Ben Dowsett
@bendowsett.bsky.social
sports & tech | regular contributor to WIRED | past: ESPN, Ringer, Scientific American, Guardian | tips: [email protected] Signal: bdows.99 | leftist who does not stick to sports | Free Palestine
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Ben Dowsett
@bendowsett.bsky.social
· Oct 24
Meet the Palestinian Teens Trying to Win Robotics Gold
Next week, five teens from Palestine will head to Panama to compete in one of the world’s largest youth robotics competitions. The goal? To win—and then teach STEM to their peers displaced by the Isra...
www.wired.com
Next week, 5 teens from Palestine will head to Panama to compete in one of the world’s largest youth robotics competitions.
The goal? To win—and teach STEM to their peers displaced by Israel's war and occupation of Palestine.
A special oral history for @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/meet-t...
The goal? To win—and teach STEM to their peers displaced by Israel's war and occupation of Palestine.
A special oral history for @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/meet-t...
From today's piece: Even with the best Big Data tools, the Olympics could still be at risk for gambling impropriety.
Read more: www.wired.com/story/sports...
Read more: www.wired.com/story/sports...
![It’s natural to assume an increase in sports gambling scandals over the past several years reveals a world where such activity is more prevalent than ever. But Bjorn celebrates new reports of suspicious bets or athletes being banned.
“The Jontay Porter thing, the Cleveland Guardians allegations, to me these are great things that they’re discovering,” he says. “Because this means that the integrity monitoring is actually working … It’s showing that some of these [scams] that existed for a very long time are actually getting found out now and caught.”
It’s tempting to think of the Olympics as something different, something more pure, that the rarity of the Games and their worldwide prestige make the average competitor less corruptible than other sports.
But thousands of athletes are competing in hundreds of events across a couple of weeks. It takes just one incident to break that illusion. One athlete who’s gotten themselves into money trouble and sees a way out, one greedy trainer looking to make a few extra bucks by leaking an athlete’s injury, even just one unintended slip of privileged information. If a cheating gambler is savvy enough, even the best integrity monitoring platforms might not matter.
“There are some dumb people out there who bet in certain manners and get themselves caught,” says Bjorn. “But there are a lot who are very sophisticated and place these kinds of wagers in ways that they will never get recognized and identified.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bhdhzcuvh7hbvrhgfjzxcxqu/bafkreiet4w2o2vr35pwzunonxtshyxy4esvc7d45exusj5wkrlgpkh3hoy@jpeg)
February 6, 2026 at 6:22 PM
From today's piece: Even with the best Big Data tools, the Olympics could still be at risk for gambling impropriety.
Read more: www.wired.com/story/sports...
Read more: www.wired.com/story/sports...
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
For all their prestige, the Olympics tend to be a hotbed for scandals.
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
Sports Betting Is Skyrocketing. Will It Take Over the Olympics?
Typically, the Olympics aren’t a hotbed of gambling. For the 2026 Winter Games, sportsbooks and betting platforms are watching for illicit activity while testing new ways to get people to bet.
www.wired.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:30 PM
For all their prestige, the Olympics tend to be a hotbed for scandals.
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
For all their prestige, the Olympics tend to be a hotbed for scandals.
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
Sports Betting Is Skyrocketing. Will It Take Over the Olympics?
Typically, the Olympics aren’t a hotbed of gambling. For the 2026 Winter Games, sportsbooks and betting platforms are watching for illicit activity while testing new ways to get people to bet.
www.wired.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:30 PM
For all their prestige, the Olympics tend to be a hotbed for scandals.
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
Oh my god they're such fucking LOSERS, they can't even hold firm on a *mask ban*
www.huffpost.com/entry/democr...
www.huffpost.com/entry/democr...
February 5, 2026 at 3:34 AM
Oh my god they're such fucking LOSERS, they can't even hold firm on a *mask ban*
www.huffpost.com/entry/democr...
www.huffpost.com/entry/democr...
Gavin McKenna did WHAT now??
February 4, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Gavin McKenna did WHAT now??
Truly wild that pushing a mascot leads to a greater punishment from the NBA than hitting a woman.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes has been suspended one game for pushing a Wizards mascot.
February 4, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Truly wild that pushing a mascot leads to a greater punishment from the NBA than hitting a woman.
Anthony Davis’s career makes me sad, man.
February 4, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Anthony Davis’s career makes me sad, man.
Another day, another reminder that billionaires are ruining the world.
February 4, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Another day, another reminder that billionaires are ruining the world.
Don Lemon got more sympathy and attention for his arrest than any of these journalists.
During its war on Gaza, Israel killed 260 journalists, a catastrophic and unprecedented figure never recorded in previous wars. Israel was described as the worst enemy of journalists in 2025.
1/3
1/3
February 4, 2026 at 5:03 AM
Don Lemon got more sympathy and attention for his arrest than any of these journalists.
This person was a special envoy to the Biden administration lmao
It should inspire serious reflection among liberals and institutionally liberal institutions in the US that this woman was (is still?) considered a standard-bearer on the issue of what constitutes bigotry.
February 4, 2026 at 3:51 AM
This person was a special envoy to the Biden administration lmao
I'm not even really an analysis guy anymore but first impression is I like that for both the Jazz and Grizzlies?
JJJ has flaws but players that good don't end up in Utah often. They'll be a legit team next year. And this is a great haul for MEM for a broken situation.
JJJ has flaws but players that good don't end up in Utah often. They'll be a legit team next year. And this is a great haul for MEM for a broken situation.
February 3, 2026 at 7:21 PM
I'm not even really an analysis guy anymore but first impression is I like that for both the Jazz and Grizzlies?
JJJ has flaws but players that good don't end up in Utah often. They'll be a legit team next year. And this is a great haul for MEM for a broken situation.
JJJ has flaws but players that good don't end up in Utah often. They'll be a legit team next year. And this is a great haul for MEM for a broken situation.
Man what the FUCK is that Shams tweet real
February 3, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Man what the FUCK is that Shams tweet real
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
Every day Mamdani comes out and is like "hey guys, I turned off the orphan-crushing machine. Literally just had to flip a switch. Took less than 5 minutes."
After decades of dem leadership pissing and moaning and fundraising about how complex an issue it is and how difficult the process is etc
After decades of dem leadership pissing and moaning and fundraising about how complex an issue it is and how difficult the process is etc
February 3, 2026 at 3:58 AM
Every day Mamdani comes out and is like "hey guys, I turned off the orphan-crushing machine. Literally just had to flip a switch. Took less than 5 minutes."
After decades of dem leadership pissing and moaning and fundraising about how complex an issue it is and how difficult the process is etc
After decades of dem leadership pissing and moaning and fundraising about how complex an issue it is and how difficult the process is etc
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
Just wait until you hear what happens if you dont have ENOUGH money in your account.
February 2, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Just wait until you hear what happens if you dont have ENOUGH money in your account.
"It damages your credit score to check your credit score" is the most backwards-ass American shit of all time
We charge you money to find out how much money you have
We charge you money to find out how much money you have
February 2, 2026 at 7:03 PM
"It damages your credit score to check your credit score" is the most backwards-ass American shit of all time
We charge you money to find out how much money you have
We charge you money to find out how much money you have
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
Dems aren’t convicting and impeaching Trump. they wouldn’t even do it after January 6 when many of them were endangered, they certainly won’t do it now when they keep giving him ICE funding and voting for his judges. and they can’t turn over enough of Congress to do it before 2028. I’m sorry
February 2, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Dems aren’t convicting and impeaching Trump. they wouldn’t even do it after January 6 when many of them were endangered, they certainly won’t do it now when they keep giving him ICE funding and voting for his judges. and they can’t turn over enough of Congress to do it before 2028. I’m sorry
One of the greatest tricks the devil ever pulled was convincing huge swaths of society that "people who obsessively hoard 100s of lifetimes worth of resources and deprive others of them" were actually cool, aspirational figures.
The increasing number of billionaires in every new release of the Epstein files are another reminder that billionaires shouldn't exist because they're immoral, exploitative hoarders and the world would be better if we abolished every one of them.
Billionaires: the only minority destroying humanity.
Billionaires: the only minority destroying humanity.
February 2, 2026 at 4:12 PM
One of the greatest tricks the devil ever pulled was convincing huge swaths of society that "people who obsessively hoard 100s of lifetimes worth of resources and deprive others of them" were actually cool, aspirational figures.
"Important people say this absolves me actually"
February 1, 2026 at 4:50 AM
"Important people say this absolves me actually"
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
Today I saw ICE gas little white kids in the streets of Portland with chemical weapons. Imagine what they're doing to brown and black kids in the detention camps
February 1, 2026 at 2:08 AM
Today I saw ICE gas little white kids in the streets of Portland with chemical weapons. Imagine what they're doing to brown and black kids in the detention camps
Using flashbangs on children should be punishable by stuff that would probably get me banned from this site
Just experienced the most intense tear gassing of my life by federal officers outside the ICE facility in Portland where marchers gathered. There was no fast exit as they indiscriminately threw loads of gas and flash bangs. Children were in the crowd screaming. @oregoncapitalchronicle.com
February 1, 2026 at 4:22 AM
Using flashbangs on children should be punishable by stuff that would probably get me banned from this site
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
The Epstein emails should really end the debate over whether society should have billionaires. "Do you want there to be a class of people so powerful they can fuck your kids and no one will even try to do anything" seems like an easy sell if everyone in politics wasn't trying to get on their payroll
January 30, 2026 at 11:21 PM
The Epstein emails should really end the debate over whether society should have billionaires. "Do you want there to be a class of people so powerful they can fuck your kids and no one will even try to do anything" seems like an easy sell if everyone in politics wasn't trying to get on their payroll
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
Another banger from Jonathan Guyer, who's been on the USAID-Gaza beat for a few years.
If anyone wonders why I really, really hate Joe Biden and his administration? It's because I had to work for them on Gaza. They're evil, evil people who deserve prison.
If anyone wonders why I really, really hate Joe Biden and his administration? It's because I had to work for them on Gaza. They're evil, evil people who deserve prison.
January 30, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Another banger from Jonathan Guyer, who's been on the USAID-Gaza beat for a few years.
If anyone wonders why I really, really hate Joe Biden and his administration? It's because I had to work for them on Gaza. They're evil, evil people who deserve prison.
If anyone wonders why I really, really hate Joe Biden and his administration? It's because I had to work for them on Gaza. They're evil, evil people who deserve prison.
Far from her best movie/role, but I'm pouring a small one out for Catherine O'Hara in Orange County.
The woman made a Colin Hanks movie not just bearable, but even pretty decent. A true achievement.
The woman made a Colin Hanks movie not just bearable, but even pretty decent. A true achievement.
January 30, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Far from her best movie/role, but I'm pouring a small one out for Catherine O'Hara in Orange County.
The woman made a Colin Hanks movie not just bearable, but even pretty decent. A true achievement.
The woman made a Colin Hanks movie not just bearable, but even pretty decent. A true achievement.