It’s estimated that only 1-3% of sports gambling activities are accounted for from the Nevada Sports books and the majority of the betting is 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 different types of activities. Most of these illegal bets on various sporting events are placed with sportsbooks or bookies. Internet gambling is an extremely popular method of gambling. Other sporting events are the ones that are illegal and associated with gambling like 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 across the nation. Emphasis was on horse racing at that time. Nevada legalized casino betting in 1931 and here too organized crime managed a major portion 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 drove the mobsters out from 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 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 considered illegal. News details concerning point spreads may be reported only for entertainment and informational purposes but a majority of US newspapers still publish betting lines. This practice is defended by way of the Newspaper Association of America as “free speech” under the First Amendment of the Constitution, proclaiming 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 America in spite of the unsavory reputation it’s got. These staged fights include animals such as dogs that are trained and bred for this specific purpose and male chickens. This sort of animal fighting is usually within the rural areas but city police reports on dog fighting and cockfighting have risen and also this sport has become the craze among gangs in the street. This kind of illegal sports betting activity is a great concern 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 bettor finds out all of the laws associated with sports gambling in his state or area before placing bets on a sporting event. Many states declare sports betting as illegal in the US except for Nevada, Montana and one or two other states.