It is quite confusing that there is not specific definition of a professional gambler and also that America is one of the countries with strict gambling taxation law. But America is making money from gambling taxes, they shouldn't ban gambling. It just makes no sense.
In my country, gambling winnings are not taxed. It is considered more of a recreational activity than a source of income. This though is likely to change as more gambling organizations are created. The government may wake up one day and demand a piece of the gambling pie.
America cannot ban gambling, as they generate significant tax revenue from a billion-dollar industry. Major sports like MLB, NFL, NBA, and others are responsible for a large portion of these bets, and it benefits the government to allow more gambling sites to operate legally. As long as proper tax enforcement is implemented, there's little chance they will consider banning the entire gambling industry.
They prohibit it, and they have done it not once, several times, in fact, In several cities in the United States they are partially prohibited, anyway, you also have to understand that betting may be prohibited locally, (home games), such as betting on "recreational" games. So, homemade ones that become frequent, those are prohibited anywhere in the world,
But as I said, they prohibit you from meeting at home and placing bets, but not for approved commercial premises, that is, the so-called clandestine games are very difficult to control, but they do it.
Well, online poker was banned in the United States for a couple of years. Whoever plays poker knows that the Americans were the largest providers of traffic in the first decade of this century and it was they who really pushed online poker to big numbers.
Amazing traffic on Poker during those years and were a fundamental part of making pokerstar the largest online betting site on the planet, and it was 100% poker.
But they closed them, not only PS any online poker betting site was banned and, closed for a few years, it was only a couple of years ago that online poker has become "organized" again under strict laws, which regulate it, although issue is quite complex since the closure not only involved regulation but also the case of Fulltilt.
By the way, that golden era at the end of the first decade and beginning of the second in this century will hardly be repeated.
Finally, you can see that they're doing it, quote: "America cannot ban gambling, as they generate significant tax revenue from a billion-dollar industry".