When Brooke Rollins, associate professor of English, noticed a shift in the cultural conversation around gambling, it became impossible to ignore. What was once a contained, secretive, and countercultural activity has evolved into a dominant cultural logic — one that now shapes how people make decisions in their everyday lives.
This cultural shift is a recent development. In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, opening the door to legalized sports betting. Within just a few years, 38 states and the District of Columbia had embraced it. Last year, Americans legally wagered nearly $150 billion, most of it from the casual comfort of their phones.
“The openness with which people started moving into this realm was really remarkable,” says Rollins. “When something like gambling is infused into modern culture, our structures of thought begin to change. People start thinking about their decisions as bets.”
Everyday Bets
While gambling logic is most visible in sports betting, it appears in far subtler ways when you know where to look. Blind-box toys, Pokémon card packs, video game loot crates, dynamic pricing algorithms, and even life insurance policies all operate within cycles of risk, suspense, and potential reward.
“Even if you don't recreationally gamble, none of us can totally opt out of this broader rhetoric we're forced to engage with,” Rollins says. “Think of the way health professionals interact with patients. In today’s health landscape, providers present data and options and ask patients to choose. You’re handed risk calculations, diet plans, and treatment paths, and you have to process it all."
“When you're in a system like this," Rollins continues, "you're encouraged to follow criteria that prioritize effectiveness and return on investment. We have more information than ever, but we feel even more anxious.”
This wagering mindset is intensified by society’s rapid embrace of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, which often promise optimization while deepening feelings of uncertainty.
Awareness as a Tool for Agency
Lehigh students and graduates are entering a world shaped by this logic. While we can’t halt the cultural shift, we can learn to recognize and resist its influence on how we think.
The first step, Rollins says, is simple awareness.
“It makes a difference to be aware and realize, ‘Oh, I'm calculating this as a wager,’” she notes. “When we understand how this logic shapes us, we gain power over it. Awareness lets us pause, identify what’s happening, and re-prioritize. We have a responsibility to each other that’s more important than economic, optimizing criteria.”
Rollins also encourages students to rethink how they approach uncertainty.
“There are other ways to relate to indeterminacy or the unknown,” she says. “If you recognize that all of us are vulnerable to chance, there’s a kind of humility in that. If we can slowly move away from the mindset that says that we should have a masterful relation to the future, we are more likely to commit to systems that provide collective care.”
The rise of gambling logic also aligns with a broader cultural trend: hyperindividualism, which emphasizes individual goals and outcomes over community and shared responsibility. Much like gamblers at a poker table, people are increasingly centered on their own hands.
Yet a well-lived life demands something different: kindness, compassion, and connection.
Rollins encourages people to broaden the criteria they use to make decisions. “Consider the values you draw on,” she says. “Which are you privileging? Which are you neglecting? Don’t lose the principles that make life rich and connective.”
Thinking Beyond the Bet
By recognizing the influence of gambling logic and intentionally reframing decisions, people can navigate uncertainty with greater balance and clarity. Rollins’ work reminds us that while risk is an inevitable part of life, how we engage with it — through reflection, shared responsibility, and grounded values — can make all the difference.
Rollins explores these ideas more thoroughly in her forthcoming scholarly book, Rhetorics of the Wager: The Rise of Gambling Logic.
