Exactly what started gambling on sports activities
To understand what started gambling on sports one has to first examine the historical past of sports gambling in America. The USA has a long history of allowing some kinds of legal gambling and also illegal betting to some extent. Political control and scandals regarding gaming interests have ended in selected backlashes which have resulted in prohibition or regulating sports gambling. Standards and laws pertaining to sports gambling have kept changing.
Nelson Rose explains these adjustments in law as 3 waves. The 1st wave was in the colonial era that lasted till the mid 1800s, the 2nd wave started at the end of the Civil War and lasted till the early Twentieth century and also the 3rd wave commenced during the Great Depression and is still continuing.
During the Colonial Era, diverse attitudes were enforced towards betting. Puritan attitudes were adopted towards gambling and possession of dice, cards, gaming tables etc were outlawed. Later on it was allowed as long as it was not a calling or trade except for moderate and innocent recreation. Settlers brought with them views that said gambling was nothing but a harmless past time. The frontier spirit encouraged the appeal of gambling since it involved risk taking, high expectations and opportunism. arbitrage betting in soccer
Ultimately all colonies used lotteries as a solution from financial problems as well as benefit the colonies. It was a civic responsibility and profits were used to create some of the first prestigious universities, build churches and also libraries. Lotteries remained popular right to the early 19th Century. Horse racing had also been preferred and the Long Island built the very first race track in 1665. Casino gaming began to emerge slowly as roadhouses and taverns began to allow card games and dice.
The Lower Mississippi Valley became a structured and legitimate gambling area in 1800s. The grand river featuring its riverboats became a major trade avenue for wealthy merchants and farmers. New Orleans quickly gained recognition as the gambling capital. Through 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 seemed to be increasing attack of gambling especially lotteries and when operators absconded with all the proceeds lottery scandals finally concluded in prohibition of gambling.
The Gold Rush in California set off a tremendous surge in the kinds of gambling and San Francisco was crowned the new gambling capital in the US. 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 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 possible to now understand what started gambling on sports in the US. With 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 quite popular and already is a billion dollar industry.