subject: All About Sports Betting [print this page] Sports betting is the practice of betting on sports. Sports' betting has been existent since the beginning of United States and colonists were known to have placed bets on horse racing, cockfighting and other forms of fighting.
Around the 1800's, horse racing was one of the popular sports to bet on, then it was replaced by boxing. Baseball, basketball and football bets became popular in the 20th century. Over the years, basketball and football bets were placed using the odds, which is a practice still existing today and is often referred to as the money line.
Betting The Point Spread
However, the only problem with the money lines was that for a number of sports such as football, baseball and many more, the gamblers would end up betting on the same team. Therefore the bookmakers came up with the 'Point Spread' system, which changed the face of sports betting forever. Simply put, point spread is the handicap placed on the prospective winner of any game in specific points.
The main purpose to introduce point spread was to balance out the books for the bookmakers. Such a balanced action would ensure that the bookmakers get a profit, regardless of who wins the game.
With the explosion of television in the 1950's, sports betting received another boost as it was ideal to watch all the games on the television. People soon discovered that placing a wager on the game would add to the thrill of watching the game and thereafter sports gambling has been growing at a steady rate.
Betting The Totals
Bookmakers came up with a strategy, which is to provide more betting opportunities to the bettors. More bets would mean more profit to the bookmakers and this led to the creation of totals.
Totals is a betting proposition where the bettors bet on the total final score of the game, regardless of the result of the game. The bettors would also be given an opportunity to place over/under bets which means that they can bet over the score or under the score.
These are by far, the most common ways of placing bets on sporting events. In the present times, the bookmakers are come up with numerous betting opportunities which include the parlays and teasers.
The place where the gamblers can place their wagers on several sporting events is called a 'sportsbook'. 'Sports betting' has been introduced for all the competitive games being played professionally.
The type of betting could vary with every sport and usually winnings are awarded after the final game. All the sports books would put up their individual bets and odds, commonly known as the 'proposition bets'.
It would be suggestive to read the betting rules thoroughly before actually getting started. Several aspects of sports betting could be a bit overwhelming in the beginning; however sports betting provide an opportunity to make extra money if informed decisions are made.
