Placing a bet on sporting events is par for the course these days, and there’s serious money that can be won…
Sports betting is thought by many as one of the most exciting and beneficial ways of enjoying sports.
Placing bets on sports has been around for centuries, and, possibly due to the internet, there has been a dramatic rise in its popularity. It is 21 century and people are using internet for the most of the things they do. Betting is not exception. One of the popular sites among the many is Betcompare.com.
Punters are able to research their picks more effectively and can even place a bet without even leaving the comfort of their armchair!
So, putting it simply, sports betting is just the simple act of placing real money on the outcome of a particular sporting event…
The main reason people get involved in placing wagers on sporting events is for entertainment. Watching sport is great fun but add into the mix money, and your adrenaline just flies!
Horse Racing
One popular sport that punters like to place a bet on is horse racing – the ‘sport of kings’ and has for centuries been an organized sport that draws the crowds as well as the bets.
The racing of horses is one of the most ancient sports which dates back to the 3500 – 4000BC’s nomadic tribes of Central Asia who raced their horses through fields and deserts for prizes.
However, it was from the 18-century in Great Britain that horse races involving several horses on which spectators could place bets, that we see a move into professional horse racing, which became the sport that we recognize today, the world over. Queen Anne II is still acknowledged as the foundation of one of the world’s most famous horsing events, Ascot.
Horse racing today is one of the most popular and lucrative betting markets globally, and it’s not surprising when you see what the prize funds on offer are.
Initially, horse racing betting was strictly regulated, and it wasn’t until the 1960s that bookmakers could open betting shops in Britain, which gave everyone the opportunity to bet on races even if they couldn’t attend.
In 1996 online Interpops was launched. People wanting to place a bet right across the world loved the idea of placing bets conveniently from inside their own homes, and they began signing up in their thousands.
This then heralded the age of online gambling as new betting sites began to establish, and companies began investing in web-based operations to complement their services.
Horse racing is a huge sporting market that has a unique racing calendar that dictates which times in the year for the significant bets and which includes the Grand National, the Kentucky Derby, and of course, Goodwood and Epsom, to name but a few.
New races are still being added to the horsing event calendar, and in February 2024, there was an announcement of the $20,000,000 Saudi Cup which is over1,800m at the King Abdelaziz Racetrack in Riyadh!
The main international horsing events you can bet on include The Epsom Derby, The Japan Cup, The Everest, the Melbourne Cup, the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, the Dubai World Cup and the Kentucky Derby which is reputed to be the biggest horse race on earth!
If you are serious about horses, want the chance to make megabucks, then check these horse races out…
According to betting research, the American sports betting industry’s annual gross revenue is set to reach more than $155bn by 2024 – that’s huge!
It’s also estimated that the total global revenues generated by sports betting sit roughly between $700bn and $1 trillion. And, it’s thought that betting revenue far outstrips any other commercial avenue explored by sports’ governing bodies, including traditional ticket revenues. Whoa!
Football
Football is another sport that should come as no surprise to any punter that it is a trendy game to bet on, particularly in the UK, where it is almost a religion.
Betting on football matches has initially been illegal, but over the last century, the perception of football betting being seedy and being the working of criminals has changed completely.
It is estimated that global betting on soccer is responsible for over 70% of the world’s total gambling revenues – and the World Cup is the pinnacle.
It is thought that global bookmakers made £41.3 billion profit out of punters from the World Cup which was held in Russia.
You can now bet on football matches really easily with the innovations of technology and online bookies, which means that anyone can bet on any game from almost anywhere in the world.
Initially betting was through shops on the high street, but now everything about the beautiful game has become easier, although there are still football pools with over 350,000 playing the pools each weekend.
The growing trend in football gambling isn’t about to die out as the fan base for every club keeps growing. You don’t have to have loads of dosh to bet either – there are legitimate on-net soccer webpages where you can bet on a low budget.
Online football gambling gives punters a chance to win substantial amounts of cash with very little effort.
A crucial part of football betting comes down to which leagues you decide to bet on. If you learn the ways and tendencies of football teams in particular countries, you may very well have an excellent technique to beat the bookies on a regular basis. This kind of knowledge is essential for any football punter, so it’s worth taking the time to learn the rules, the regulations, and which leagues are worth a gamble on.
So, if you have your favorite team to support but they don’t play as regularly as you’d like, sports betting can add to the fun with a little wager.
The best part of placing a bet on sport is that you always have the potential to make some money – some people have even trained themselves to become sports betting experts!
So, if you love sport and want to keep that adrenaline rush, week on week, you could join the millions of people, who have over the centuries from kings down to paupers, enjoyed a little flutter on their favorite games!