The history of gambling in North America suggests important conclusions that are useful today in considering policies related to gambling. The United States has had a long history of allowing some forms of legal gambling and a degree of tolerance of illegal gambling. Society's tolerance and acceptance of legal gambling can change rapidly. Scandals and political control by gaming interests have led to backlashes which result in regulation and/or prohibition. .
Society's standards and laws related to gambling have tended to change back and forth from prohibition to regulation. These changes in law have led one noted observer, Professor I. Nelson Rose, to describe three waves of gambling regulation during the history of the colonies and the United States. The first wave began during the colonial period and lasted until the mid-1800s. The second wave commenced at the close of the Civil War and lasted until the early 20th century. The last wave started during the Great Depression and is still going strong. Because of the length and size of this last wave, another observer has characterized it as an explosion, not a wave.
Gambling is prominent in today's society. This can be seen especially through politics. Everywhere voters are electing people to office who are pro gambling. William Thompson of the University of Nevada (1994) describes politicians by stating, "It's part of the American landscape, they"ll trade morality for dollars". In North and South Carolina, for example, the last governor election showed that the people were for legal gambling by voting in governors who wanted a lottery. Now in the U.S., 47 states including the District of Columbia have legalized gambling. This increase in gambling is argued to be good for the economy, but there is further proof that it not only hurts the economy but society as well. Gambling has become outrageous. In England last year a bookmaking firm called William Hill of London offered bets on the end of the world.