… In 1992, a federal law banned sports betting in most of the country. A Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll showed that a majority of Americans disapproved of legalization. This reflected long-held concerns, not only in regard to the activity itself but also to the dangers it posed to the integrity of our games. High-profile gambling scandals — ranging from the 1919 Black Sox fixing of the World Series to revelations that the baseball legend Pete Rose bet on games in which he participated — confirmed for many people that sports and betting were not a good match.
By 2014, however, polls began to show that a majority of Americans had begun to rethink their skepticism. What changed in the intervening years? CONT.
Gary Belsky, New York Times