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 and other standards have already been changing and the changes have been described as “Waves”. The first of such waves was in the Colonial Period that lasted up until the 1800s. The next wave came about following the US Civil war till the early 20th century. The 3rd of such waves started in the Great Depression till date.
Sports gambling has long been illegal in America. Puritan attitudes during the Colonial era were adopted towards sports and other gambling, possessing cards, gaming tables, dice etc. Later on it was only allowed if it was not a trade but only innocent recreation. Early settlers had the view that gambling was just a harmless hobby. Gambling was likened to the frontier spirit as both of them involved opportunism, risk taking and high expectations.
Illegal sports betting has always been linked to 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 put in place by organized crime all over 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 of 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 wire services to stop gamblers from taking any benefit of delays by making sure they posted winning wagers before official results were out.
The Federal Government of the US cracked down on mobsters and organized crime during the 1950s and drove them outside the Nevada Casino gambling industry. But this did not deter the organized crime mobsters who took over illegal bookmaking. Law Enforcement authorities do acknowledge that independent bookies are functioning within the nation yet it is evident that organized crime still manages all of the big money in betting.
Animal fights furthermore have a long history the United States despite the bad reputation it has. Most animal fights involve dog fights and cock fights which are today popular with street gangs and big amounts of weapons and money usually are present at the time of these fights.
History of illegal gambling in sports reveals that cockfighting was illegal and banned by nearly all states the United States over the 1800s. It is still illegal today in 48 states. Legal issues in Minnesota makes any king of gambling bet Illegal. Thus any sort of card game where one has to spend to participate in a game and possess possibilities to win cash is a “bet” and thus also considered to be illegal gambling. It is essential to keep in mind that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 only refers to the funding of internet gambling not the actual act of betting.