Sports Betting and Bookmaking: An American History

This book provides a sweeping overview of sports and race betting in the United States, from the first thoroughbred meet at Saratoga in 1863 through the modern day. It is also the first comprehensive exploration of the evolution of bookmaking, including the legal developments and technological advancements that have taken place over the years.

Arne K. Lang is a freelance writer specializing in boxing and sports gambling. He also holds an MA in sociology and taught at UNLV and Tuskegee Institute. Lang has written for many weekly papers, leading boxing magazines, and for Stardust Sports Registry, a publication he created while affiliated with the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. He is the author of Sports Betting 101: Making Sense of the Bookie Business and the Business of Beating the Bookie (1992), Prizefighting: An American History (2008), and The Nelson-Wolgast Fight and the San Francisco Boxing Scene, 1900-1914 (2012).