History of sports gambling
The history of sports gambling in the US extends back on the times when the founders took risks. Back then bettors bet on cockfights, makeshift horse races and bare fist fights. Colonists and Pioneers that landed in the united states from Europe and England specifically had betting in their veins because their ancestors gambled for generations. As a result “sports betting” was obviously a normal part and parcel with the early American culture.
Today it is obvious that sports betting activities are the craze around the globe. With all the simplicity of online sports betting, it has made the sport much more convenient and cheaper. Though in the past the sports betting segment was small, today it’s permeated virtually every element of society.
Horse racing was popular from the 19th and early 20th Centuries and was appreciated mostly by way of the upper class. But horse tracks started to appear following the Civil War and soon gamblers from all sectors of society flocked to those racing establishments. Bookies had a hold on the gambling population and in addition they were setting odds on horses that increased the betting handle. Bookies would lower the odds on other horses to increase their attractiveness when there was big money for a particular horse. By 1920s horse racing had reached the summit with more than 300 racetracks all over the US.
Professional baseball gained popularity in the late 1800s and “pool cards” came into use. The “Black Sox Scanal” which was “fixed” rocked the united states and the public acquired a negative view of sports bettors. Although gambling was against the law a lot of people regarded sports gambling as a harmless victimless crime. College football games and basketball also became popular with bettors as baseball and boxing. Pool cards were extremely popular although the odds of these cards were in the bookies favor.
In most US cities, sports gambling activities were becoming a section of life and many youngsters were coming in contact with the sports betting industry in a very early age. Some experts have said, “Sports gambling was getting more popular than hot dogs!” Soon Leo Hirschfield started Athletic Publications that became the sports betting world standard for nearly three decades.
Established in 1930 this company set lines in sports events and dispersed those to bookmakers in the nation through the telegraph or telephone He also printed sports information which helped bookies produce better lines and gamblers make better decisions. The publication that had been most popular was The Green Sheet. He was legitimate despite the fact that his customers were illegal bookies.
Sports gambling was finally legalized in Nevada in the year 1931 and the states finances which had been in dire straits during those times, transformed drastically. Legalized boxing and sports gambling activities caused it to be a hot spot for tourists and this changed its economic condition for the better.
A resolution was passed in 1951 by the Congress that charged a 10% tax on every sports bet. New regulations allowed the bookies to come out of the dark and work openly. Turf clubs were the first legal sports books in Nevada and they were sometimes called “sawdust” rooms. In 1980s Roxborough became a major part of sports gambling and brought in the technology that revolutionized sports gambling.