The History of Sports Betting in America
Solomon once said "There is nothing new under the sun". This is one of the truest statements in the history of the world. The simple fact is that if somebody is doing something, than it has probably been done thousands of times in the past somewhere else. Anyone who thinks sports betting is something that came along with Monday Night Football, needs to go back and take a history class. Even in the ancient Greek Olympics there were probably the togo clad equivalent of a modern bookie taking bets on the Javelin throw.
In the United States, the rise of professional sports, especially televised professional football, has brought about significant increases in the volume of sports betting in the United States. This has been encouraged by legalized sports wagering in Nevada where the practice thrives.
The administration of President Ford also was an unlikely ally in the growth of sports gambling, as legislation was passed in 1975 that gradually reduced the federal gambling tax from from 10 percent to 2 percent over the course of four years 1975 to 1979. This caused a boom in the industry and the sports handle increased dramatically from less than $41 million in 1973 to almost $258.7 million by 1979.
The amount of money that sports gambling truly brings in will never be known. Considering the fact that it is illegal in most places which means that most of the income is unreported. There is no doubt though that this is a multi-Billion dollar industry.
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