What started gambling on sports

To learn what started gambling on sports one has to first examine the historical past of sports gambling in the US. The USA had a long history of allowing some kinds of legal gambling and even illegal betting to a certain degree. Political control and scandals regarding gaming interests have ended in selected backlashes which have lead to prohibition or regulating sports gambling. Standards and laws pertaining to sports gambling have kept altering.

Nelson Rose describes these changes in law as three waves. The 1st wave was in the colonial era that lasted till the mid 1800s, the second wave started at the end of the Civil War and lasted up until the early 20th Century and the 3rd wave commenced while in the Great Depression and it’s still continuing.

Throughout the Colonial Era, diverse attitudes were enforced towards gambling. Puritan attitudes were adopted towards gambling and possession of dice, cards, gaming tables etc were outlawed. Later on it was allowed so long as it was not a calling or trade except for moderate and innocent recreation. Settlers brought with them views that said gambling was merely a harmless activity. The frontier spirit encouraged the appeal of gambling since it involved high risk, high expectations and opportunism.

Eventually all colonies used lotteries as being a solution out of economic problems as well as help the colonies. It became a civic responsibility and profits were used to establish a number of the first prestigious universities, build churches and also libraries. Lotteries remained popular right to the initial 19th Century. Horse racing had also been popular and the Long Island built the very first race track in 1665. Casino gaming started to emerge slowly as roadhouses and taverns started to permit card games and dice.

The Lower Mississippi Valley became an organized and legitimate gambling area in 1800s. The mighty river with its riverboats became a major trade avenue for wealthy merchants and farmers. New Orleans soon gained recognition as the gambling capital. Through the 1830s southern settlers turned against professional gamblers who were blamed for committing crimes, debasing morals of society and endangering streets. During 1800s there seemed to be increasing attack of gambling especially lotteries and when operators absconded with all the proceeds lottery scandals eventually led to prohibition of gambling.

The Gold Rush in California set off a huge surge in the kinds of gambling and San Francisco became the new gambling capital in the USA. During 1849 and 1855 gambling spread widely and by 1850 California and lots of cities had licensed gambling centers. But soon the Legislature made most types of gambling illegal and certain professional gamblers were lynched. This prohibition drove gambling activities underground and could not eliminate it. Gambling was legal during 1869-1910 in Nevada.

It is possible to now understand what started gambling on sports in the USA. With all the numerous scandals within the lottery gambling segments, 35 states in America including California prohibited lotteries. In 1933 pari-mutuel betting was legalized and new automated systems and laws made horse racing betting more honest. In 1978 casino gambling was legalized by New Jersey and Atlantic City was a popular tourist destination. Despite its illegality sports gambling became very popular and today is a high dollar industry.