In the beginning
Gambling has been around for as long as people have been able to try to predict the outcome of an event, rudimentary six-sided dice have been found that date back to the paleolithic age. Horse racing has been around for centuries, and the first record of a wager being placed on a horse race was back in 1602 BC in Mesopotamia. After the Crusades, the knights brought Arabian horses back to England and the ‘Sport of Kings’ was established in Europe and The British Isles. The sport was then introduced to America in the 1600s with the first racetrack constructed on Long Island.
Legal or Illegal?
Gambling has gone in and out of favor in the USA. Depending on which state you were in and the mindset and financial needs of the Government of the day the legalities, and illegalities of gambling have chopped and changed over time. Dating right back to 1692, the Puritans of Massachusetts, passed the Idleness Statute in 1663 which banned the possession of cards, dice, and gambling devices. In 1682 the Quakers in Pennsylvania copied suit and during the next hundred years, there were various laws in different states and warnings about the evils of gambling. However, around 1796 The Revolutionary War was in part funded by the sale of lottery tickets. On a rolling basis, wagering continued to be outlawed and then be reinstated. By the 20th century, almost all gambling was banned across the USA but that didn’t stop people from placing a bet. Gambling just went underground with the business being run by organized criminals – in a similar vein to when alcohol was prohibited.
In the 1930s when Nevada fell on hard economic times, it turned to the legalization of gambling to help fill the coffers, slot machines became legal in Sothern Maryland in the ’50s and ’60s and in 1977 Atlantic City opened up to gambling.
Las Vegas has always had a glamorous and aspirational image. People were attracted by the nightlife and shows as much as the slots and casinos.
A change in the law following a ruling by the Supreme court in 2018 which overturned a previous 1992 ruling has meant that the legality of gambling in individual states is no longer a federal issue and each state legislates in its own right. Sports betting is now legal in 19 states plus The District of Columbia. This has seen a huge increase in sports betting across the USA.
Sports betting
Sports betting has traditionally seen wagering at horseracing events including The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes, and The Belmont Stakes – these three events make up the Triple Crown. However, a rise in increase in animal welfare issues has affected the popularity of horseracing but the Sportsbook betting has shifted its focus. Punters and fans can make a wager on NFL, NBA, MLB. NHL, MLS, NCAAM Basketball, NCAA Football, NASCAR, Motorsports, The Ultimate Fighting Championship, English Premier League, Boxing, Tennis, Horseracing, Golf – the list is as great as the public’s appetite for sport.
Technological advances
The biggest cultural change of recent years has been brought about by technological advances. Online gambling like onlinecasinosnoop.com has opened up the audience to a much wider demographic than might have previously considered gambling. This can be seen in the mobile igaming stats, with 58% of US gamblers who have tried online gambling saying that they preferred to gamble this way. About a third of frequent online gamblers are women, their preferred games are lotteries, bingo, and keno. All the other sectors from slots to casino games and sports betting, are dominated by male gamblers. Slots remain the most popular online game. The excitement of the spin is extremely attractive and translates seamlessly to the online environment. They are easily accessible and fun to play. Other casino games take longer to learn and may have relatively complicated rules.
Social changes
Another area of gambling which has seen significant growth is the social casino. This is a very different type of gambling which grew up from the social media explosion of recent years. In social casinos, people play with virtual stakes for virtual rewards. By completing tasks in a virtual world type game, the player earns spins on slots or casino games. The player gets all the thrill without the risk. What the player does get in this environment is a chance to climb up the leader board or receive praise and affirmation from the friends with whom they play online. Many people who play games in the social casino, they do not consider that what they are doing is gambling. Unlike most areas of online gambling, the social arena is predominantly populated by women with two-thirds of players being female. The average social casino gamer is female, in her forties, and from a middle-class background.
We have to ask where gambling will go next. The assumption is that more US states will open themselves up to online gambling. New York has now issued licenses and other states are bound to follow. In the online world, the future appears to be moving towards the metaverse.
