Gambling

In the early 21st century gambling was sometimes called the new American pastime. By 2004, 36 states had legalized casino gambling as a way to stimulate their economies and create jobs, either commercially or specifically on Native American lands. Television shows featuring poker tournaments attracted high ratings, giving casinos and card rooms valuable free publicity. One annual tournament, the World Series of Poker, garnered widespread media coverage with its huge cash payouts—including a $5 million grand prize in 2004. As more casinos continued to open around the world and Internet gambling grew rapidly, the industry attracted millions of new gamblers.

At the same time, the gambling industry faced challenges. The rise of Internet gambling, for example, appeared for a while to pose a serious threat to traditional gambling outlets, as anyone with an online connection could wager real money on sports or casino games. Because gambling Web sites are often based in foreign countries, they pay no taxes to the local governments where the gamblers live. Online gambling also posed problems for regulators attempting to enforce gambling laws. In 2006 the U.S. Congress passed a law making it illegal for banks and credit card companies to send payments to Internet gambling sites. The firms that run the sites announced they would not take bets from U.S. customers, and the market value of the firms plunged.

Other forms of gambling failed to thrive. Attendance at racetracks has been in steady decline, forcing governments and track owners to change laws and marketing tactics in an attempt to shore up the business. Some gambling enterprises have been hurt by too much competition, from multistate lotteries contributing to declines in smaller state games to Native American casinos cutting into the revenues of other types of gambling. In some places, citizen backlash has been able to block legalized gambling from being approved in their communities. The gambling industry, like the act of gambling itself, continued to hold out the promise of riches while remaining a risky proposition.