Gambling in Old New York: From Taverns to Mob-Run Clubs

Centuries of Gaming in NYC

Colonial & Early Republic (1600s–1820s)

Taverns and saloons housed card games, dice, lotteries. Gambling was widespread but unregulated.

Crackdowns Begin (1820s–1840s)

• 1829: NY bans gambling houses (largely ignored).
• 1840s: Five Points (Chinatown) – notorious slum with gambling dens – targeted by reformers.

Resurgence & Organized Crime (Late 1800s–1910s)

• Mob (e.g., Arnold Rothstein) runs high-end clubs, policy (numbers) rackets.
• Police corruption enables operation.
• Peak: Hundreds of illegal clubs; patrons from all classes.

End of an Era

1919: NY bans sports betting; Prohibition (1920) shifts vice underground. Legal gambling returns only with state lottery (1967) and casinos (1990s+).