Weekly Roundup – February 3rd, 2026
Roundup Links
Super Bowl host California bans sports betting, but prediction markets found a loophole
"Green Day says “MAGA” while playing during the Super Bowl opening ceremony, Bad Bunny follows by starting off the halftime show with “Baile Inolvidable,” and soccer star Lionel Messi takes in the game at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium.
Each of those possibilities is available to put money on via prediction market behemoth Kalshi, but it’s other offerings by Kalshi and similar platforms that have irked California lawmakers, gaming tribes and even the NFL: wagers on the game that mimic traditional sports bets that are, for the time being, legal to make.
“Right now, people can place bets on everything from who will win the Super Bowl to which party will control Congress,”Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) said. “These wagers are happening on platforms that, in many cases, operate without proper oversight or safeguards.”
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FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics all launched sports prediction markets during the last two months in states like California where state-authorized sports betting isn’t yet legal. But don’t count on seeing ads from those online betting giants touting their prediction markets during NBC’s Super Bowl broadcast.
The NFL has forbidden prediction market ads during the Super Bowl, a person with knowledge of the ban not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Times."
Our Take: It’s only a matter of time until California legalizes sports betting statewide. The loophole of ‘prediction markets’ will not be meaningfully legislated against because the arguments that you would make in seeking to prohibit them are virtually identical to arguments one would make if they were seeking to ban sports betting. So, while everyone may huff and puff about ‘prediction markets’ right now, the slippery ethical slope of legalizing sports betting (almost) everywhere makes them (prediction markets) an inevitability for the time being. Until sports betting is legalized in the Golden State, of course.
What is the 'social media network for AI' Moltbook?
"On first glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking Moltbook is just a knock-off of the hugely popular social network Reddit.
It certainly looks similar, with thousands of communities discussing topics ranging from music to ethics, and 1.5 million users - it claims - voting on their favourite posts.
But this new social network has one big difference - Moltbook is meant for AI, not humans.
We mere homo sapiens are "welcome to observe" Moltbook's goings on, the company says, but we can't post anything."
Our Take: If you actually were to peruse ‘moltbook’, the social media site for AI bots (no humans allowed), it is essentially comprised of the most mundane chatgpt/grok stock-query-response dialogues. Imagine reddit, but somehow dumber and more of a time-waste than it already is, and you get ‘moltbook’. Every other comment responding to threads starts with a “I hear your frustration” or a “Strong take and I’m here for it,” or a "This goes hard," followed by that irritating syntax when an LLM is imitating the tone of a hot take that you would find in a buzzfeed article from the 2010’s. Except in moltbook's case, the subject matter is often incredibly obscure or abstruse, and borderline unreadable, or at least very, very boring. This is really more of an oddity, a sub-liminal space that very-online people can write thinkpieces about – and that is about the extent of its utility.
Gene Simmons: Radio should be required to pay performers for their music
"This weekend, as the 68th Grammy Awards celebrates the rich tapestry of American music here in Los Angeles, we should be mindful of an enormous problem that has persisted for many decades in our industry. AM/FM radio corporations make billions of dollars each year playing our music — but under U.S. law, they are not required to compensate the performers.
That’s right. Every artist who performs at the Grammys this weekend will be paid nothing when their music plays on AM/FM radio. And I’m talking about all artists: Elvis, Sinatra, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift. While radio station owners pay songwriters and copyright holders, they do not pay performers, thanks to a loophole in copyright law and a powerful broadcast lobby that has protected it. The industry argues that radio offers “free promotion” for artists — but let’s be real: Fewer people than ever are discovering new music on AM/FM radio."
Our Take: This is just not true. Requiring terrestrial radio stations to pay artists royalty fees to play their music would not only further reinforce the dominance of streaming platforms but also mean streaming platforms hold all the cards in any negotiations. Also, music streaming platforms are becoming increasingly inundated with AI crap and that means less money and exposure for real artists. I find it ironic that Gene Simmons, a legacy artist who has reaped the material benefits of radio exposure for decades, is disparaging one of the chief drivers of his personal success. Also, everyone in radio knows that labels push certain artists/songs on radio station operators (especially in major markets) to become part of the cultural conversation and create buzz for whenever that artist inevitably comes to town during a tour. Also, a clear majority of Americans still listen to AM/FM radio.
Should Broadcasters Produce News That Looks More Like YouTube?
"...That depth of content makes it easy to argue that YouTube’s scale, not its style, is the real source of its power. There’s truth in that. But if we look closely at where younger audiences are spending their time consuming video, it’s on platforms that look and feel very different from what most TV broadcasters are producing in morning, midday, evening and latenight newscasts.
Whether it’s YouTube, TikTok, Reels, Shorts or Instagram, the dominant style is more modern, authentic and conversational. The storytelling feels personal. It’s designed to earn attention, not assume it."
Our Take: To more established broadcasters, making your news broadcasts mirror the tone and aesthetics of a video from a news influencer on YouTube is as if your old stodgy history teacher in high school one day showed up in fubu streetwear with a boombox on his shoulder and performed a rap about George Washington Carver. It sounds a little like going overboard to appease the kids…but in this case, it is the right call. News broadcasts should absolutely incorporate elements of the influencer style into their station’s branding and presentation.
