{
  "id": 19447731,
  "title": "How a sports betting creator drove 200 million short-form views of his podcast",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/how-a-sports-betting-creator-drove-200-million-short-form-views-of",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-11T05:01:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Digiday",
    "slug": "digiday",
    "url": "https://digiday.com/media/how-a-sports-betting-creator-drove-200-million-short-form-views-of-his-podcast/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Zach \"Mystic Zach\" Hirsch, a sports betting analyst and commentator, has gained nearly 2 million Instagram followers and a Draft Kings-sponsored podcast, Double Coverage, with millions of views on YouTube and TikTok. However, one of his most successful videos, featuring an interview with fellow creator Jake Paul, was removed from YouTube. The removal likely occurred due to sponsorship by an offshore betting company, which is not approved by Google and not available in the U.S., unlike mainstream platforms like Draft Kings. This incident highlighted the challenges Hirsch faced in navigating the legal gray area of offshore sports betting and necessitated a reassessment of his content strategy.",
  "summary": "Zach “Mystic Zach” Hirsch has figured out how to maximize engagement around sports-betting content while staying brand safe.",
  "key_points": [
    "Zach Hirsch gained nearly 2 million Instagram followers.",
    "Double Coverage podcast has millions of views on YouTube and TikTok.",
    "Interview with Jake Paul removed due to offshore betting sponsorship."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Navigating the legal gray area between mainstream sponsorships and offshore betting companies forces creators to reassess content strategies to avoid platform censorship and maintain visibility on major video networks.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}