Illegal gambling in sports
It is estimated that only 1-3% of sports gambling activities are accounted for in the Nevada Sports books and the majority of the gambling is the illegal gambling in sports. The FBI estimated in 1998 that this illegal sports gambling was a business worth billions of dollars.
Illegal gambling in sports consists of various kinds of activities. Many of these illegal bets on different competitive sports are put with sportsbooks or bookies. Internet gambling is an extremely popular method of gambling. Other sports activities are those that are illegal and linked to gambling like dog fighting and cockfighting.
Illegal gambling in sports continues to be associated with organized crime for many years 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. Emphasis was on horse racing at that time. Nevada legalized casino betting in 1931 and here too organized crime controlled a significant percentage 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 forced the mobsters out of the casino industry in Nevada. They were then bought out by corporations, and the mob took over the illegal bookmaking business. Most illegal books provide bookies that are illegal methods for 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 a majority of US newspapers still release betting lines. This practice is defended by the Newspaper Association of America as “free speech” under the First Amendment of the Constitution, claiming that readers only want to learn or find out about teams favored to become winners rather than for betting.
Other illegal gambling in sports involves animal fights that occur in the US regardless of the unsavory reputation it has. These staged fights include animals like dogs that happen to be trained and bred for this specific purpose and male chickens. This sort of animal fighting is usually in the rural areas but city police reports on dog fighting and cockfighting have risen 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 amounts of hard cash present at the fights.
The matter of illegal gambling in sports is really a matter of grave concern. Minnesota laws make any type of wager or bet illegal. It is best if the gambler finds out all of the laws relating to sports gambling in his state or area prior to placing bets on a sporting event. Most states declare sports betting as illegal in the US excluding Nevada, Montana and one or two additional states.