Sports betting is an activity where punters place bets on the odds for major sporting events. The sportsbook prepares the odds for football, netball, tennis, basketball, and other legal sporting events worldwide.
A bettor just has to choose a win, draw, or loss as the match outcome. Besides these markets, they can also predict the number of goals scored, number of cards, duration of a political debate, and so on.
The history of sports betting
When did sports betting begin, and what was the motivation behind it? Also, who invented it? Sports gambling has been a widespread pastime for as long as civilization has been around.
However, the earliest records point that it all started in Greece more than 2,000 years ago after the introduction of the Olympics. Then, the event spread to Rome, where it was legalized and later came to England. The English settlers then spread the activity to the Americas and other parts of the world.
Although the risk of losing money is apparent, betting on sports has become so popular these days. In fact, as of 2019, the bookmaker market was valued at a staggering US$85 billion.
Also, the industry was expected to grow at 7% per annum from 2018 to 2022. But as things stand, those are only projections, thanks to the COVID-hit 2020.