History of US gambling

In US, gambling had been in practice since the time the first ever settlers came to the country. Even during the time of the British colony, the revenues of the state used to be raised through lotteries. During the days of the early Republic, the lotteries used to be used quite widely. In various communities, gambling and small card-rooms had developed over the years.

Development of gambling locations

The area around the Mississippi River and New Orleans especially became the center of the gambling scene in the country. During the 19th century the general public had been hostile towards gambling and card-cheaters and it was then that the riverboats had gained a center place in the gambling world of US. The lotteries had been ended in many parts in the north and the east by the forces that were against gambling.

When the railroads had been first introduced, the riverboats on the Mississippi lost their importance and gambling in the area also declined. There was also a lot of pressure on gamblers legally which made them turn towards various small time illegal scams in gambling. 

San Francisco soon became the gambling capital of the country during the gold rush. However, over the time the laws in the area became stricter and gamblers moved underground. Gambling then had helped the mafia grow in the country. During the Prohibition Era, when liquor and gambling were both illegal people moved towards Hot Springs, Galveston and Miami where the rules were not very strict.

During the depression, some small games like bingo had been legalized to allow organizations and churches to raise money. Then, in 1931 most types of gambling gamesgames (like blackjack, poker, baccarat, roulette and craps) had been legalized in Nevada. In the initial years, the legal status of gambling did not make much of a difference but after the end of World War II when the laws became very strict in the other areas, Las Vegas became a target for many gamblers.

During the 50s, Las Vegas developed quickly and plenty of casinos opened up in the city. In the 1960s, most of the important casinos and investors had been purchased by Howard Hughes which slowly put an end to organized crime in Las Vegas.

Later, in 1978 gambling had been made legal in Atlantic City too. Like Vegas, Atlantic City also developed quickly and started attracting quite a lot of tourists from all over the country. The lotteries too were soon made legal in many states of the US. Then in the 1990s Louisiana legalized the riverboat casinos along with a few other states. Detroit was also declared as a legal gambling city in 1996. Since then, US has seen the establishment and growth of plenty of well known casinos that have attracted millions of tourists from all over the world for years.