One of the most popular and oldest form of bets known in world civilization is betting on sporting events. We are all familiar with the ancient Romans practice of competition between gladiators, chariot races and even fights between men and animals. More humane sporting events such as wrestling, cockfighting, horse racing, footraces, boxing and so on followed. As the world ushered in the 20th century, sporting events evolved into organized and team-oriented ones with games such as cricket, soccer, basketball, baseball, football and so on.
In a nutshell, sports betting is simply placing a wager or a bet on the possible or predicted outcome of a sports event. Winning money is the primary goal of sports betting. And as with all other forms of gaming, you either lose a bet or win a profit based on the odds stipulated by the bookmaker.
Wagering on sports such as tennis, golf, boxing, wrestling and other individual sports and team sports such as basketball, baseball, soccer, rugby, and more, is the norm. However, sports betting may include wagering on the entertainment sector such as the winner of a Dance Sports event, and the finance sector where interest in stocks and rate changes.
Sports betting may be on tournament results. For example, in a basketball game between Toronto Raptors and Golden State, possible bets may be Toronto Raptors beating Golden State by 8 points, or Toronto Raptors leading during half time, or for a particular player to score certain points.
A betting agency, bookie, bookmaker or sportsbook is what you call a company that facilitates sports betting. A betting exchange is any service that affords a marketplace where odds are set. A bettor (USA) or a punter (UK) is a person who places bets. The probabilities of winning are largely estimated in sports betting as unlike in casino gambling, there is no known house edge. The possible outcome is guesswork but bookmakers do give quite accurate odds.
In the USA sports betting is not legal in all the states. Only 13 states have legalized sports betting, one of them is Deleware. Betting in the US is not only enjoyable as it is also profitable. There are online bookmakers who offer free bets for newly registered bettors.
