3 ms·

It's 100% American and has been a thing forever. It's also a free speech argument, I should be able to bet on outcomes of events. It was common all throughout U

• bbor 2y ago
  Fascinating, thanks for sharing! It should probably be highlighted tho that there were absolutely waves of relative interest (~1790-1840 and ~1890-1910, at least), and it was outlawed almost everywhere by the mid 1800s, which obviously means it primarily fell to the rich and well-connected. Ditto in Britain — they had bets, but; Bets about the outcome of events in war, over the death of political leaders, over court cases, or between voters over election results were illegal on these grounds. In the Victorian and Edwardian periods, the British government increasingly attempted to limit gambling, especially among the working classes. So I’d argue it’s more like “a persistent scourge threatening democracy” than “a treasured ideal of free speech”. But I’m biased against all forms of gambling, so might have skimmed it unfairly. Worth a read, for sure!