How Securities Trading Became Legally Not Gambling

How Securities Trading Became Legally Not Gambling

Attitudes toward gambling have shifted not only from state to state but also over time.  Twice before in American history, almost all gambling was outlawed.  Even Nevada closed its casinos in 1909.  But we are now in what I call the Third Wave of Legal Gambling, with...
Can Tribes Run Abortion Clinics?

Can Tribes Run Abortion Clinics?

I normally write about issues involving legal gambling.  But the US Supreme Court’s upcoming decision to overturn Roe v. Wade raises the question: Can tribes open abortion clinics the way they have opened casinos?  Gaming law gives us part of the answer. Indian law is...
Dealers Who Count Cards

Dealers Who Count Cards

Government regulators ought to at least pretend to be neutral. This is particularly true of regulators whose main job is to protect the public. Imagine the Atomic Energy Commission saying nuclear power plants can set their own safety standards, and anyway, there is...
Preferential Shuffling

Preferential Shuffling

It is time to look again at the controversy over the right of casinos to shuffle cards in blackjack whenever the remainder of the deck favors the players. Although the issue of casino dealers counting cards has been stewing for decades, the most recent flare-up is the...