Rules have always existed, what changed was the level of fraud over time, it was a minor problem and now has become the norm of operation here, that is what changed.
For what, for the rules of the game to change in middle of the game?
What you see as the "rules of the game" have only been in place for a little more than a decade. Before the advent of the internet and cheap online brokerages, commission for just about anything you wanted to buy or sell were in the hundreds of dollars.
Penny stocks? You couldn't even get a quote without calling a broker.
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