Gambling has now become a global event, and you can access thousands of casino games without even leaving your home: just sign up at a website like a casino online VULKAN. However, the fact that it is an easy activity today does not mean that this was the case in the past. This is especially true for countries such as the United States where the legalization of gambling still poses a problem. Although Las Vegas is recognized as the capital of gambling, other US states are not so lucky. Some jurisdictions still impose severe sanctions against land-based or online gambling. So, how did America come to this, and how has Nevada become a gambling capital? Below, we answer all these questions for you.
It All Started with Horse Racing
Americans have always gambled, and the federal government has always tried to ban it: this is how we can summarize the history of gambling in this country. Historical records show that gambling began for horse racing in 1680 and was seen as a hobby of well-off citizens for a long time. As the British-American colonies migrated, they brought horses and horse racing with them. Horse racing betting was already a popular hobby in Europe at the time, and they continued to do so in America. In the 17th century, the center of gambling in the USA was Virginia, and gambling was not seen as a “taboo.” In fact, the original 13 colonies used horse racing bets and lottery as a source of funding.
However, as a result of the dominance of Baptists and Methodists in the 18th century, gambling began to be seen as a “sin.” In 1769, gambling was banned and even considered a crime in most states. Baptists were dominant particularly in the East Coast at that time, and the west and south of the country were exempt from such bans: New Orleans, therefore, suddenly became the center of gambling and retained this title until the mid-19th century. But Baptists and Methodists were increasingly dominant: by the 1950s, gambling was almost banned at the federal level.
This did not stop Americans from gambling, it just changed how they did it. In states like Chicago, gambling went under complete control of criminal organizations. At that time, gambling was possible in almost every hotel and even restaurant in the city. Criminal organizations established a true empire by bribing. (This is why Chicago has become the center of the mafia in the years to come.) In the Southern states where the law is more strictly enforced, players have had to develop creative solutions: this is how steamboats came about.
These ships continued to sail along the river without anchoring and were theoretically not breaking the law. Players were taken to ships in boats and dropped back. The most famous ships of this type were on the Mississippi River, and poker is also believed to have been invented on one of these ships.
Nevada Was a Ghost State
This situation continued until the 1920s: gambling was prohibited at the federal level, but it was possible to gamble at any time in any state. The Great Depression that started at that time affected all states, but jurisdictions that were not very populous, like Nevada, almost turned into ghost towns. The population was migrating to the Western states where jobs were still available, and Nevada was about to turn into a real desert.
The state decided to legalize gambling to get a source of income and create jobs: the situation was so bad that the federal government had to allow it. However, they wanted gambling to be restricted to a specific geographic area. Nevada chose the area we know today as Las Vegas and laid the first stone of the famous Strip.
Actually, you know the rest of the story: Nevada has made such a huge income from legal gambling that other states tried to do the same. Moreover, the legalization of gambling enabled criminal organizations to disappear. Although the federal government resisted, some states began working to make gambling legal. Southern Maryland legalized slot machines in 1943. In 1977, New Jersey legalized gambling and restricted it to Atlantic City, just like Nevada. In 1990, Louisiana and Illinois made steamboat casinos legal. Michigan joined the states that legalized gambling in 1996 but restricted it to Detroit.
Nowadays, the legalization of online gambling is under discussion, and some states have already done so: in more than half of the US states, online sports betting is legally possible. New Jersey also allows online casinos. We are sure that in the near future the federal government will also change its mind: everyone benefits from legal gambling.
