Wager
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
in law, a promise to give money or money's worth on the happening of an uncertain event. Every contract of insurance is in the nature of a wager, but such contracts are permitted, because they serve useful purposes. Sporting wagers were enforceable at common law unless they were of an indecent or otherwise improper character; thus, a wager on the life of Napoleon was held void, as tending to weaken patriotism and to encourage the assassination of a foreign sovereign. In England, by an act of 1845, all agreements by way of wagering are rendered null and void as between the parties; but the enactment does not apply to any subscription for a prize to be awarded to the winner in any lawful sport. Where a person employs an agent to bet for him, or to enter into transactions contrary to Leeman's act (passed to prevent gambling in shares) no action can be brought on the bet or bargain made by the agent; but if the agent pays, the principal remains liable to indemnify him. These rules apply to all wagers; but there are certain forms of agreement which are not only void but illegal. Acts were passed in 1665 and 1710 to discourage betting on games, and an act of 1835 provides that any security given for a gambling debt shall be void, and that money paid to the holder of such security may be recovered by action. As the loser of a bet cannot be legally compelled to pay, the debt is only what is called a debt of honor; but sporting men are usually more scrupulous in paying such debts than in the meeting the claims of their lawful creditors. By the criminal law penalties are imposed on persons who keep or use houses for betting purposes, and magistrates may authorize the police to break into such houses and arrest persons found therein. Persons who win money by cheating at cards, etc., are liable to be indicted for obtaining money by false pretenses; persons playing or betting in the street may be punished as rogues and vagabonds. In the law of Scotland wagers are treated as pacta illicita, and debts incurred by wager are not enforced. In the United States gaming contracts are in most States void, and money paid or property delivered on such considerations may generally be recovered. See GAMBLING.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's told readers in 1921 that a betting debt was "only what is called a debt of honor," unenforceable in court under the English act of 1845. That act was repealed by the Gambling Act 2005, in force from September 2007, so gambling contracts in Britain are now ordinary enforceable debts, and betting shops have been legal there since 1961. In the United States, where Collier's said gaming contracts were void in most states, Nevada legalised casino gambling in 1931, New Hampshire began the modern run of state lotteries in 1964, and the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on state-authorised sports betting in Murphy v. NCAA (2018), after which most states licensed it. The one line that still holds is the first: insurance remains, in law, a wager the courts permit because it serves a useful purpose — provided the insured has an insurable interest.
Written for this edition, 2026.