Jonathan D. Cohen

Sports Betting Policy Lead

Jonathan D. Cohen leads AIBM’s gambling policy efforts within the Boys & Men Online program.

Cohen is a public intellectual and expert on gambling policy. He is the author of Losing Big: America’s Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling (2025) and For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America (2022). His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and other publications.

Before joining AIBM, he served as a senior program officer at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, where he led a cross-partisan commission on the American economy and projects focused on American democracy. He previously worked as a financial writer and editor at Tiger Capital Group.

Cohen holds a bachelor’s degree from McGill University and a doctorate in history from the University of Virginia. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut, with his wife and two sons.

Publications & Events

Boys & Men Online

How to fix online gambling

With young men bearing the heaviest costs of the gamblification of American life, AIBM presents fixes for online gambling and principles to guide reform efforts.

October 29, 2026
Jonathan D. Cohen
Dice that represent a path to fixing an error
Boys & Men Online

Prediction markets: Regulation, risks, and areas of research

Christopher Gerlacher and Jonathan D. Cohen provide an overview of prediction markets and the issues that have emerged from their rapid growth, including their history, how they work, and issues that lawmakers must become familiar with to regulate these markets properly.

July 2, 2026
Christopher Gerlacher, Jonathan D. Cohen
Man looking at phone in a dark room

The gamblification of everything

On June 18, 2026, the American Institute for Boys and Men hosted a webinar to reckon with the new place of gambling in American life.

Jun 18, 2026
Person rolling dice in a dark room
Boys & Men Online

Most Americans see prediction markets as more like gambling than investing, new AIBM/Ipsos poll finds

New AIBM/Ipsos poll finds most Americans view prediction markets as gambling, not investing, with young men driving higher platform use.

Mar 17, 2026
Young man using prediction markets

Key policy issues for sports betting in 2026

What’s next for U.S. sports betting? Experts break down regulation, markets, and policy trends in AIBM’s latest webinar.

Feb 3, 2026
A group of guys watching sports on the couch
Boys & Men Online

Sensible sports betting: A policy framework

Legal sports betting has gone mainstream, but regulation lags. This policy brief outlines practical reforms to reduce financial and social harm.

January 21, 2026
David Sasaki, Jonathan D. Cohen, Isaac Rose-Berman
Sports betting policy paper Jan 2026
Health

Smartphone gambling is a disaster

We aren’t meant to have a casino in our pockets.

July 25, 2025
Jonathan D. Cohen, Isaac Rose-Berman
A young man on his phone in bed.