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{{About|a ship on which gambling takes place|the films|Gambling Ship (1933 film)|and|Gambling Ship (1938 film)}}
[[File:"Palm Beach Princess" - Freeport, 2006.jpg|450px|thumb|''Palm Beach Princess'' off [[Freeport, Bahamas|Freeport]] in the Bahamas in 2006]]

A '''gambling ship''' is the term for a ship stationed offshore in or transiting to [[international waters]] to evade local anti-gambling laws that is dedicated to [[games of chance]].  This applies both to ships which are permanently moored somewhere outside the limits, or, when legal, that can transit back and forth from a nearby port where it is not.  Other ships also offer gambling as part of their onboard entertainment, but are not "gambling ships" ''per''&nbsp;''se''.

Historically, international waters began just {{convert|3|mile|km}} from land in many countries, popularly referred to as the "[[three-mile limit]]". Gambling ships, like [[offshore radio]] stations, would usually be anchored just beyond it.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-30 |title=A Brief History Of Gambling Ships |url=https://cruiseradio.net/a-brief-history-of-gambling-ships/ |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=cruiseradio.net |language=en-US}}</ref> The redefinition of territorial waters to 12 [[nautical mile]]s—approximately {{convert|13.8|mile|km}}— in 1982 made maintaining a gambling ship much more uneconomic.

In the United States, in addition to federal law, states statues regulate the legality of gambling ships in their waters.<ref>[https://caselaw.findlaw.com/cacodes/pen/11300-11319.html CAL. PEN. CODE § 11300]</ref>

==In California==
The barge ''Monfalcone'' was purchased in 1928 by a group including [[Los Angeles crime family]] boss [[Jack Dragna]] and started offering gambling off the coast of Long Beach. The ship sank in 1930 after a fire.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cawreckdivers.org/wrecks/monfalcone.htm |title=Monfalcone - California Wreck Divers |access-date=2017-03-18 |archive-date=2017-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605210605/http://www.cawreckdivers.org/wrecks/monfalcone.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Also in 1928, the lumber schooner {{ship||Johanna Smith|ship|2}} was converted to a gambling ship and moored off [[Long Beach, California]]. She caught fire and sank in 1932.<ref name="divers">{{Cite web | title = Johanna Smith | publisher = California Wreck Divers | url = http://www.cawreckdivers.org/Wrecks/JohannaSmith.htm | accessdate = 2010-02-27}}</ref>

On New Year's Day 1937, during the [[Great Depression]], gambling ship {{SS|Monte Carlo}}, well-known for "drinks, dice, and dolls," was wrecked on a beach about a quarter mile south of the [[Hotel del Coronado]], near [[San Diego]].<ref>{{Cite news | last = Graham | first = David E | title = Busting the House: Casino Boat Crashed into Coronado 70 Years Ago | newspaper = SignOnSanDiego | location = San Diego | publisher = Union Tribune | date = Jan 2, 2007 | url = http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070102-9999-1m2ship.html | accessdate = Mar 19, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120830143514/http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070102-9999-1m2ship.html | archive-date = August 30, 2012 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Other gambling ships operating off California during the 1930s included ''Rose Isle'' (aka ''Johanna Smith II''), ''Casino'' (fka ''James Tuft''), ''SS Texas'' (aka ''City of Panama''; aka ''Star of Hollywood''; aka ''La Playa''), ''Showboat'' (aka ''Mount Baker''; aka ''Caliente''), ''SS Reno'' (operating off San Diego), and ''William H. Harriman'' (operating off [[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara]]).<ref>More on California's Gambling Ships by Stephen P. Alpert ''Coin Slot Magazine'' April 1980 [http://coinslot.arcade-museum.com/CoinSlot--80-04--062/CoinSlot--80-04--062-P012.pdf]</ref>

[[Anthony Cornero]] operated the gambling ships SS ''Rex'' and SS ''Tango'' during the 1930s.<ref>The other S.S. Rex – a gambling ship off Santa Monica, California in the 1930s and early 1940s. by Michael L. Grace cruiselinehistory.com August 2, 2009 [http://cruiselinehistory.com/the-other-ss-rex-a-gambling-ship-off-santa-monica-california-in-the-1930s-and-early-1940s/]</ref><ref>Kalambakal, V. (2002). The BATTLE of Santa Monica Bay. American History, 37(1), 36.</ref>  California Attorney General [[Earl Warren]] ordered raids on the gambling ships. On August 1, 1939, state authorities raided SS ''Texas'' and SS ''Rex'' off [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]] and ''Showboat'' and SS ''Tango'' off Long Beach.  A court ruling later that year permanently shut them down.  However, in 1946 Cornero opened the SS ''Lux'' off Long Beach.  It was quickly shut down.  In 1948, President [[Harry Truman]] signed an act prohibiting the operation of any gambling ship in U.S. territorial waters.<ref>[http://www.lamag.com/askchris/tony-cornero-and-the-ss-rex/ Tony Cornero And The S.S. Rex ''Los Angeles Magazine'' June 28, 2013]</ref>

==In Hawaii==
{{As of|2020|December|17|df=US}}, Hawaii is one of only two U.S. states outlawing any form of gambling.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nakaso |first=Dan |date=2020-12-17 |title=GAMBLING; ON TRUST LANDS; A proposal for a Kapolei casino resort being considered by the Hawaiian Home Lands commission could include a golf course, theme park, aquarium and more |url=https://dhhl.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/A_-Main.pdf |access-date=2024-05-22 |work=[[Honolulu Star-Advertiser]] |format=PDF |edition=12/17/2020 |quote=Hawaii and Utah are the only states that outlaw all forms of legal gambling.}}</ref> Even though Hawaii has strict rules on its ports, a foreign flagged cruise ship that offers gambling aboard can dock if it travels in international waters<ref name="McDowell">McDowell, E. (2001, May 6). Hawaii Still Resists Cruise Ship Gambling. New York Times. p. 3.[https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/06/travel/travel-advisory-correspondent-s-report-hawaii-still-resists-cruise-ship-gambling.html]</ref> and only conducts its gambling there.<ref name="McDowell"/>

==In Hong Kong==
The popularity of gambling ships increased in [[Hong Kong]] following the [[anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping]] which began in 2012, under which high-ranking government officials and executives at [[state-owned enterprise]]s are barred from gambling in [[Macau]]. In 2011, the [[Immigration Department (Hong Kong)|Immigration Department]] reported 466,000 tourists from [[mainland China]] onto gambling ships, a 17.4% increase from 2010. Eight gambling ships were operating in Hong Kong during 2013, many of them operated by [[Triad (organized crime)|triad]] organized crime syndicates. These ships have been criticized for their use of misleading sales techniques and for their risk to public safety due to the difficulty of law enforcement against their operation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hk.news.appledaily.com/local/daily/article/20130715/18335357 |title=內地打貪 澳門止步 港八賭船爆海戰搶客 |date=15 July 2013 |website=Apple Daily}}</ref>

==Economics==
[[File:QV-gambling.jpg|thumb|right|An empty gambling ship in 2009]]

The economics of gambling ships are quite different from traditional bricks-and-mortar casinos.   Ships afloat are expensive to maintain, transport of passengers to and from them is time-consuming, expensive, and largely "time lost" to those who wish to gamble.  Further, entertainment - and alternative gambling - opportunities are severely limited for potential customers, who can see and do more ashore where gambling is legal, as in Las Vegas and Atlantic City in the United States.  This is only compounded when the offshore gambling trip is turned into an overnight stay.<ref name="Onishi">Onishi, N. (1998, May 5). Gambling ship stops operating overnight cruises. New York Times. p. B10.[https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/05/nyregion/gambling-ship-stops-operating-overnight-cruises.html]</ref>
	
[[Economies of scale]] make it hard for smaller companies to compete with larger ones such as Carnival Corps and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.<ref name="De Lisser">De Lisser, E. (1995, November 24). Forecast for cruise industry is stormy, and some of the smaller fleets may sink. Wall Street Journal – Eastern Edition. p. B1.</ref> One of the factors is that the bigger companies can afford to make newer and bigger ships. Newer ships could already hold up to 4,400 passengers and crew in 1995.<ref name="De Lisser"/> Further, the newer ships are safer, and older ships that are not equipped with the new [[International Maritime Organization]] (IMO) safety standards have to be upgraded to meet them. According to an Oppenheimer & Co. analyst, this suggested at the time that the industry would end up ruled by two to three big companies.<ref name="De Lisser"/>

==In popular culture==
Californian gambling ships appear in several novels and movies of the period, including ''Sing a Song of Murder'' (1942) by James R. Langham, ''The Case of the Dangerous Dowager'' (1937) by [[Erle Stanley Gardner]], and ''[[Farewell, My Lovely]]'' (1940) by [[Raymond Chandler]]. The 1940 film "[[Gambling on the High Seas]]" was set in part aboard a gambling ship, SS ''Sylvania''.  Other films that feature gambling ships include ''[[Gambling Ship (1933 film)|Gambling Ship]]'', [[Dante's Inferno (1935 film)|''Dante's Inferno'']], ''[[Smashing the Money Ring]]'', and ''[[Mr. Lucky (film)|Mr. Lucky]]'' (1943) starring [[Cary Grant]] as a gambling ship operator, which spawned the later ''[[Mr. Lucky (TV series)|Mr. Lucky]]'' TV series.

==See also==
*[[Riverboat casino]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Gambling ships]]
[[Category:Barges]]