Federal Gambling Regulation

GAMBLING, in one form or another, has been around since the dawn of mankind. Gambling is an agreement between two or more individuals; it involves a game of chance where the winner becomes the owner of the loser's property. The U.S. government derives its power to enforce gambling regulations by Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution. The Commerce Clause grants “Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states.”

This broad power has been used by Congress to abolish slavery, combat racketeering and organized crime, and desegregate the South. The U.S. Supreme Court has typically upheld these landmark decisions. In the early American Colonies, gambling was seen as an evil sin. This is understandable since many of the colonists were strict religionists[Page 312] with strong social codes against sin and vice. There have been numerous valleys and peaks in the tolerance of gambling in the United States. Andrew Jackson believed betting was a sin.

After the Civil War, especially in the American West, gambling gained popularity. However by the 1890s, gambling was outlawed in most areas of the United States. Nevada legalized casino gambling in 1931. This monopoly on gambling stayed in place until New Hampshire introduced its state lottery in 1963. Since then, a majority of states have instituted some form of gaming as a rich supplement to state income.

In the United States gambling has been regulated by each individual state. Some states such as Alabama do not allow any type of gambling at all, while other states such as Nevada, New Jersey, and Mississippi permit it in a variety of forms. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, several Native American tribes wanted to open gambling establishments on their tribal lands, as tribal elders searched for ways to relieve the desperate, ongoing poverty of their tribes.

While the tribes stated sovereignty in the affairs that dealt with their land and people, Congress did not agree. In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. This act states that tribes may participate in ritual gaming, card games, and bingo with the guidance of the National Indian Gaming Commission. Tribes may open and operate casinos if they have an agreement with the state in which their land is located. Gambling laws in America are enacted and enforced in the classic Federalist style.

The federal government tends to take the laissezfaire (hands off) approach to these matters, and allows states to enact laws they deem necessary and only intervenes when needed or asked to by the states.