Happy Wednesday, Fintech Listeners! 

Tomorrow, our first Fintech Takes Coworking Day is happening.

Two weeks from now, Money20/20 will be about to kick off (check out my list of sessions and events below!)

And one month from now, I will be hosting a virtual event — What’s the Best Way to Protect Consumers (and Lenders)? — with my friends from Trustage.

Schedule permitting, I would love to see as many of you as possible at all of these events! It’s always more fun to talk fintech live.

And speaking of talking fintech …

— Alex 

---

3 BIG IDEAS FROM THE PODCAST

Today’s episode is a special one.

Listeners may remember my first audiobook experiment…but if not, well, we’re back, by popular demand! 

In our second-ever Fintech Takes audiobook podcast episode, I stew on my obsession of the moment (that hardcore Fintech Takes fans may be intuiting in the moment).

That is, gambling.

Specifically, how gambling stopped being entertainment and started being infrastructure, and what happens when “fun” becomes a financial product.

I took two recent essays I’m proud of — The Biggest Threat to Consumers’ Financial Health and The War That Banks Don’t Know They’re Fighting — stitched them together, added fresh commentary, and hit record.

In the months since, I've been slightly cheered by responses from some responsible voices in the ecosystem, and I hope we can rally to fix, or at least mitigate, the problem before it gets worse.

Tune in for the full conversation here

And read below for my three big ideas... 

#1: Speculation-as-a-Service = Deposit FlightCopy anchor linkCopied

Look, not all gambling is bad. It’s entertainment. People play fantasy football. They go to Vegas. They buy lottery tickets. That’s fine.

The problem isn’t the fun; it’s the function. When fun starts performing the same job as a financial product, when gambling subverts individual and household balance sheets, you’ve got a problem.

So right now, it’s all of our problem.

Since the Supreme Court unlocked sports betting, on a state-by-state basis, in 2018, every dollar spent on bets has pulled $2.13 out of savings and investment accounts. Google searches for “gambling addiction hotline” are up 23% nationwide (and unsurprisingly, way more in states where mobile betting is legal).

And yet, Robinhood, Coinbase, Kalshi, and Polymarket keep designing financial apps that look like Vegas with APY.

Robinhood pays 4% on idle cash and lets you bet on the Super Bowl. 

Coinbase calls its 4.5% USDC yield “rewards.” 

Kalshi pays 4% on platform balances. 

You get the idea! 

Every product chips away at the role the checking account once played as the home base for your financial life.

The real innovation here is creating a closed-loop for speculation. Paychecks come in, wagers circulate, “yield” keeps the money trapped.

Gambling as entertainment is fine in moderation, but gambling as infrastructure rewires the economy. Speculation platforms are becoming banks for the dopamine economy, and they are sucking deposits out of traditional banks, one parlay at a time.

#2: The Finance x Entertainment DialecticCopy anchor linkCopied

What we’re seeing isn’t the financialization of gambling. It’s the gamblification (invented a new word!) of finance.

Ten years ago, financial services promised safety and entertainment (including gambling) promised thrills. Now they both promise engagement. 

That’s why Robinhood lets users bet on sports and Coinbase races to list memecoins. It isn’t about access; it’s about attention. When your business model depends on activity, boredom becomes your biggest risk factor.

Even prediction markets like Kalshi or Polymarket market “democratized forecasting,” but what they’re really selling is motion. The same loop that drives daily fantasy now drives event contracts: quick hits, visible wins, leaderboards, and loss-chasing.

The future of money looks suspiciously like the future of the media (Ah! This is concerning!).

#3: Financial Health Is A Growth MarketCopy anchor linkCopied

The antidote to speculation isn’t moralizing (again, gambling as an entertainment expense is fine! You do you!). It’s measurement.

We know what people want in the long run: stability, financial freedom, the chance to build wealth. We just don’t measure it.

Make financial health quantifiable, rewarding, and, if you can … a little addictive.

Former Acting Comptroller of the Currency Mike Hsu (who is speaking at the upcoming Fintech Takes Builders Summit, BTW!) called the right metrics vital signs: positive cash flow, a liquidity buffer, on-time payments. The industry can price credit risk down to the decimal, but not financial well-being.

We have credit scores, but no financial health score. No shared way to measure whether products make people better off.

That’s an opportunity. And we already have evidence that fun and financial health can coexist. 

• Prize-linked savings accounts (PLSAs) increased Walmart customers’ savings by 35% and generated $2 billion in deposits over two years. 
• Truist’s PLSA pilot drew 25,000 households and $37 million in new deposits in just six months. 
• Layup even uses sports betting mechanics to nudge users toward saving (using a PLSA account structure), not wagering (you place picks, but for savings).

The best way to beat gambling isn’t to outlaw it. It’s to out-design it. 

Make financial stability feel like winning. 

Make products that make good decisions … feel good.

🎬 DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY

This one got dark, but maybe that’s fitting. Gambling didn’t creep into finance overnight; it walked in through the front door we left open. 

The good news? I believe the same design tools that made speculation viral can make stability more fun.

If you have ideas on exactly how to do this, I would LOVE to hear them! Hit reply and let me know.

---

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO

#1: Gambling, Finance, and the Fallout (Fintech Takes) 🎧Copy anchor linkCopied

On topic! In this May episode I sat down with Alex DeMarco, founder and CEO of MoneyStack, to talk about the $70B (annual) sports betting boom and what we can do about it – a pretty great conversation, if I may say so myself.

#2: A New Era for Banking: What President Trump’s Debanking Executive Order and Related State Laws Mean for Financial Institutions, Government, and Banking Customers (Ballard Spahr) 🎧Copy anchor linkCopied

This debanking webinar (available on demand) isn’t exactly a podcast, but it features our friend Jason Mikula and it's really interesting!

---

MONEY20/20 SPOTLIGHT

It’s officially Money 20/20 season, which means I’ll be highlighting a handful of sessions, meetups, and happenings in every newsletter.

💰 Deepfakes, Real Risk: Fighting Fraud in an Age of Synthetic Identity | 10/26 | 3:00pm–3:30pm PT 

I’m thrilled to be moderating this discussion at Money20/20, featuring the head of fraud at Varo and the co-founders and CEOs of SentiLink and Oscilar. 

☕ Nova Credit Coffee + Conversation | 10/27 | 8:15am–10:30am PT

Start the AM with lending leaders unpacking the real-world journey of cash flow analytics (where to begin, how to apply it, and what it takes to make it work). Breakfast, networking, and discussion included! RSVP here.

🍸 MX Happy Hour Panel: Data into Action | 10/27 |  3:30pm–6pm PT

Small panel conversation featuring Jane Barratt (Chief Advocacy Officer, MX) and yours truly (among others!): 3:30pm–4pm panel, followed by drinks and hors d’oeuvres at The Grand Lux Cafe, Venetian (5-6). RSVP here.

🍸 Fundbox After Hours | 10/27 | 7:30pm–9:30pm PT

Come for the conversation on the future of embedded finance and small business lending. Stay for the one-on-one conversations (over drinks and appetizers, of course!)

🥯 Astrada Breakfast Discussion | 10/28 | 8–10am PT

Join Salman Syed (CEO of Astrada) and yours truly for a lively AM conversation on data, AI and open banking. Who will win as the battle lines are redrawn? Bring your hunger and curiosity to Bouchon at The Venetian. RSVP here.

---

WHERE ELSE I'LL BE

💻 What’s the Best Way to Protect Consumers (and Lenders)? | 11/6 | ZoomCopy anchor linkCopied

Chris Guild (Director of Lending Solutions, TruStage) and Taylor Nelms (VP of Research and Insights, Financial Health Network) will unpack the state of consumer financial health, how lenders are bracing for a turn in the credit cycle, and why payment protection insurance is becoming a critical tool for both portfolio risk and customer reassurance.

Seats are limited; register here!

---

Thanks for the read! Let me know what you thought by replying back to this email. 

— Alex