gambling

gaming,

betting of money or valuables on, and often participation in, games of chance (some involving degrees of skill). In England and in the United States, gambling was not a common-law crime if conducted privately. Even in colonial America, however, gambling was liable to rankle public opinion because it was often associated with rowdy activities and could produce debtors who would burden society.

In the United States, state laws largely govern gambling. Some states prohibit public wagers or betting by minors, while others allow wagering up to a certain amount. In some states parimutuel betting on horse races at the tracks is legal; several states permit parimutuel betting on dog races and jai alai games, and most states operate or participate in daily and weekly lotteries. Though all of these state-sanctioned forms may conflict with public opinion on the moral and economic worth of gambling, all provide state and local governments with large revenues. The first legalized offtrack betting system (OTB) in the United States opened in New York City in 1971.

Nevada was the first state to sanction many types of gambling, with casinos operating slot machines, card games, and various games of chance. For many years, Nevada (joined in 1978 by Atlantic City, N.J.) was the only place in the United States where casinos were legal; most of the states now have them. In some states the casinos are privately owned, though casino gambling may be restricted, particularly in those states along the Mississippi River, to riverboats (often permanently docked). In other states the casinos are only operated by Native American tribes. Following the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, states were required to permit on reservations any type of gambling that was permitted off-reservation. Since that time, tribes throughout the country have opened legal gambling establishments, often greatly enhancing their economy and that of the area where they live, but reservation gambling still produces only a small percentage of all gambling revenues in the country. In the late 1990s, concerns over compulsive gamblingcompulsive gambling
or pathological gambling,
a psychological disorder characterized by a persistent inability to resist the impulse to gamble. The disorder is progressive and typically results in difficulties in one's personal, social, and work life; it may lead to
..... Click the link for more information. (said to affect up to 3% of adult Americans) and the social effects of the mushrooming gambling economy—which had grown by 1,600% since the mid-1970s, with revenues of some $50 billion—brought increased government attention, but gambling revenues have continued to grow in importance to many state budgets.

In the late 20th and early 21st cent., betting on sports such as baseball, basketball, boxing, and football, although illegal in nearly all states, increased tremendously. In 2018 the Supreme Court ruled that a 1992 federal law that barred states that did not have sports betting from legalizing it was unconstitutional, and a number of states moved quickly to legalize gambling on sports. Several countries in the Caribbean have established offshore sports betting and on-line casinos, patronized principally by Americans, despite the fact that Internet sports betting (or all interstate and international Internet betting, under some Justice Dept. interpretations) is illegal under the federal Interstate Wire Act (1961) and all Internet gambling is illegal under many state laws. A handful of states have legalized online poker and online casino games since 2012. The World Trade Organization has ruled (2004) that the United States cannot apply its laws to foreign Internet gambling operations, but the United States has not complied with the ruling. U.S. legislation enacted in 2006 forbade the transfer of funds from financial institutions to online gambling sites.

Organized sport, although haunted by the memory of the Black Sox scandalBlack Sox scandal,
episode in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox, the American League champions, were banned from baseball in 1921 for having conspired with gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.
..... Click the link for more information. of the 1919 World Series and college basketball scandals (1951, 1961), has done little to discourage betting, and instances of professional gamblers attempting to fix the outcome of sporting events still occur. It is also common for network television and newspapers not only to publicize odds but also to employ oddsmaking experts. For sporting events, gambling brokers (popularly, bookies) usually establish two sets of odds, one for each side of the bet, so that they profit no matter what the outcome of the contest.

See also lotterylottery,
scheme for distributing prizes by lot or other method of chance selection to persons who have paid for the opportunity to win. The term is not applicable when lots are drawn without payment by the interested parties to determine some matter, e.g.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See E. Bergler, The Psychology of Gambling (1985); F. and S. Barthelme, Double Down (1999); A. Martinez, 24/7 (1999).

gambling

the staking of money on the outcome of games or events involving chance or skill. Although in most modern societies gambling is legal (and indeed often a major source of state revenue), religious and moral prohibitions still exert some degree of constraint. For a minority of people gambling can become a form of addictive behaviour; for most people, however, it involves a limited and controlled outlay and may serve important social functions in addition to the chance for material gain (e.g. bingo). Even serious gamblers are usually disciplined rather than compulsive, planning expenditure, limiting losses and husbanding any winnings (D. Downes et al., Gambling Work and Lesiure, 1976).

In a wider sense, much conventional, 'S peculative’, economic activity also involves elements of gambling – e.g. on stocks and shares.

Gambling

Atlantic CityNew Jersey city has become the Las Vegas of the East. [Am. Hist.: Misc.]Balibari, Chevalierde professional gambler and adventurer. [Br. Lit.: Barry Lyndon]Beaujeu, Monsieurde known for his betting. [Br. Lit.: Fortunes of Nigel]Bet-a-million Gateswealthy American industrialist John Warne Gates (1855–1911). [Am. Culture: Misc.]Brady, “Diamond Jim”(1856–1917) diamond-attired rail magnate and financier who loved to gamble. [Am. Hist.: Payton, 192]Camptown Races Foster’sode to betting. [Pop. Music: Van Doren, 192]Cincinnati Kid,the “one of the shrewdist gamblers east of the Mississippi.” [Cinema: Halliwell, 462]Clonbrony, Lordabsentee landlord is compulsive gambler. [Br. Lit.: The Absentee]Consusancient Roman god of horse-racing and counsel. [Rom. Myth.: Zimmerman, 68]Detroit, Nathanhis obsession with crap games so persistent that it even keeps him from getting married. [Musical Comedy: Damon Runyon Guys and Dolls in On Stage, 322]devil’s bonesepithet for dice. [Folklore: Jobes, 436]Google, Barneyhopelessly in love with the ponies. [Comics: Horn, 99–100]Ivanovich, Alexeiirrevocably drawn to betting tables. [Russ. Lit.: The Gambler]Las Vegascity in Nevada notorious for its gambling casinos since 1945. [Am. Hist.: Payton, 382]Lucky, Mr.alias Joe Adams, gambler who owns the Fortuna, fancy supper club and gambling yacht. [TV: Terrace, II, 117]Maverickfamily name of two brothers, Bret and Bait; self-centered and untrustworthy gentlemen gamblers. [TV: Terrace, II, 80]Minnieplays poker to save Jack Johnson’s life. [Ital. Opera: Puccini, Girl of the Golden West, Westerman, 361]Monte Carlotown in Monaco principality, in southeast France; a famous gambling resort. [Fr. Hist.: NCE, 1819]Muttand Jeff hapless punters always looking for a quick buck. [Comics: Horn, 508–509]Pit,the Board of Trade’s cellar, where all bidding occurs. [Am. Lit.: The Pit. Magill I, 756–758]Queen of Spades, TheAleksandr Pushkin’s short story about the downfall of the gambler Germann. [Russ. Lit.: Benét, 833]Smiley, Jimbets his frog can outjump any other; loses by sabotage. [Am. Lit.: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County]

gambling

[gamb´ling] betting money or other valuables on the outcome of a game or other event.pathological gambling an impulse control disorder consisting of persistent failure to resist the urge to gamble, to such an extent that personal, family, and vocational life are seriously disrupted.

An activity in which a person wagers against another person or organization on the likelihood of a particular outcome, either in a game of chance, a sports event or other activity for which the outcome is not known in advance

gambling

Vox populi An activity in which a person wagers against another person–eg, friend, acquaintance, bookmaker or 'bookie', or organization–eg, casino, horse race track, internet company engaged in said activity, either legal or illegal, on the likelihood of a particular outcome, either in a game of chance, or sports event or other activity for which the outcome is not known in advance. See Compulsive gambling.

gambling

1. Wagering or betting. 2. Risking something of value in the hope of winning something even more valuable or rare in exchange.

Patient discussion about gambling

Q. Do people substitute one addiction with another? If someone used to be addicted to alcohol and drugs, but is now clean for several months, is it likely that he will develop an addiction to something else (for example cigarettes or gambling)?A. I'd just like to add my 2 cents worth: Addictive behavior transfers to just about anything; addiction is the problem. Just as addicts have to learn that alcohol is also a drug, we must recognize that addiction is the problem; it is the behavior that is the problem. A common thing for addicts to do is to stop using drugs (including alcohol) and to substitute with people instead, for example, to become involved in codependent relationships with others, or to recognize that their ongoing relationships may also be codependent. It's not uncommon for individuals to go to CoDA (Codependents Anonymous) in addition to AA/NA or GA(Gambler's Anonymous), MA (Marijuana Anonymous)...Others find it more beneficial to use one program (like NA, e.g.), while realizing that addiction refers to more than just a drug or substance.

More discussions about gambling

gambling

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Bibliography

gambling

Gambling

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Patient discussion about gambling

Gambling

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Synonyms for gambling

noun betting

Synonyms

Synonyms for gambling

noun the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize)

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