Billionaire John Arnold has already donated nearly half his wealth. Now he's funding a hunt for the health risks of sports betting. | Fortune

Billionaire John Arnold is funding research into the health risks and broader effects of sports betting, via Arnold Ventures. The foundation announced Tuesday that it has awarded roughly $2.6 million in new grants to 12 universities and think tanks studying the fast-growing online sports betting industry. Projects at institutions including Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Wisconsin will examine how gambling affects financial well-being, household formation, mental health, and consumer behavior. Arnold Ventures says the goal is to strengthen evidence for policymakers as sports betting expanded rapidly after the 2018 Supreme Court decision enabling legalization. The report will also compare states based on when they legalized online betting to isolate impacts. Notably, none of the studies will examine prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket due to limited access to platform data.