The American Insurance Industry compares the amount of gambled money changing hands illegally in America each year to the amount of the national debt- $2.15 trillion annually.

When you consider the same wagering that once was considered illegal is now sanctioned in most states (as long as government participates in and regulates the activity), the number grows even more inconceivable.

According to the American Gaming Association, 16 states now operate casinos and/or racetrack betting operations (on-shore): Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Other states allow gambling at offshore casinos and provide for Native American casinos not included in these numbers.

These states reported more than $31 billion in casino/racetrack gambling revenue in 2004.

Many of these same states and others not named operate and participate in lotteries with jackpots reaching over $100 million.

The Georgia Lottery is no exception. The games were launched after statewide referendum in 1993. Last year $2,922 billion was spent on lottery games in Georgia.

Ironically, one of the arguments advanced in convincing voters to vote for the statewide lottery was that legalized betting would somehow curb illegal gambling in the state. Prior to the passing of the bill granting the state authority to initiate a statewide lottery, Georgians could in secret place bets daily with bookies working the numbers game. Dating back to the introduction of "the bug" (a colloquialism for the numbers game) in Harlem by Madame Stephanie St. Claire in 1922, gangsters and racketeers, as they were then characterized, copied her model and opened shop in every major city.

During the 1960s, Atlanta bookies with street names like "Chicken Man," Diamond Slim, "Red," Trigger, and Curley, to name a few, collected numbers from private citizens and placed those bets with numbers kingpins such as Charlie Cato and Wesley Merritt.

The players selected 3 numbers and placed bets on their number being selected, or as street jargon deemed "falling," for the day. If successful, a dollar played could yield up to $500 in winnings. The winning numbers each day were determined by the ending Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Wesley Merritt spent years in prison for his role in the number's racket. The state of Georgia now legally operates the same game that today is called the "Cash Three."

Statistics released by the Organized Crime Section of U.S. Department of Justice refute the notion that legalized betting diminishes illegal gambling. The numbers show that illegal gambling is 3 times higher in states with legal gambling than in states without legal gambling. The names of the kingpins have changed, but betting on the numbers remains a relatively small segment of illegal gambling today. Sports betting, video games betting (including card games as well as sport games), online gaming, and even betting on animal fights are all a part of the U.S. culture.

Sports betting not only involves betting on the outcome, but also impacts the participants and their level of performance. In 1998, Brian Ballarini, a former Northwestern University football player turned bookie was convicted for bribing NCCA school players to shave points from college basketball games in order to pay their own gambling debts.

Gambling on the part of college students continues to be widespread on campuses. The issue goes beyond betting on your own college team. The American Gaming Association published a report in March 2001 showing that 65 NCAA schools actually accepted ads for publication in school newspapers that promoted online illegal betting sites. Eleven of the schools had members serving on the NCAA Board of Directors.

Some college students now report that gambling takes the place of part-time jobs to supplement income. Dorms host gambling tournaments using video games that allow players to compete against each other, while observers place bets on the outcome.

The video games range from basketball and football to virtual car racing and it is not confined to being present in the same dorm room. Elaborate Internet connections provide opportunities to play opponents on virtual games online from the privacy of their own computers with bets being managed via credit cards.

Online gambling through offshore companies with operations in Antigua, Belize, and Costa Rica now generate more than $100 billion annually in illegal gamming from U.S. citizens alone.

The easy access to gaming has even spread to juveniles with reports of youngsters having to seek professional treatment for addiction to gambling. Some reports attribute as much a 20% of whitecollar crime to gambling addictions.

States and the federal government have enacted such laws as The Wire Act, Travel Act, Interstate Transportation of Wagering Paraphernalia Act, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, and the Crime Control Act in an effort to control the juggernaut of online betting. In spite of the legislation, case law has rendered few prosecutions for online gaming.

According to an article in Card Player Magazine, in 2004 Jeffrey Trauman, a car salesman from North Dakota, pled guilty to gambling online and was fined $500 and given a one year deferred sentence.

At the time of his arrest, Trauman had $300,000 on deposit in offshore accounts and $43,000 in cash inside his home. Even legally operated casinos harbor illegal activity such as skimming and money laundering.

The most bizarre case of illegal gambling noted so far was recently reported in the Miami Herald. The report indicated a gambling ring in Hong Kong had been raided and cash confiscated for bets placed on insect fighting.

Since roaches have survived the dinosaurs, I'm sure they will be around for betting once the governments of the world curb the rising tide of online betting!