Sportsbook

The evolution of SportsBooks in the USA has come a long way from going down to the corner and placing a bet with 'Fat Tony'. Although street bookies still exist, they are finding it difficult to compete with Online SportsBooks - except of course; you can't get the same kind of 'credit' over the Internet.

If you have ever have the pleasure of visiting a SportsBook in Vegas, definitely visit the Hilton Las Vegas beside the Las Vegas Convention center. It's definitely one of the best, and has a tone of class.

Some of the best Online Sports Action is found at www.boxseatbeting.com - they have real-time Vegas Odds, and very quick Payouts. Check them out now for the latest lines and drop $20 on tonight's game.

And is online Sports Betting Illegal? The government would have you believe so, but despite efforts to pass a bill in the U.S. Congress, many people in America do gamble online. Americans spend US$600 billion a year on gaming every year, and even the land-based casinos in Vegas are starting to get in on the action. Around the world, different countries have taken varying stances: In China, Hong Kong passed a bill tightening gambling controls but leaving online gambling alone, in recognition that a ban would be unenforceable.

Quick Facts

• Nevada has 142 legal sports books that allow wagering on professional and amateur sports. The only amateur sporting events that SportsBooks allow betting on are collegiate and some Olympic sports.
• The betting action in Nevada sports books breaks down as follows: professional and college football combined - 39%, professional and college basketball combined - 34.5%, baseball - 23%, and hockey - 2%. Boxing, golf, and tennis wagering make up the remaining 1.5%.

And most recently, sports betting has grown in due part to

• The decrease in the federal wagering excise tax from 10 percent to 2 percent to eventually 0.25 percent on January 1, 1983. This served to convert many of those betting on sports illegally to do so in a legal manner. It made sports bookmaking a profitable business venture.
• The saturation of sporting events in the media has enhanced the public's familiarity with various types of sports. Cable television and satellite technology has made it possible to bring the games live and direct to the sports books. The ever-expanding mass media marketing of professional and collegiate sports has risen to enormous levels. The three most popular sports for wagering (football, baseball, and basketball) all have major contracts with national and local television providers.
• The weakened stigma associated with gambling in general and specifically, with gambling on professional events
• Gambling, especially on sporting events, is determined a victimless crime, or a crime in which the accused has not acted in a manner considered harmful to another.
• The frequent "natural" association of gambling with sport, particularly by the media, has promoted the legitimization of sports gambling in the eyes of the public.
• Major Nevada resort hotels and casinos discovered that in-house race and sports books were good for business and created substantial "foot traffic" through the casino.
• The volume of information available to the sports bettor has increased to the point that the gambler does not have to be at a severe disadvantage when compared to the knowledge possessed by the bookmaker.