Gambling and the Law - Update 1993

The largest, fastest growing, most quickly changing area of entertainment law is legal gambling: last year more than $304 billion was bet legally in the United States. Changes in government policies, from complete prohibition, to grudging permission, to active promotion, have led to a classic nationwide speculative bubble. The nation's leading expert on gambling law explores the recent explosion of legal gambling, including riverboat casinos that need not have engines or crews; "video lottery terminals," video poker machines run by state governments; and the largest table game casino in the world, owned by Native Americans in Connecticut. The article explores how the law is struggling to keep up with tidal changes sweeping society.