HISTORY OF GAMBLING IN USA
Gambling in the United States is a wagering activity offered by the gaming industry. Examining the history of gambling in North America suggests important conclusions that are useful today in considering policies related to gambling. The United States has had a long history of allowing some forms of legal gambling and a degree of tolerance of illegal gambling. Societal tolerance and acceptance of legal gambling can change rapidly. Scandals and political control by gaming interests have led to backlashes which result in regulation and/or prohibition.
Societal standards and laws related to poker have tended to change back and forth from prohibition to regulation. These changes in law have led one noted observer, Professor I. Nelson Rose, to describe three waves of gambling regulation during the history of the colonies and the United States. The first wave began during the colonial period and lasted until the mid-1800s. The second wave commenced at the close of the Civil War and lasted until the early 20th century. The last wave started during the Great Depression and is still going strong. Because of the length and size of this last wave, another observer has characterized it as an explosion, not a wave.
Many levels of government have authorized multiple forms of gambling in an effort to raise money for needed services without raising taxes. These include everything from bingo game betting in church basements, to multi-million dollar poker tournaments. Sometimes states advertise revenues from certain games to be devote d to particular needs, such as education.
In 1978 New Jersey legalized gambling in Atlantic City. The city rapidly grew into a significant tourist destination, revitalizing what was previously largely a run-down slum community. In 1979, the Seminol tribe opened the first reservation-based commercial gambling beginning a trend that would be followed by other reservations. Gradually lotteries and some types of pari-mutuel betting were legalized in other areas of the country.
In the 1990s riverboat casinos were legalized in Louisiana, Illinois, and other states. In 1996 Michigan legalized gambling in the city of Detroit creating a economic center for potential casino growth. The late 1900s and early 2000s saw the explosion of internet gambling.
