HISTORY57 - Sports Betting in the United States
Today’s constant solicitation (and saturation TV marketing) of sports betting seems so at odds with my experience over my lifetime. What happened to so dramatically change the betting environment? I decided to try to find out - first by researching and understanding the long-time evolution of sports betting, and second, by documenting what’s happened recently to turn this world upside down. So, this blog will cover the history of sports betting in the United States. After a short introduction, I’ll briefly cover (for perspective and background) the evolution of sports betting in the Western World from ancient times. Next, I’ll focus on the United States and talk about sports betting developments in three time periods, the 18 th and 19 th centuries, the 20 th century, and the 21 st century. Finally, I’ll speculate on the future of sports betting. My principal sources include “History of Sports Betting in the USA,” legalsports betting.com; “A History of Sports Betti