It is estimated that only 1-3% of sports betting activities are taken into account from the Nevada Sports books and the majority of the gambling is the illegal gambling in sports. The FBI estimated in 1998 this illegal sports gambling was a business worth billions of dollars.
Illegal gambling in sports includes different types of activities. Many of these illegal bets on various sporting events are placed with sportsbooks or bookies. Internet gambling is an extremely popular means of gambling. Other sports activities are the ones that are illegal and linked to gambling like dog fighting and cockfighting.
Illegal gambling in sports has been 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 also established organized bookmaking around the nation. Focus was on horse racing during those times. Nevada legalized casino betting in 1931 and here too organized crime controlled a major 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 drove the mobsters out of the casino industry in Nevada. They were then taken over by corporations, and the mob took over the illegal bookmaking business. The majority of 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 could be reported just for entertainment and informational purposes but many 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 find out about teams favored to become winners rather than for betting.
Other illegal gambling in sports involves animal fights that take place in the US in spite of the unsavory reputation it has. These staged fights include animals such as dogs that happen to be trained and bred for this purpose and male chickens. This type of animal fighting is usually in the rural areas but city police reports on dog fighting and cockfighting have increased and also this sport has become the rage among gangs in the street. This kind of illegal sports betting activity is a great problem to the authorities due to the weapons and huge amounts of hard cash present at the fights.
The matter of illegal gambling in sports is a question of grave concern. Minnesota laws make any sort of wager or bet illegal. It is best if the bettor finds out all the laws associated with 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 additional states.