Illegal gambling in sports activities
It’s estimated that only 1-3% of sports betting activities are accounted for in the Nevada Sports books and quite a few of the gambling is the illegal gambling in sports. The FBI estimated in 1998 that this illegal sports gambling was an industry worth billions of dollars.
Illegal gambling in sports includes various kinds of activities. Most of these illegal bets on different sporting events are put with sportsbooks or bookies. Internet gambling is an extremely popular method of gambling. Other sports activities are the ones that are illegal and linked to gambling such as dog fighting and cockfighting.
Illegal gambling in sports has been associated with organized crime for many years in America. In the 1920s and 1930s illegal sports gambling had been a business for gang mobsters and they also established organized bookmaking around the nation. Emphasis was on horse racing at that time. Nevada legalized casino betting in 1931 and here too organized crime managed a significant percentage of casino gambling business. Continental Wire Service and Trans America Wire were the two 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 also the mob took over the illegal bookmaking business. Most illegal books provide bookies which are illegal ways of spreading risks on wagers.
The act 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 could 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 find out about teams favored to become winners rather than for betting.
Some other illegal gambling in sports involves animal fights that occur in the US regardless of the unsavory reputation it’s got. These staged fights involve animals like dogs that are 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 increased and also this sport is the craze 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 issue 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 over a sporting event. Many states declare sports gambling as illegal in the United States except for Nevada, Montana and one or two other states.
