Until the 1980s, there were really only two places in the country where you could walk into a physical, legal casino and place bets: Nevada and Atlantic City, New Jersey. The first state to establish a lottery was New Hampshire in 1964. It’s becoming an inextricable part of sports fandom: ESPN, the flagship sports television network, licensed its own brand to a sportsbook last month.Ī few decades ago, all this would have been unthinkable. It’s endorsed by cultural institutions like the NFL. Gambling is sanctioned by the government - especially state and local governments, which are guaranteed to make money as gambling expands.

Surveys indicate upward of 70 percent of US residents participated in some kind of gambling - whether the lottery or a raffle or blackjack or a sports wager - within the past year. If you’d rather put your money on a presidential election, the proliferation of online prediction markets means you can. You don’t need a casino to play poker, but if you want the feel of felt and plastic chips on your fingers, one is likely nearby. Want to bet on tonight’s NFL game? There’s an app for that. Most of us carry a mini-casino around in our pocket. Americans can now gamble on anything, anytime, anywhere.

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