Early Gambling in the U.S.

A fact that few know is that George Washington purchased the first federal lottery ticket, back in the late 1700s. This lottery was created to cover the cost of improving the District of Columbia. After this, almost every state would sanction their own lottery. And as early as the 1800s, there were more than four hundred different lotteries all over the country that offered prizes for the winner. The lottery continued to be an effective way of raising funds for the next century.

However, these lotteries were quickly squashed with the reform by the church post Civil War. The fraud surrounding a Louisiana lottery caused Congress to remove the the last of the games. Nevada would take the first firm negative standing towards gambling, making it illegal to operate any form of it.

The famous prohibition that followed forced what was left of the gambling, and drinking, community underground. However, very soon after, it became legal, and popular, to bet on horses at the tracks. It wasn’t long later before Nevada legalized it once more, and casinos were soon to pop up all over. Atlantic City was the next, with other cities to follow.