha Dow Schüll, author of Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas
“Full of vivid scenes and unmatched research, McGee brings his expertise to the real world.”
—Declan Hill, author of The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime and The Insider’s Guide to Match-Fixing
“This is a brilliant, deeply disturbing book. Carefully researched, engagingly written, it’s part social and economic history of the exponential growth of global sports betting, with closely drawn sketches of the remarkable entrepreneurs who saw the possibilities, turned the industry from horse-racing to football, and pioneered the advertising and digital technologies of continuous betting. It’s also a searing indictment of the hijacking of sports, transforming ‘the beautiful game’ into the compulsion of endless betting, deliberately addicting players, managers and fans alike, with devastating financial and family loss, including suicide. McGee’s harshest words are for the sports bodies and governments who willfully ignored the abundant evidence of gambling-related harm, blinded by the large sums of money paid by the industry. It’s an urgent read for anyone who loves sports.”
—Bruce Kidd, Olympian, Professor Emeritus of Sports Policy, University of Toronto
“In meticulous and devastating detail, Darragh McGee reveals how football sold its fans to the gambling giants. Read this book to learn the truth about the game you love.”
—Oliver Bullough, author of Everybody Loves Our Dollars
“A detailed, authoritative and damning analysis that demands a global audience.”
—Dr. Luke Clark, Professor of Psychology, Director of Centre for Gambling Research, University of British Columbia
“As the number of gambling-related suicides, bankruptcies, and family break-ups mount, we at last have a book that explains how we let this happen, what the real costs of the industry are, and what sport might do about it.”
—David Goldblatt, author of The Age of Football and The Game of Our Lives
“A gripping, must-read account that is as lyrically written as it is forensically researched.”
—Rob Davies, author of Jackpot: How Gambling Conquered Britain
“A forensic analysis of how gambling risks consuming football whole. Imitation Games lays bare the changes that have been unfurling before your eyes. A must read for any sports fan seeking to understand how we got here.”
—Aaron Rogan, author of Punters: How Paddy Power Bet Billions and Changed Gambling Forever
