Writing From The Inside: Gambling, Addiction, Prison, and Starting Over

Chris Swett
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Personal Journals
  • Updated Weekly

A former trial lawyer who negotiated over $100 million in settlements pleads guilty to wire fraud and money laundering tied to a gambling addiction that ran undetected for over two decades. Follow his journey through sentencing, prison, and ultimately reentry and redemption. Writing From The Inside is the honest account of how it happened and what it teaches about addiction, accountability, and what comes after for anyone carrying something they haven’t said out loud. writingfromtheinside.substack.com

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    What FanDuel Knew about Me- Sports Betting Addiction and the Data

    Ninety-five percent of the losses in the sports betting industry come from five percent of the people betting. The apps know exactly who that five percent is, in real time, the same way a casino used to need hours to spot a player in trouble. I was in that five percent for years, and once I crossed a certain threshold, I got a personal host, tickets to events, and offers that arrived like clockwork right after a deposit failed. I self-excluded from the platform after everything collapsed. Within the last thirty days, I still received promotional emails trying to get me back on. This episode is about what that industry actually knew, what it built to keep me playing, and how deeply it’s now woven into the leagues and broadcasts most of us watch without a second thought. Most people in that five percent will not say it out loud. The people around them notice first. Running this one a day early. New episode every Wednesday. Subscribe and it comes to you. If someone you know has a VIP host, send them this one. Get full access to Chris Swett’s Writing from the Inside at writingfromtheinside.substack.com/subscribe

    What FanDuel Knew about Me- Sports Betting Addiction and the Data

  2. Aug 19

    What I Did to My Wife's Name- When Wire Fraud Reaches Your Family

    I put my wife's name on a company that was committing fraud, and she had no idea it existed. She never saw an invoice, never touched a check, never signed a single document. Her name was on the formation paperwork because I put it there, on purpose, so the whole scheme would have a layer of cover I needed and she never agreed to carry. Eventually, that company was investigated by the FBI. So was she, for over a year, for something she had no knowledge of and no part in. This episode is about that specific decision, why I made it, and what it actually cost her. It's the hardest one I've recorded so far, and I think it's the one that says the most about what this show is actually going to be honest about. Next week’s episode: What FanDuel Knew About Me- Sports Betting Addiction and the Data they Keep. I’m writing this the whole way through. Before I go in, while I’m in, and after. New episode every Wednesday. Subscribe below and it comes to you. Get full access to Chris Swett’s Writing from the Inside at writingfromtheinside.substack.com/subscribe

    What I Did to My Wife's Name- When Wire Fraud Reaches Your Family

  3. Aug 12

    Nine Thousand, One Hundred Dollars- What a Gambling Addiction Actually Costs

    I had a deposition at nine the next morning, the kind where the preparation has to be airtight. My outline was finished and sitting on the desk. I opened a gambling app anyway. By midnight I was up nine thousand one hundred dollars. By 2:48 in the morning I had lost every bit of it, including money that was supposed to cover my mortgage the next day and money that didn’t belong to me. This episode walks through that night hour by hour because I think it's the clearest single window into how addiction actually operates once it's taken hold. It's not a story about willpower. It's a story about the specific lies your own mind tells you, and how convincing they sound while you're still inside them. Get full access to Chris Swett’s Writing from the Inside at writingfromtheinside.substack.com/subscribe

    Nine Thousand, One Hundred Dollars- What a Gambling Addiction Actually Costs

  4. Aug 11

    Writing From The Inside- The Podcast

    I spent over a decade as a trial lawyer, negotiating settlements worth more than a hundred million dollars for people who'd been hurt by companies that should have known better. I also gambled away everything I built, wagering over eleven million dollars over two years, and eventually committed federal crimes to keep it funded. I pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering, and by the time you're hearing some of these episodes, I'll likely already be in federal prison. This show is my honest account of how that happened, told one specific story at a time, without skipping the parts that make me look bad. Some episodes are my story. Others take something I learned the hard way and turn it into something you can actually use whether or not gambling has ever touched your life. If you're carrying something you haven't said out loud yet, or you love someone who might be, I think you'll find something here worth your time. Get full access to Chris Swett’s Writing from the Inside at writingfromtheinside.substack.com/subscribe

    Writing From The Inside- The Podcast
  • 4 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

A former trial lawyer who negotiated over $100 million in settlements pleads guilty to wire fraud and money laundering tied to a gambling addiction that ran undetected for over two decades. Follow his journey through sentencing, prison, and ultimately reentry and redemption. Writing From The Inside is the honest account of how it happened and what it teaches about addiction, accountability, and what comes after for anyone carrying something they haven’t said out loud. writingfromtheinside.substack.com

Information