It’s estimated that only 1-3% of sports gambling activities are taken into account in the Nevada Sports books and the majority of the gambling is definitely the illegal gambling in sports. The FBI believed in 1998 this illegal sports gambling was a business worth billions of dollars.
Illegal gambling in sports consists of various kinds of activities. Most of these illegal bets on various sporting events are placed with sportsbooks or bookies. Online gambling is a very popular method of gambling. Other sports activities are the ones that happen to be illegal and linked to gambling like dog fighting and cockfighting.
Illegal gambling in sports has been associated with organized crime for a long time in the US. In the 1920s and 1930s illegal sports gambling was 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 controlled a significant portion of casino gambling business. Continental Wire Service and Trans America Wire were the 2 main illegal wire services that were operated by mobsters.
In the 1950s the federal government came down hard on organized crime and forced 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. The majority of illegal books provide bookies that 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 considered illegal. News details concerning point spreads may be reported only for entertainment and informational purposes but a majority of US newspapers still release betting lines. This practice is defended by way of the Newspaper Association of America as “free speech” under the First Amendment of the Constitution, proclaiming that readers only want to learn or read about teams favored to become winners instead of for betting.
Other illegal gambling in sports involves animal fights that occur in America in spite of the unsavory reputation it has. These staged fights include animals such as dogs that are trained and bred for this purpose and male chickens. This type of animal fighting is usually in the rural areas but city police reports on dog fighting and cockfighting have increased and also this sport is the craze among gangs on the street. This type of illegal sports betting activity is a great problem for the authorities due to the weapons and large quantities of hard cash present in the fights.
The issue of illegal gambling in sports is really a question of grave concern. Minnesota laws make any sort of wager or bet illegal. It’s advisable if the gambler finds out all of the laws associated with sports gambling within his state or area prior to placing bets on a sporting event. Most states declare sports gambling as illegal in the US except for Nevada, Montana and one or two additional states.
