THE THEN STRUGGLING L.A. LAKERS WOULD BE IN THE NBA PLAYOFFS THIS WEEKEND, DO YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN MET WITH SKEPTICISM. BUT IF YOU’D ALSO PLACED A $100 BET ON THEM TAKING THE CHAMPIONSHIP, YOU’D BE IN THE RUNNING TO WIN ABOUT $15,000. SUCCESS LIKE THIS IS AT A GAMBLER’S FINGERTIPS, AND IT’S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT ONLINE SPORTS BETTING IS GROWING. IT EXPLODED IN POPULARITY AFTER THE SUPREME COURT STRUCK DOWN A FEDERAL BAN IN 2018. TODAY, 33 STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OFFER LEGAL RETAIL AND ONLINE SPORTS BETTING WITH MORE. JOINING THE GROWTH IS SPARKING GREAT CONCERN. IT’S NOW FAST AND EASY TO PLACE BETS PRESENTING NEW CHALLENGES FOR THOSE WHO ARE TRYING TO COMBAT A GAMBLING ADDICTION AND PUTTING MORE PEOPLE AT RISK OF DEVELOPING ONE. VICTOR MATHESON STUDY SPORTS ECONOMICS. HE’S A PROFESSOR AT THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS IN WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS. PROFESSOR VICTOR MATHESON, IT’S SO NICE TO TALK TO YOU. I THINK THE WORD EXPLOSION IN ONLINE GAMBLING IS AN APPROPRIATE WORD. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR STATES? BECAUSE CLEARLY THEY HAVE A FINANCIAL STAKE IN IT. THE AMOUNT THAT THE STATES ARE BRINGING IN IS ACTUALLY SURPRISINGLY SMALL. SO THIS YEAR, WE’RE LIKELY TO SEE. ABOUT $100 BILLION OF WAGERS BEING MADE. BUT THAT ONLY TRANSLATES INTO ABOUT $1,000,000,000 OF TAX REVENUE. LET’S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ADVERTISING. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST WORRY? THE GAMBLING PLATFORMS. THEY’RE NOT TRYING TO MAKE MONEY ON YOU. THIS YEAR. THEY’RE TRYING TO MAKE MONEY ON YOU NEXT YEAR. AND TEN YEARS DOWN THE ROAD AND 20 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, IF THEY CAN BE THE APP YOU PUT ON YOUR PHONE AND THE APP THAT YOU’RE GOING TO USE, THEY HOOK YOU WITH. AND FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. AND OF COURSE, WHO DO YOU HOOK IN FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME? IT’S THE 18 YEAR OLDS, IT’S THE 16 YEAR OLDS, IT’S THE 21 YEAR OLD. THE COLLEGE STUDENTS, THE FOLKS THAT HAVE POTENTIALLY 50 YEARS OF GAMBLING IN FRONT OF THEM. ARE YOU SEEING IN ADVERTISING LIKE WHAT SPECIFICALLY ARE THEY DOING TO TARGET, SAY, YOUNG LATE TEENS, EARLY TWENTIES, COLLEGE STUDENTS? WELL, ONE THING THEY’VE DONE IS THEY HAVE ACTUALLY PARTNERED WITH INDIVIDUAL UNIVERSITIES. THEY KNOW THAT THAT COLLEGE STUDENTS TEND TO BE PRETTY BIG SPORTS FANS. AND THERE’S THIS ILLUSION OF CONTROL THAT HAPPENS WITH SPORTS GAMBLING WHEN YOU THINK, OH, IF ONLY I WAS JUST A LITTLE SMARTER AND A LITTLE BETTER. AND I TRY A LITTLE HARDER, I COULD ACTUALLY BEAT THE SYSTEM. AND IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO UNDERSTAND THE ONE RULE ABOVE ALL OTHERS. AND THAT’S THE RULE THAT YOU CAN’T BEAT THE HOUSE. SO WHAT CONCERNS DO YOU HAVE ABOUT ADDICTION? EVIDENCE SUGGESTS IT’S SOMEWHERE BETWEEN MAYBE ONE AND 5% OF PEOPLE WHO ENGAGE IN GAMBLING, ENGAGE IN GAMBLING IN UNHEALTHY WAYS. AND THE FACT THAT, AGAIN, EVERYONE CAN PUT THIS ON THEIR PHONE SIGNIFICANTLY IN INCREASES JUST THAT POOL AND I THINK WE ALL UNDERSTAND HOW ADDICTIVE PHONES ARE. WE UNDERSTAND HOW ADDICTIVE TETRIS IT IS OR OR CANDY CRUSH GAMBLING IS EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, EXCEPT UNLIKE PRESSING LIKE ON FACEBOOK OR TWITTER, THIS ACTUALLY COSTS YOU A TON BUCKS OR 50 BUCKS OR $100. IS THERE SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO TO MANAGE WHAT SOUNDS LIKE YOU’RE PREDICTING A VERY PROBLEMATICS SCENARIO, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE? I THINK THAT INDIVIDUAL STATES WHO LEGALIZED SPORTS GAMBLING, IT’S EXTREME, REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO REALLY TAKE PROBLEM GAMBLING PRETTY SERIOUSLY WHERE THE SPORTSBOOK MAKE THE MOST MONEY IS FROM THOSE GAMBLERS WHO BET THE MOST. BUT OF COURSE THOSE GAMBLERS WHO BET THE MOST ARE THOSE THAT ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE PROBLEM GAMBLERS IN THE FIRST PLACE. VERY IMPORTANT THAT STATES AGAIN, VERY SERIOUSLY ADDRESS THE IDEAS HERE, THINGS LIKE HAVING EASILY ACCESSIBLE TREATMENT AND PROGRAMS HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOR GAMBLERS TO OPT OUT OF GAMBLING AND WAYS TO MONITOR AGAINST SOME OF THESE VERY, VERY LARGE GAMBLING FOLKS. AGAIN, BECAUSE THOSE ARE EXACTLY THE CUSTOMER, THE DRAFTKINGS AND FANDUEL AND MGM ALL WANT. BUT THOSE ARE ALSO THE ONES THAT WE AS A SOCIETY SHOULD PROBABLY BE MOST CONCERNED ABOUT. PROFESSOR VICTOR MATHESON SO NICE TO TALK TO YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. WELL, THANKS FOR HAVING ME. COMING UP, HOMEOWNERS IN FLOOD PRONE AREAS HAVE SEEN THE CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE. THERE’S ACTUALLY DIRT INSIDE ALL OF THE WALLS. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PROTECT AMERICA’S COASTAL TOWNS AS HURRICANE SEASONS WORSEN AND SOME CARMAKERS WANT TO DO AWAY WITH AM RADIO, YOU’LL SEE MORE RURAL AREAS LOSING A LOCAL CONNECTION. AND WE WANT TO START HOW SMALL TOWN RADIO STATIONS ARE FIGHTING TO MAKE SURE THEIR SIGNALS ARE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR. WE ARE LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY FROM THE OFFICIAL START OF HURRICANE SEASON ON JUNE FIRST, AND IT’S EXPECTED TO BE A VERY ACTIVE ONE. RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA PREDICT AT LEAST FIVE HURRICANES WILL BECOME A CATEGORY THREE OR ABOVE, AND THOSE ARE CLASSIFIED AS STORMS THAT REACH WIND SPEEDS OF UP TO 150 MILES AN HOUR. THEY SAY THE SEASON WILL BE SIMILAR TO THAT IN 2017, WHICH HAD HURRICANES. MARIA AND HARVEY AND IRMA DAMAGES TOLD MORE THAN $200 BILLION THAT YEAR. IT WAS THE COSTLIEST SEASON IN U.S. HISTORY. COASTAL AREAS WHERE SEA LEVELS ARE RISING ARE OBVIOUSLY VULNERABLE. CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, IS A LOW LYING PORT CITY AT RISK FOR FLOODING, EVEN WHEN THERE IS NO HURRICANE. OUR CORRESPONDENT JESSICA GOMEZ HAS TRAVELED TO THE LOWCOUNTRY TO SEE HOW THE CITY AND THOSE WHO LIVE THERE ARE PREPARING FOR THE WORST. CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA A PLACE DEVELOPED AROUND WATER AND NOW DEFENDING ITSELF AGAINST WATER. BIALA GEE, PROFESSOR PHILLIP DUSTAN, WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE AS A RESULT OF SEA LEVEL RISING? THIS BANK IS BEING EATEN AWAY. THERE’S ACTUALLY DIRT INSIDE ALL OF THE WALLS BECAUSE THE FOUNDATION IS SINKING. ANNA ZIMMERMAN WHEN HER HOME FLOODED IN 2015, TWO YEARS LATER, WHEN HURRICANE IRMA HIT, SHE KNEW IT WAS TIME TO LEAVE. LIKE MUCH OF THE CHARLESTON AREA, IT WAS BUILT ON FILLED MARSHLAND. THE HOUSE JUST FILLS WITH WATER AND IT’S DIRTY WATER. AND THEN IT STARTS TO BURY EVERYTHING. SOME, LIKE MARGARET PEERY, WHO LIVES WITH HER SPECIAL NEEDS SON, ARE TAKING MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS. HER HOME, THE FIRST IN CHARLESTON’S ICONIC HISTORIC DISTRICT TO BE ELEVATED SIX FEET HIGHER THAN IT WAS BEFORE. WE EITHER HAD TO SELL THE HOUSE OR WE HAD TO ELEVATE THE HOUSE. THIS IS ALL ORIGINAL, ORIGINAL, HARD OF PINE STRUCTURE. YEAH. BUILDER AND ARCHITECT, BUZ MORRIS SAYS. IT WAS A COMPLICATED AND COSTLY PROCESS. ABOUT $400,000. BUT NOW DOZENS MORE PROJECTS LIKE IT ARE UNDERWAY AS FLOODED HISTORIC HOMES ARE LOSING VALUE. PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THAT FROM MONEY STANDPOINT. THEY’RE SAYING, WELL, MY HOUSE IS GOING DOWN TEN, 20, 30%. IS IT WORTH PUTTING IN THE MONEY TO RAISE IT? MONEY THAT MANY OF THOSE ON CHARLESTON’S EAST SIDE DON’T HAVE AN AREA CHALLENGED BY FLOODING. AND JUDGE REVOCATION DERRICK MILLIGAN. HIS MOM HAS LIVED HERE FOR 80 YEARS. HER NEIGHBORS ARE NOT SO LUCKY. THEY’RE BEING FORCED OUT BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE FLOOD INSURANCE AND THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO GET THE RENOVATIONS. THAT’S NEEDED. SO EVERYBODY’S NOT AS FORTUNATE ENOUGH AS SOME OF THE FOLKS. MANY LEFT TO THE MERCY OF NONPROFITS LIKE THE SUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE, WHICH HELPS WEATHERPROOF HOMES FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T AFFORD IT. LIKE BEDRIDDEN, TOM JEFFERSON. THERE’S SO MANY HOMEOWNERS THAT NEED HELP AND DON’T HAVE THE MEANS TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE TYPES OF UPGRADES THAT THEY WOULD NEED IN ORDER TO FORTIFY THEIR HOMES AND PROTECT THEM AGAINST THESE WEATHER EVENTS. WEATHER EVENTS, SCIENTISTS SAY THAT ARE HERE TO STAY. IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, FOR MATTER OF FACT, I’M JESSICA GOMEZ AHEAD ON MATTER OF FACT. AM RADIO HAS BEEN THERE DURING TIMES OF EMERGENCY. WHEN HURRICANE MARIA HITS IN PUERTO RICO, IT WAS JUST THE AM STATION THAT REMAINED. SO WHY ARE SOME CARMAKERS TRYING TO DROP IT FROM THE DASH? TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH MATTER OF FACT, SIGN UP FOR OUR