Dear Santa

About Dear Santa

Another bettor noted that gambling debts fractured personal relationships: “Sports betting ruined my six years of friendship because I couldn’t pay back the borrowed loan from my friend. He stopped talking to me.”

Americans wagered nearly $167 billion on sports in 2025 through regulated sportsbooks, an 11% increase year-over-year, according to data from the American Gaming Association (AGA).

The blurring line between financial investing and gambling has been accelerated by the rise of prediction markets—exchanges offering event contracts that are federally regulated as financial derivatives. U.S. News found that over 40% of active sports bettors now also participate in sports prediction markets.

What is Dear Santa?

In 2009, despite having relinquished any active role in the online gambling industry years earlier, I launched CalvinAyre.com due to my dissatisfaction with the news sites that then dominated discussion of the gaming sector. I found their coverage too deferential to the established giants of the day and too oblivious of the changes I saw looming on the horizon.

I didn’t invent online gambling, but I saw its potential early enough to help shape the industry in ways that allowed it to emerge from the shadows into the mainstream.

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What is Dear Santa?

Skinner also says perceptions of the industry can hinder recruitment.

“Many talented individuals simply don’t understand the breadth of careers available in gaming and lotteries, while others have preconceived views about the sector itself,” he continues.

“We’re not just competing with other operators; we’re competing with fintech, gaming, technology and consumer brands that often have stronger employer recognition and, in some cases, fewer misconceptions associated with their industry.