19th Century Gambling as it Flourished in America

Scandals involving the bribery of public officials by lottery operators were commonplace.

Many lotteries openly violated their charters by extending the time periods for ticket sales--- thereby increasing their profits, overselling tickets, and rigging the outcome.

Scandals involving the bribery of public officials by lottery operators were commonplace. In some cases, lottery operators simply disappeared after selling their tickets.

Early in the nineteenth century, reformers and charities attributed pauperism (impoverishment) to lotteries as well as excessive alcohol consumption.

In the 1820s, an anti-lottery movement was spearheaded by the Society of Friends (Quakers), which played an important role in the disappearance of lotteries from most northern states by the 1840s.

Public disillusionment with lotteries became evident in the south as well.

By 1860, only three of the thirty-three states permitted lotteries. However, with the outbreak of the Civil War, many southern states turned to lotteries as a source of revenue for military expenditures.

In 1868, Louisiana established a lottery that lasted for twenty-five years amid recurring scandals. Anti-lottery sentiment developed again in the waning decades of the nineteenth century, fueled to a significant degree by the scandals surrounding the Louisiana lottery.

By 1900, thirty-six of the forty-five states had outright prohibitions and, in some cases, other forms of gambling.

After the Revolutionary War, gambling moved westward with the frontier.

In the 1800s, new forms of gambling and new types of gamblers appeared in the lower Mississippi Valley from St. Louis to New Orleans, casino games--- faro, craps, monte, poker, and roulette--- became popular.

The spread of gambling was not without its opponents, however. In 1835, outraged citizens of Vicksburg hanged five faro dealers perceived as promoting immorality.

Although the Mississippi riverboat gambler remains a popular image of this era, land-based public gambling establishments actually preceded the riverboat.

Gambling thrived in the gold-mining areas of California and sliver-mining areas of Nevada in the 1840s and 1850s.

During the 1850s, gambling also thrived in the frontier towns of Kansas City and Denver, as well as in San Francisco, where it was a major part of the fabric of social life.

Following the discovery of gold and the ensuing 'gold rush', commercial gambling establishments emerged throughout California. Gambling was viewed like any other business. Although commonplace throughout California, nowhere did gambling flourish as in San Francisco.

Plush multistory clubs, as well as makeshift tents, were erected as gambling centers.

Gambling was an important source of municipal revenue, and the city-licensed, regulated, and taxed these businesses.

Commercial gambling also developed in eastern and mid-western cities. Illegal numbers and policy games drew customers from the urban working class and legal gambling houses served mainly the politically powerful upper-class.

Off-track bookmaking syndicates also emerged by the 1890s. Technically operating outside the law, protection from police and political organizations.

This being said, they created complex and subtle connections among themselves, their customers, politicians and the police which redefined the context in which law enforcement occurred.

Many believe that organized crime syndicates emerged in the 1920s in response to the demand for alcohol during the decade of Prohibition. However, they made their appearance much earlier.

It was pointed out that between 1880 and 1905, gamblers and vice entrepreneurs generally exercised an influence on local political and law enforcement that has seldom been equaled since that time.