History of unlawful betting in sports
The United States has a long history of illegal gambling in sports. Gambling scandals and political control have led to the prohibition and regulation of sports gambling in the US. Laws that connected with sports gambling along with other standards have been changing and the changes have been described as “Waves”. The earliest of such waves was during the Colonial Period that lasted up until the 1800s. The next wave came about at the end of the US Civil war till the early 20th century. The 3rd of these waves started during the Great Depression till date.
Sports gambling has long been illegal in America. Puritan attitudes during the Colonial era were adopted towards sports and also other gambling, possessing cards, gaming tables, dice etc. Down the line it was only allowed if this was not a trade but only innocent recreation. Early settlers had the view that gambling was just a harmless past time. Gambling was likened to the frontier spirit as each of them involved opportunism, risk taking and high expectations.
Illegal sports betting has always been associated with mobsters and organized crime in the US. Illegal sports gambling became a huge business for gang mobsters while in the 1920s and 1930s. Organized bookmaking systems were set up by organized crime throughout the nation. Horse racing betting shot to popularity during this period.
In 1931 Nevada legalized casino gambling and here too organized crime took control over all the casino betting business. Mobsters controlled illegal nationwide wire services Trans America Wire and Continental Wire Service. Mobsters such as infamous Al Capone set up their own personal wire services to stop gamblers from taking any benefit of delays by making sure they posted winning wagers before formal results were out.
The Federal Government of the usa cracked down on mobsters and organized crime over the 1950s and drove them out of the Nevada Casino gambling industry. But this did not dissuade the organized crime mobsters who took over illegal bookmaking. Law Enforcement authorities do acknowledge that independent bookies are operating within the nation yet it is evident that organized crime still controls all the big money in betting.
Animal fights furthermore have a long history in the US despite the not so good reputation it has. Most animal fights include dog fights and cock fights that have become popular with street gangs and big amounts of weapons and cash usually are present at the time of these fights.
History of illegal gambling in sports uncovers that cockfighting was illegal and banned by most states in the US during the 1800s. It remains illegal today in 48 states. The law in Minnesota makes any king of gambling bet Illegal. Thus any sort of card game where you’ve got to pay to take part in a game and possess possibilities to win money is a “bet” and thus also considered to be illegal gambling. It is essential to note that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 only deals with the funding of internet gambling not the actual act of betting.