In 1841, Connecticut banned “bowling at the game of ninepins” because of widespread gambling. Other states followed suit. It is popularly believed that today’s game of tenpins was devised to circumvent the laws against the game of ninepins. An outdoor game for most of its history, indoor bowling became popular in the mid-nineteenth century after the introduction of indoor lanes in New York in 1840. In 1920 prohibition laws lead to increases in bowling as proprietors discover that patrons want to bowl, even if they can’t drink.