Gambling: Illegal

Ever since the authorities decided to restrict gambling, criminals have offered gamblers the opportunity to play illegally. At the end of the 19th century, illegal gambling also became one of the favored activities of organized crime. Until fairly recently, illegal gambling operations, such as gambling dens, betting rings, and numbers games, were largely organized locally or regionally. In the mid-1990s, however, the Internet truly globalized illegal gambling. How to control online games of chance is now by far the most important policy question in this field.

Gambling has existed throughout history, and so have restrictions on gambling, albeit usually imposed locally and only for short time periods. The main concern was the threat that gambling presented to public order, in large part because of the conflicts ...