Nov 26 2009
Miami Adult Entertainment: A timeline of gambling in Florida
1940 Cockfighting tourneys flourish in Central Florida.
1948 Possession of a federal gambling tax stamp becomes illegal.
1950 U.S. Sen. Estes Kefauver’s crime committee investigates illegal gambling in Miami and Tampa. Dade and Broward sheriffs are forced out of office; new sheriffs order raids on gambling dens.
1958 Former heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey lobbies the Dade County Commission for permission to open four casinos. Commission votes 3-2 to give preliminary approval and then, under pressure from Gov. LeRoy Collins, reverses its vote a week later.
1959 Gov. LeRoy Collins authors a three-page article in Parade magazine entitled: “Legalized Gambling is Poison.”
1960s Dog racing and jai alai experience explosive growth in Florida.
1965 A Dade County grand jury issues a report concluding that syndicate-controlled gambling and prostitution flourishes in South Florida.
See the full article from “Tampabay.com”