Sports gambling boom. Vast global business built on dreams of big win
Author: Hopp, Jessica
Source: Tennessean.com
Published: Dec 10, 06
Full Document:
NASHVILLE – Gambling on sports, once seen as a shady endeavor, has become mainstream fare. Fueled by the nation’s love for football and a newfound passion for poker, the sports gambling industry is now a $400 billion monster of legal and illegal activity worldwide.
“The explosion today is gambling surfacing from underneath,” said Nashville’s Angela Evans, a sports gambler and handicapper. “Now it’s everywhere.” Including Tennessee. All gambling except the state lottery is illegal here, but police know they can’t fully control sports betting or poker. “People enjoy betting,” said Sgt. Steve Reed of the Nashville Metro Police Gambling Control Unit. “You have people betting in this city every day.”
In Las Vegas, the Nevada Gaming Control Board said $2.26 billion was wagered last year in legal sports books.
Globally, $12 billion was spent on online gambling last year, $4.3 billion of it in sports bets, according to gambling-industry analyst Christiansen Capital Advisors. By 2010, revenue from online gambling is expected to hit $24.5 billion.
Tennesseans are part of that projection, but their involvement extends beyond bettors and bookmakers.
Local handicappers profit with online sites, radio shows and book sales. Poker has produced Midstate millionaires.
Counseling centers and Gamblers Anonymous meetings around the state take in those who become addicted.
And local lawmakers and law enforcement continue the fight to keep gambling illegal and put its offenders in jail.
