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 Sports Betting

Sports betting has a very long history. I bet even cavemen made wagers on "sports".

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Odds 15-1 Atouk does not outrun the dinosaur

 

 

 

People in China were betting Ban Liangs on dog and horse races in 1000 B.C. . 

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In 400 B.C.The Greeks began betting drachmas on the Olympic Games.

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The Romans were betting denarius on gladiator matches in 300 B.C..

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Sports betting has been heavily regulated in the US until 2018, when the Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law that prohibited gambling on sports in most states.

You have probably been in attendance at a sporting events or a sports bar where people were disappointed that their team did not beat the point spread. Even though the team won, some of the fans were upset that they did not defeat the team by enough points to cover the spread. You may have also seen this happen, some fans were happy even when their team lost, because they had points.  No doubt they had money on the game.

Newspapers, sports networks, sportswriters and sports broadcasters routinely announce that a team is favored by a certain number of points and give you advice to "pick" a team based on that. It really has no real relevance unless you are betting on the game.

As of today, 12 US states have made sports betting legal, while another six have allowed some form of restricted online betting.

Sports betting is legal, regulated, and taxed throughout Europe, and it's a big business. The bookmakers even sponsor teams!

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Telephone "nerve center" for bookie operations, 1943

Bookmaking started around 1780 at Richard Tattersall's horse auction business. The term, bookie, originated with the activity of "making book" or keeping a notebook of wagers.  

In 1866 the first American bookmaking business was established in Philadelphia.

High-tech bookie operations in the late 1930s

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) worked as a Leg Breaker/ Collection Agent/Juice collector

 

 San Francisco State University