Violence at football matches has a long history in the UK. During the 19th century "roughs" were often reported as causing trouble at games. Their targets were not only opposing fans but also players and officials. Some of the worst incidents arose at matches between local rivals.
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Between the wars behaviour improved at the grounds but with the changing social scene of the 1960s football grounds gained a reputation as a place where fights regularly took place. Some blamed the televising of football because it gave the fans the chance to disrupt games and seek notoriety. It became common for groups of fans willing to fight to congregate in area of the ground often on the terraces behind one of the goals. The use of "Football Special" trains perhaps also played it's part. These were trains designed to keep football fans away from the general public. They were the oldest rolling stock often without toilets but still serving alcohol. They may have reinforced the sense of "us against the world in the minds of fans." This led to an almost "gang" identity which in the following decades would become known as, "The Firms."
The firms
During the 1970's a variety of "firms" emerged around the country. You can take your pick from, "The Herd" at Arsenal, Aston Villa's "Steamers" or "Newcastle Mainline Express" (NME) on Tyneside. Major incidents included the stabbing to death of a young Blackpool fan at a home game against Bolton Wanderers in 1974 and riot at an FA cup quarter final between Millwall and Ipswich in 1978. Millwall were also involved in a riot at the 1985 cup quarter final at Luton Town. Perhaps the most infamous of all were West Ham's "Inter City Firm" or ICF.
The ICF
The ICF became well known through films such as, "The Firm" "Green Street" and "Rise of a Footsoldier." The name arose from their use of the rail network when travelling to confront rival firms which usually involved fighting fans and vandalising pubs. They also literally left their calling card, a business card with the message," Congratulations you have just met the ICF (West Ham United)." Perhaps their most fierce battles were with rival local firm the "Millwall Bushwhakers."The ICF have been accused of being racist and a neo Nazi organisation but this has been denied by former ICF "General" the black Londoner Cass Pennant now the author of eight books about football violence.
The casuals A new breed of fan also began to appear. Fans dressed 겜블시티 in smart casual clothes. Some say it made it easier to travel abroad as the authorities were looking for stereotypical skinheads. Some sources date it back to the 1970s when Liverpool were a dominant force in Europe and fans returned with designer French and Italian sportswear. Brands such as Pringle, Burberry and Paul Smith all became fashionable at grounds around the country Rivalry now grew between firms not only about football but also who had the coolest clothes and listened to the best music. Some say it was never about a particular type of music or fashion item it was simply about proving that this set of fans was number one.
Foreign fields In 1996 the Social Issues Research Centre released a report entitled, "Football Violence and Hooliganism in Europe." It identified how violence grew through three stages. At stage one violence was usually directed at players and officials.. At stage two violence developed between opposing fans in the stadium and in the final stage confrontations develop away from the stadiums between rival fans. They noted that it occurred across Europe but had no universal causes. Causes varied between countries but rising juvenile crime and delinquency did seem to be common social problems. The problem was seen to be worst in Italy, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium where some 10% of games had violent incidents recorded.
Why did it decline? The move to all seater stadiums and the banning of alcohol on match days have thought to have contributed greatly to the reduction of violence but many people point to the Heysel disaster of 1985 as a turning point. Liverpool fans charged rival Juventus supporters causing a wall to collapse resulting in the death of 39 people. English teams were banned from European competitions for five years. Increasingly legislation was used to bring about change. Public order acts made it possible to ban supporters from football grounds. The 1989 Football Spectators Act allowed convicted hooligans from attending international matches which was later extended to domestic fixtures. "The 1991 Football Offences Act" made it an offence to throw objects onto the pitch, take part in racist or indecent chanting and setting foot on the pitch without authority.
What is the situation today? During the 2010/11 season the total number of people arrested at international and domestic fixtures in England and Wales was 3089 a decrease of 9% from 2009/10. There were no arrests at 71% of games and two or less at 86% of games. There were no football related arrests of English or Welsh supporters at any overseas fixtures. Does this mean the firms have gone bust? If you spend a little time searching the internet you will find evidence of them. Indeed the ICF has a Facebook page and a Twitter Account.
While Internet gambling is technically not illegal in the United States (the Wire Act refers only to gambling over the telephone), 70% of the world wide offshore gambling business is attributed to Americans. This is mostly due to the fact that US law imposes restrictions on the income from online casinos. Gains must be declared, while not taking into account any losses made. With this legal restriction, many casinos have decided to pack up and move their business overseas.
Offshore Gambling sites are the solution to an international resistance to online gambling. Internet gambling is not legal in some countries, so one solution created by online casinos is to move their businesses overseas to a more sympathetic country. Since their business is conducted online, the physical location of their offices and facilities do not really matter. This is what is known as offshore gambling, and refers to the lack of jurisdiction over these casinos by any particular nation or state.
Many Internet casinos and poker rooms are thus evading US law (while still being able to service US clients) by setting up shop in Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, and other more liberal places. The costs involved in transferring to other countries are negated by the fact that the online gambling business is now worth approximately $2.4 billion, and is still growing in popularity.
Because of the lucrative nature of this business, most casinos continue to look for loopholes in the laws that countries implement to regulate online gambling. For instance, although the United States has technically banned advertising for online gambling on magazines, television, and the Internet, savvy advertisers have found a way around it. Instead of directly advertising the casino part of their websites, they advertise tutorials on how to play poker (for instance) which uses only play money. But a link to the actual casino would be there somewhere for the gambler to sniff out.
But gamblers at these casinos should of course be more wary. Precisely because these offshore gambling sites are 'offshore' and thus beyond jurisdiction, the players are not as well-protected as they would be if they were playing in a land-based casino. Because of this, some organizations have been formed to act as watchdogs for these offshore casinos, protecting the players and enforcing some security.