These days sports betting is becoming ever more popular as punters find easy access to online bookmakers via the Internet. Bets can be made on just about every sport played and the huge number of online bookies means that there is plenty of choice for different bets. Each year over $50 billion is gambled in sports betting online and many a fortune is either won or lost.
Sports betting has been a part of sports for as long as contest have existed. People have gambled on anything from cock-fights to all kinds of races. However it was in the late 18th century that betting gained wide popularity as horseracing became a wide-spread an organized sport. As new racetracks opened they enabled a wider audience to take part in sports betting with the dream of making a big win. The development of the telegraph networks in the US enabled gamblers to place bets at events across the country further increasing the popularity of sports betting. Baseball was also a sport that attracted gamblers interest and in the early 20th century bettors turned their attention to other sports such as basketball, and football. These team sports events gained popularity and quickly overtook horseracing as the favorite sports betting events. In the early days, especially with baseball, betting odds were heavily in favor of the bookies but punters were still drawn to gamble in the hope of making an near-impossible big win. During the 1920’s there were scandals as the first cases of ‘fixed games’ came to light and these incidents cast a poor light on sports betting especially baseball. Sports betting was seen by many as a seedy enterprise run by immoral exploiters. However, the sports recovered and so did sports betting that has grown more popular over the years. College basketball and football became popular gambling events too. Initially, bookmakers only offered straight-forward odds or moneyline bets but during the 1940’s spread point bets were introduced and have remained a central part of gambling every since.
Today, online bookmakers can offer their clients events from around the world ensuring that sports betting will remain a wide-spread pastime for the foreseeable future.
