The history of gambling legalization in the United States is an interesting one, we are currently in the third wave of legal gambling.
Between 1931 and 1978, Nevada, the home of Las Vegas, was the only state that legalized casino gambling. Atlantic City, New Jersey was the next to welcome casino gambling, followed by Iowa with its offshore River Boat Casinos.
By the end of 1996, 25 states and three territories permitted casinos, with many of these being established through statutes and tribal-state compacts.
One of the biggest rulings on gambling impacting the whole nation came in 2018 when the US Supreme Court struck down the federal law from 1992 that had prohibited most states from authorizing sports betting. Since this happened, 33 states around the country have legalized sports betting.
The online gambling industry, which includes both sports betting and online casinos, has been growing significantly over the last few years. Globally, it is expected to be worth $92.9 billion dollars by 2023.
In the US, a 2011 Department of Justice (DoJ) ruling allowed states to enact legislation concerning online gambling, which gave many the opportunity to start the process of legalizing it.
Some of the most progressive states when it comes to online wagering are New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Nevada and Michigan. For example, you can find an extensive amount of sites to do this in Michigan, and this resource of online casinos from OLBG will help.
While more states continue to amend legalization and take a less restrictive stance on online and offline gambling, interestingly, California, the country’s most populated state has yet to legalize any form of sports betting.
Gradual Steps
This is not to say that steps have not been made in the Californian legal system. For instance, there have been four separate initiatives that have either gained access or attempted to get the signatures needed to be placed on the November 2022 ballot.
Through one proposed tribal initiative, retail betting at physical Indian casinos and horse racing tracks would be permitted.
As for online casinos, there are currently no legal online casinos in California. In this state, you are currently only legally permitted to play in sweepstakes casinos and certain social casinos.
With the ballot coming up in November this year, it seems California are getting ready to fully legalize gambling in the state. There are a whole range of benefits to doing so, including both social and economic.
These are some of the biggest benefits to legalizing gambling:
Of course, the first big benefit would simply be giving citizens the opportunity to take part in an activity that they find fun and offer them a new form of sociable entertainment.
Furthermore, it has been estimated that if both online and offline sports gambling was legalized, California could develop a sizable market worth at least $3 billion in yearly revenue. The opportunity for taxation is what encouraged other states to permit gambling. Tax revenue for California is expected to be substantial, in New Jersey the sports handle figure was more than $1.35 billion in January 2022 alone.
Regulation is another major bonus of legalization. The state would require online and app-based casinos and sportsbooks to be regulated and licensed. This would help to keep players safe and their personal data secure as they use gambling sites.
In countries and states with prohibitive gambling laws, gambling still exists, however it is carried out underground and risks being linked to criminal activity. Legalization would help to prevent crime and give players more choice in games and betting options.
Other industries also benefit from the introduction of legal gambling. Now the many states allow online and in person casino gaming and betting, the state may be viewed as being behind the times. Therefore, this change will likely help California to remain competitive in the tourism sector.
In the current tough economy, any legalization could bring new job opportunities is likely to be viewed positively and a gambling industry would certainly have a positive impact on the jobs market locally. A workforce will be needed to manage sites and venues, developers are needed for games and even marketing and advertising requires staff.
When people travel to California to enjoy gambling, they will also eat in restaurants, visit bars and stay in hotel accommodation. Therefore, giving the local economy and local businesses a real boost.
