Secure Stakes

What It Secure Stakes and Why I Think This is Important

Why Am I Starting This Newsletter?

If there are two things there seem to be too many these days I think it’s probably newsletters and podcasts. Especially when it comes to sports. You can find tons of content about specific teams or sports, about gambling, about the business of those sports and more. So why make another one? Well, frankly, I think I have something unique to say and I think it’s a topic that is nuanced and requires someone with a background like mine. And what better time to start a newsletter with a focus on gambling than the day after the NCAA’s Selection Sunday?

I’ve been working on homeland security, or national security issues for nearly two decades now. I’ve seen the evolution of threats and risks that our changing society and world is combatting and sports are not immune to the effects of that evolution—or revolution. Whenever I mention to people that I spend a fair amount of time thinking about how the rise in sports gambling may impact out homeland security I nearly always get the same response—“Does it?”. Yes, it does. To the intrigue (or maybe dismay) of whoever I am talking to, they soon find out what I am about to tell you. The impacts are varied, don’t necessarily come from the same place, and haven’t all revealed themselves yet. This is in part because broad legalized sports gambling is a newer phenomenon in the U.S., so the boundaries are not yet set. Add to that the world around us is quickly changing too. So, the threat landscape is shifting, and quickly.

This newsletter will attempt to be relevant for several different kinds of readers. People in the broader sports industry who want insight into new kinds of threats coming their way. People in the security industry, like former colleagues of mine, who are curious about effects beyond traditional government-related discussions. People in the tech world who want to know about impacts on real-world users. General sports fans or gamblers who want to know what threats or risks may lie ahead. Or maybe even people outside these categories who just want a good read. In the end though, sports are an important industry in the United States, they engage hundred of millions of people across the country, and they give opportunities to countless people, young and old. I think there will be something for everyone in the newsletter.

I may at times stray a bit and write about security threats to the sports industry without a nexus to gambling, so don’t be alarmed if I touch on other issues of the fan experience, team or league use of technology or other topics like cybersecurity or AI that may impact sport integrity or pose risks to the security and safety of fans and athletes. It will not mean that I am abandoning the central purpose of this newsletter but rather that I am simply trying to provide something valuable or interesting to read.

Secure Stakes will start out as a free newsletter but I will develop products like interviews and special editions just for paying subscribers, along with other content, so if you can, your support will make sure that I can keep writing worthwhile content. I also have an independent consulting business and you should feel free to reach out to me about opportunities to work together.

I can (probably) promise that what I write will never be too long. I promise to take feedback from my readers to improve my product over time. And I will attempt to do my best to innovate and provide unique insights, thoughts, and information from me and other experts. I hope you will join me, and feel free to share this with anyone else you think might be interested. [And stay tuned later this week for my first substantive post]

Matthew Wein

Founder and Editor

Secure Stakes