Gambling in the United States

Gambling, often referred to as "gaming", had 2005 gross revenues of $84.65 billion,cite web|url=http://www.americangaming.org/Industry/factsheets/statistics_detail.cfv?id=7|publisher=American Gaming Association|title=Industry Information: Fact Sheets: Statistics: Gaming Revenue for Current Year|accessdate=2007-05-19] and thrives in the United States despite being restricted.

Proponents of gambling in the United States say it provides valuable tax revenue and job opportunities. Commercial casinos provided over 354,000 jobs,cite web|url=http://www.americangaming.org/Industry/factsheets/general_info_detail.cfv?id=28|accessdate=2007-05-19|publisher=American Gaming Association|title=Industry Information: Fact Sheets: General Info: Casino Employment] and yearly state and local tax revenue of $5.2 billion as of 2006.cite web|url=http://www.americangaming.org/Industry/factsheets/statistics_detail.cfv?id=10|publisher=American Gaming Association|title=Industry Information: Fact Sheet: Statistics: Tax Payments - Commercial Casinos|accessdate=2007-05-18] Some community groups oppose gambling because they say it leads to corruption, compulsive gambling, and higher crime rates.

Authorized forms

Many levels of government have authorized multiple forms of gambling: everything from bingo games in church basements, to multi-million dollar poker tournaments. The American Gaming Association breaks gambling down into the following categories:
*Card Rooms, both public and private
*Commercial Casinos
*Charitable Games and Bingo
*Indian Casinos
*Legal Bookmaking
*Lotteries
*Pari-mutuel Wagering

Legality

Gambling is legal under US federal law, but the states are free to regulate or prohibit it. If state-run lotteries are included, almost every state can be said to allow some form of gambling. However, casino-style gambling is much less widespread.

Nevada is the only state where casino-style gambling is legal statewide, although the state and local governments both impose licensing and zoning restrictions. All other states that allow casino-style gambling restrict it to small geographic areas (e.g., Atlantic City, New Jersey or Tunica, Mississippi) or to Native American reservations (some of which are conveniently located in or near large cities). As sovereign nations, Native American tribes have used legal protection to open casinos, which has been a contentious political issue in California and other states. In some states, casinos are restricted to "riverboats", large multistory barges that more often than not are permanently moored in a body of water.

One notable exception to US policy is in the area of online gambling. The Federal Wire Act of 1961 outlawed interstate wagering on sports but did not address other forms of gambling and has been the subject of court challenges. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (part of the SAFE Port Act) did not specifically prohibit online gambling; instead, it outlawed financial transactions involving online gambling service providers. Offshore gambling providers reacted by shutting down their services for US customers.

Commercial casinos

Commercial casinos are casinos founded and run by private companies on non-Indian land. There are 17 states (and 1 US Territory) that currently allow commercial casinos in some form:

*California
*Colorado
*Florida
*Illinois
*Indiana
*Iowa
*Louisiana
*Michigan
*Mississippi
*Missouri
*Montana [ [http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/mca_toc/23_5.htm Table of Contents, TITLE 23, CHAPTER 5, MCA ] ]
*Nevada
*New Jersey
*North Carolina
*Pennsylvania
*Puerto Rico
*South Dakota
*Washington
*West Virginia

There are approximately 450 commercial casinos, producing a gross gaming revenue of $28.93 billion in 2004.cite web|url=http://www.americangaming.org/assets/files/uploads/2004_Casino_State_Statistics.pdf |format=pdf|title=Casino State Statistics|year=2004|accessdate=2007-05-18|publisher=American Gaming Association]

Indian gaming

As an expression of their retained sovereignty, some Native American tribes opt to operate casinos on tribal land to provide employment and revenue for their government and their tribe members. Tribal gaming is regulated on the tribal, state, and federal level. Native tribes are required to use gambling revenue to provide for governmental operations, economic development, and the welfare of their members. Federal regulation of Indian gaming was established under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Under the provisions of that law, games are divided into three distinct categories. Class I games are "traditional" games that involve little or no wagering. Class II games include bingo, pull-tabs, and certain non-banked card games (poker, cribbage, bridge, whist, etc.). Class III games include all casino games (craps, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, slot machines and other games where the player bets against the house) and games that do not properly fall into classes I or II. [http://www.indiangaming.org/library/indian-gaming-facts/ Indian Gaming Facts] ]

Tribal gambling had revenues of $14.5 billion in 2002, from 354 casinos. Approximately forty percent of the 562 federally recognized tribes operate gaming establishments.

The National Indian Gaming Commission oversees Indian gaming for the federal government.

Lotteries

Lotteries are games in which contestants match their chosen set of numbers with a winning set. Most states have state-sponsored and multi-state lotteries.

The classic lottery is a drawing in which each contestant buys a combination of numbers. Each combination of numbers, or "play" is usually priced at $1. Plays are usually non-exclusive, meaning that two or more ticket holders may buy the same combination. The lottery organization then draws the winning combination of 5-8 numbers, usually from 1 to 50, using a randomized, automatic ball tumbler machine.

To win, contestants match their combinations of numbers with the drawn combination. The combination may be in any order, except in some "mega ball" lotteries, where the "mega" number for the combination must match the ball designated as the "mega ball" in the winning combination. If there are multiple winners, they split the winnings, also known as the "Jackpot". Winnings are currently subject to federal income taxes as ordinary income. Winnings can be awarded as a yearly annuity or as a lump sum, depending on lottery rules.

In some states, revenues from lotteries are designated for a specific budgetary purpose, such as education. Other states put lottery revenue into the general fund.

Multi-jurisdictional lotteries generally have larger jackpots due to the greater number of tickets sold. The Mega Millions, Hot Lotto, and Powerball games are the biggest such lotteries in terms of numbers of participating states. Florida is the only lottery state that does not take part in a multi-state game; however, Florida announced on July 2, 2008 that it will be joining Powerball in January 2009.)

Only eight states do not sell lottery tickets:

*Alabama
*Alaska
*Arkansas (a lottery will be on the ballot in November 2008)
*Hawaii
*Mississippi
*Nevada
*Utah
*Wyoming

cratchcard games

Some state lotteries have games other than lotteries. Usually these are in the scratchcard format, although some states use pull-tab games. In either format, cards are sold that have opaque areas. In some games, all of the opaque material is removed to see if the contestant has won, and how much. In other scratchcard games, a contestant must pick which parts of a card to scratch, to match amounts or play another form of game.

tates where certain types of legalized gambling have been repealed

*On July 1, 2000 a new law took effect in the State of South Carolina where the ownership, possession and operation of a video poker machine either for commercial or even personal use became illegal. Violators are subject to prosecution and hefty fines. Currently the only type of legalized gambling in the state is the South Carolina Education Lottery. [ [http://casinogambling.about.com/library/weekly/aa101899.htm About.com] , accessed February 21, 2007]

See also

* Illegal Gambling Business Act of 1970
* Illegal Money Transmitters Act of 1992
* Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

References

External links

* [http://www.americangaming.org/ American Gaming Association] Gaming industry association
* [http://www.indiangaming.org/ National Indian Gaming Association] Indian gaming industry association
* [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560772/Gambling.html MSN Encarta gambling article]