sports bookies

The History of Sports BettingSports betting has evolved into a multi-billion dollar business complete with bustling sportsbooks as well as giant online websites. People can travel to lavish casinos to place their bets or wager at online sportsbooks from the comfort of their own home. And there is certainly no shortage of strategy information out there for gamblers since thousands of handicapping services and software programs are available to the public.

As fancy and technologically advanced as today’s sports betting world is, it’s hard to image the industry having humble beginnings. But a quick look at the history of sports wagering will reveal that it has a rich history complete with numerous milestones over centuries of existence.
Long before Casinos and Online SportsbooksMost people’s recollection of sports betting might begin with the bookies and mobsters of the 19th century. However, many would be surprised to learn that people have been gambling on sports long before these days. In fact, sports betting can be traced all the way back to 1,000 B.C. when the Chinese used to wager on races between different animals. Most cities in China had some sort of gambling den where people would lay down bets on dog and horse races.

Around 400 B.C., Greeks took their love of sports betting a step further by including athletic contests between humans. Sure the Greeks also wagered on animal races, but the biggest betting action was on the Olympic Games where people boxed, wrestled, threw discus, and ran against each other.


Roman sports gambling took things to the extreme by pitting humans against each other in gladiator fights during 3rd century B.C. These gladiator contests were held in giant coliseums and would see warriors battle to the death with various weapons. Spectators would put their wagers on the gladiator(s) who they thought was most likely to come out alive in the end.


As times became more civilized, wagering on humans battling each other gave way to animal races again – especially in Medieval Europe. Unfortunately, cockfighting was also looked at as a sport back then which again introduced the element of death.
A Shift to Organized SportsWhile earlier centuries were heavily into betting on everything from animal races to gladiator matches, there was little organization in these activities. Very rarely were there any kind of unified leagues, and sporting contests were mostly regional or city events. Due to the lack of organized sports, cheating and disputes were quite common in the sports betting world up to this point. However, the 19th century began to introduce more organization to the sports world which greatly enhanced sports betting.

The English began developing highly organized rugby and soccer organizations in their country which was very popular among gamblers. Sports bettors could now travel to established venues and place their bets on popular sporting events. This was a big help in reducing the amount of arguments and corruption that had plagued gambling before.


Other places such as the United States began to bring unification to their athletic contests as well during the 19th century. Horse racing and baseball became very popular during this time, and large crowds gathered at tracks and stadiums to place their bets. But, despite the organization of sports, there were still problems within the sports betting system since making wagers wasn’t exactly easy.
The Rise of the Point Spread and SportsbooksAt this point, sports betting still had its problems as people faced unfavorable situations when placing wagers with bookies. Bettors lost a high percentage of the time since the house often presented unfavorable odds to gamblers. In horse racing, the betting system was so messed up that wagers on horses were auctioned off which meant people had to spend extra to get the pony they wanted.


Compounding things was the fact that governments were cracking down on gambling in many countries such as the United States. This only made gambling even more dangerous since sports bettors were often forced to deal with mobsters and seedy bookies if they wanted to get action on a game.


Luckily, the US and other nations which had previously banned sports betting altogether began allowing the activity to take place under certain limits. With the legalization of sports wagering also came the advent of large, established sportsbooks. Bookies were able to come out of hiding in order to offer their services on a more reputable level.


It was about this time that the point spread began to gain prominence as well, and this gave bookies the ability to offer fairer bets and balance the action out. With the invention of the point spread and the creation of sportsbooks, wagering on sports was hotter than ever.
The Invention of TVFor centuries, people had enjoyed attending athletic contests and placing wagers on the outcome. But it wasn’t until the invention of the television that people could simply sit back and watch sports from the comfort of their own home. With TV now a viable option, many bettors began to place bets with their bookie or local casino and go home to watch the action unfold.


TV was not only important to sports betting from a convenience factor, but it also helped sports in terms of popularity. Due to this increase in popularity, more people than ever were looking to get action on games.
Online Sports BettingAs if it wasn’t convenient enough already to be able to place bets at sportsbooks and watch the games at home, the Internet came along and opened up unimaginable possibilities. The Internet created the vision that people could place wagers in their homes while dressed in pajamas. However, this vision didn’t become a reality for a while due to one big factor: mistrust.

The Internet was such a leap in technology that people were initially afraid to do things such as place bets through online sportsbooks. The common thinking was that their credit card information would be stolen or winnings wouldn’t be paid out. It wasn’t until the 2000’s that the majority of gamblers really began to trust online sportsbooks. But once this happened, people found that online sports betting offered them the ultimate convenience since they could now place wagers at home.
The Future and Beyond
With the Internet available almost everywhere, gamblers no longer have to leave the house at all when placing bets. What’s more is that Internet applications for cell phones allow people to place bets from virtually anywhere in the world at any time. This is a far cry from the B.C. days when people had to stick to gambling in their town market or nearby gambling den.

And as far as sports gambling has come over the years, it’s crazy to imagine what innovations could still be awaiting in the future.