It’s estimated that only 1-3% of sports gambling activities are accounted for in the Nevada Sports books and quite a few of the betting is definitely the illegal gambling in sports. The FBI believed in 1998 that this illegal sports gambling was an industry worth billions of dollars.
Illegal gambling in sports consists of various kinds of activities. Many of these illegal bets on various competitive sports are put with sportsbooks or bookies. Internet gambling is an extremely popular means of gambling. Other sports activities are the ones that are illegal and associated with gambling such as dog fighting and cockfighting.
Illegal gambling in sports continues to be connected 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 set up organized bookmaking around the nation. Focus 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 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 from 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 act of transmitting wagering and gambling information and details across state lines for either taking or placing bets is considered illegal. News details regarding point spreads could be reported only 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, proclaiming that readers only want to learn or read about teams favored to become winners rather than for betting.
Other illegal gambling in sports involves animal fights that take place in the US regardless 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 sort of animal fighting is normally in the rural areas but city police reports on dog fighting and cockfighting have increased and this sport has become the craze among gangs on the street. This kind of illegal sports betting activity is a great concern for the authorities due to the weapons and large amounts of hard cash present at the fights.
The matter of illegal gambling in sports is really a question of grave concern. Minnesota laws make any type of wager or bet illegal. It’s advisable if the bettor finds out all the laws relating to sports gambling within his state or area prior to placing bets over a sporting event. Most states declare sports betting as illegal in the United States excluding Nevada, Montana and one or two other states.