It is estimated that only 1-3% of sports gambling activities are taken into account in the Nevada Sports books and the majority of the betting 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 different types of activities. Most of these illegal bets on different sporting events are put with sportsbooks or bookies. Internet gambling is an extremely popular means of gambling. Other sports activities are those that are illegal and associated with gambling such as dog fighting and cockfighting.
Illegal gambling in sports has been associated with organized crime for a long time in America. In the 1920s and 1930s illegal sports gambling was a business for gang mobsters and they 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 2 main illegal wire services that 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 taken over by corporations, and also the mob took over the illegal bookmaking business. The majority of 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 considered illegal. News details concerning point spreads may be reported just for entertainment and informational purposes but a majority of 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, proclaiming that readers just want to learn or read about teams favored to be winners rather than for betting.
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 normally in the rural areas but city police reports on dog fighting and cockfighting have increased and also this sport is the rage among gangs in the street. This kind of illegal sports betting activity is a great problem to the authorities because of the weapons and huge amounts 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 type of wager or bet illegal. It is best if the gambler learns all the laws associated with sports gambling within his state or area prior to placing bets over a sporting event. Many states declare sports gambling as illegal in the US excluding Nevada, Montana and one or two additional states.