What started gambling on sports

To understand what started betting on sports one has to first examine the history of sports gambling in the US. The US has a long history of permitting certain types of legal gambling and even illegal gambling to a certain degree. Political control and scandals concerning gaming interests have ended in selected backlashes which have resulted in prohibition or regulation of sports gambling. Standards and laws pertaining to sports gambling have kept changing.

Nelson Rose describes these adjustments in law as three waves. The first 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 also the 3rd wave commenced while in the Great Depression and it’s still continuing.

Throughout the Colonial Era, diverse attitudes were enforced towards betting. Puritan attitudes were adopted towards gambling and possessing dice, cards, gaming tables etc were outlawed. Afterwards it was allowed as long as it was not a calling or trade but for moderate and innocent recreation. Settlers brought along with them views that said gambling was merely a harmless past time. The frontier spirit encouraged the appeal of gambling as it involved risk taking, high expectations and opportunism.

Eventually all colonies used lotteries as a solution from financial problems and to help the colonies. It became a civic responsibility and profits were used to create some of the first prestigious universities, build churches and even libraries. Lotteries continued to be popular right to the early Nineteenth century. Horse racing was also popular and the Long Island built the first race track in 1665. Casino gaming began to emerge slowly as roadhouses and taverns began to permit card games and dice.

The Lower Mississippi Valley became an organized and legitimate gambling area in 1800s. The mighty river featuring its riverboats became a major trade avenue for both wealthy merchants and farmers. New Orleans soon gained recognition as the gambling capital. During the 1830s southern settlers turned against professional gamblers who were held responsible for carrying out crimes, debasing morals of society and endangering streets. During 1800s there was increasing attack of gambling especially lotteries and whenever operators absconded with the proceeds lottery scandals eventually concluded in prohibition of gambling.

The Gold Rush in California set off a tremendous increase in the types of gambling and San Francisco was crowned the new gambling capital in the USA. During 1849 and 1855 gambling spread widely and also by 1850 California and lots of cities had licensed gambling centers. But soon the Legislature made most forms of gambling illegal and a number of 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 easy to now understand what started gambling on sports in the US. With the many scandals in 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 became a popular tourist destination. Despite its illegality sports gambling became very popular and already is a billion dollar industry.