It’s estimated that only 1-3% of sports betting activities are accounted for in the Nevada Sports books and the majority of the gambling is definitely the illegal gambling in sports. The FBI estimated in 1998 this illegal sports gambling was a business worth billions of dollars.
Illegal gambling in sports includes different types of activities. Many of these illegal bets on different sporting events are placed with sportsbooks or bookies. Online gambling is a very popular means of gambling. Other sports activities are those that happen to be illegal and associated with gambling such as dog fighting and cockfighting.
Illegal gambling in sports continues to be connected with organized crime for a long time in America. In the 1920s and 1930s illegal sports gambling had been a business for gang mobsters and they also set up organized bookmaking around the nation. Focus was on horse racing during those times. Nevada legalized casino betting in 1931 and here too organized crime managed a major portion of casino gambling business. Continental Wire Service and Trans America Wire were the two illegal wire services which were operated by mobsters.
In the 1950s the government came down hard on organized crime and drove the mobsters out of the casino industry in Nevada. These were then taken over by corporations, and the mob took over the illegal bookmaking business. Most illegal books provide bookies which are illegal ways of spreading risks on wagers.
The action of transmitting wagering and gambling information and details across state lines for either taking or placing bets is recognized as illegal. News details concerning point spreads may be reported just for entertainment and informational purposes but many US newspapers still publish betting lines. This practice is defended by the Newspaper Association of America as “free speech” under the First Amendment in the Constitution, claiming that readers just want to learn or read about teams favored to become winners rather than for betting.
Some other illegal gambling in sports involves animal fights that take place in America regardless of the unsavory reputation it’s got. These staged fights include animals like dogs that are trained and bred for this purpose and male chickens. This type of animal fighting is usually within the rural areas but city police reports on dog fighting and cockfighting have increased and this sport is the rage among gangs in the street. This kind of illegal sports betting activity is a great problem for the authorities because of the weapons and large quantities of hard cash present in the fights.
The issue of illegal gambling in sports is a question of grave concern. Minnesota laws make any sort of wager or bet illegal. It is best if the bettor finds out all the laws associated with sports gambling within his state or area prior to placing bets on a sporting event. Many states declare sports betting as illegal in the United States except for Nevada, Montana and one or two other states.