Juneteenth: Commemorating A Day That Changed Gambling Forever

Although the civil rights movements in the US took place in the 1960's, it was a day nearly one hundred years earlier that started giving African Americans rights in the US. Juneteenth, a holiday in thirty-six states, celebrates the freeing of African American slaves on June 19th, 1865.

Texas had not acknowledged the Emancipation Proclamation, and slavery continued in the state until Union soldiers took over Galveston and freed the slaves. It is that day that millions of people throughout the US will be recognizing today.

That day also signals the first changes to what has now become a multi-billion dollar sports gambling industry. It was not until the 1900's when African Americans began playing in major sports leagues in the US, but the freedom granted on June 19th, 1865 was the first step.

Today, sports gambling is almost as popular as the sports themselves, and African American athletes have had a large part to do with the amount of money spent gambling. Several athletes, have forever changed betting odds on their sports.

Most notably, Jackie Robinson is considered a pioneer for becoming the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. He was granted that right by Branch Rickey of the Dodgers. Since that time, thousands of African American players have enjoyed the game of baseball, and many of those players are in the Hall of Fame.

In basketball, Michael Jordan spent the late eighties and the nineties redefining what a player could do on the court. Jordan's Chicago Bulls won six NBA championships, and they came at a time when gambling on the sport had never been higher. Since those titles, every aspiring NBA player has been compared to Jordan.

Perhaps the biggest change that African Americans contributed to when it comes to sports is in golf. Tiger Woods was so dominant for a ten year period that even in an individual sport, gamblers would have to lay big money if they were betting on Woods to win a tournament. Those odds grew even more in major championships.

For African Americans Juneteenth is a day to celebrate because it brought freedom. For sports fans, it is a day to celebrate because that freedom led to some of the most amazing sport performances that have ever been seen.

June 19, 2010
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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