The Birth of Online Sports Betting Sites
The History of Betting
Online sports betting sites evolved from centuries of betting on the outcome of games and sports. The first recorded sport betting was in early 1000 B.C. in China. This should come as no surprise since evidence indicates the Chinese invented many popular sports. Football, hockey, and golf were all being played by the Chinese thousands of years ago. Recorded history also shows most major cities in China had lodges people would go to and bet on dog and horse races.
In 400 B.C. during Olympic Games sports such as discus throwing, boxing, marathons, and wrestling were bet on. During the 3rd century, Roman gladiator games were bet on at the Coliseum.
When the British still ruled America in the 1700’s sports betting was occurring. In the United States people were betting on horse races, cockfights, and bare-knuckle boxing. Sports betting developed more and more over the years, until it began to find its way into college sports, baseball, and organized horse racing. The state of Nevada made gambling legal in 1931, and sports betting really became very popular in 1940 when the point spread system was implemented. No one could have predicted the widespread love for gambling when televisions came about in the 1950’s.
The Federal government recognized sportsbooks were becoming very popular and saw a chance to benefit from it. In 1951 the United States government imposed a 10% tax on all sports betting. The U.S. government‘s 10% tax collection was short lived when it was found to be unconstitutional and subsequently lowered from 10% to 2%.
In the 1990’s the advent of the Internet changed the face of betting. This resulted in an explosion for the online sports betting industry. Websites began popping up all over the world in countries like England, Ireland, Costa Rica, Australia, and Antigua. As for the United States, betting on sports via the Internet was prohibited and illegal. The 1961 Wire Act prohibited sports betting through any wired communications. Because of this many casinos outside the United States will not accept bets from any players in the U.S., even though technically online gambling is not illegal.
Regardless of the legalities in the United States, sports betting online worldwide continues to be very popular. Estimates in yearly bets thus far in 2005, were in excess of $70 billion and continues to grow every year since. Every country has their favourite or popular sports events players like to be on.
Favourites for Australians to wager on what the outcome will be are the National Football League (NFL), Australian Football League ( AFL), and soccer. However, bettors in Australia without any doubt most love to bet on the outcome of the country’s famous Thoroughbred horse race known as the Melbourne Cup.
What Are Online Sports Betting Sites?
In the 21st century online sports betting sites have taken something that has been occurring for over one thousand years and made it something anyone can now do. No longer is a person limited to betting with a traditional bookmaker.
What exactly is an online betting site? It is a website online where a person can bet on sporting events from around the world through a sportsbook. Any person with an Internet connection can bet online by becoming a member. All they need to do is join or register with a sportsbook site and add funds to their account. Once the person has successfully registered and has money in their account, they can begin to wager on the outcome of any event they choose.
The advantages a person has by using an online sportsbook site can be many. New bettors may find special incentives to sign up with a site, they may find the bookmaker offers reduced charges (also known as vigorish), and there is the convenience of being able to bet from anywhere; including the privacy of home. This is an especially nice advantage, because there is no need to find a bookie to place a bet with. The bettor can just log in to their favourite online sports betting site and wager on any sports event they choose.