Those of us involved in sports betting on a regular basis probably understand that in truth, there was never really any "start" point when folks began betting on sports. It seems pretty natural to place some kind of wager whenever there is a contest between two different sides, whether or not it is a competition between individuals or between two different teams.

In fact, you will discover records to show that as long as there happen to be matches between people, on any side, there are actually individuals who want to add some excitement to the competition through wagering. From the gladiatorial contests in ancient Rome to foot races on North America's Great Plains, all cultures have put bets involving money or goods once they are watching a competition.

Today, of course, sports betting will be much more sophisticated than those ancient wagers. All around the world, bookmakers both small or large follow many different systems which allow them to earn money off of people's penchant for punting. Whether we are talking about professional or amateur leagues, you may bet that you'll be able to find someone ready to take your wager.

You need to recognize that the story of sports betting is just as much about these "middle men" than it's about the sport one is betting on. Bookies setup their odds based upon very complex mathematical formulas, which help them to to determine how they may make money off of people's bets. They do not want too much "action" (money wagered) on one side or another, in order to avoid losing their profit. As a result, they have thought up ways to encourage people to bet on each side.

One of those ways is to offer higher payouts if the team receiving less bets win. Men and women who take the "underdogs" stand to win a whole lot extra money per dollar bet than individuals who take the favorites.

Similarly, the point spread is used to encourage betting on both sides of the given match. Both methods permit the sports books to come out of each match with some cash.

The story of sports betting involves not only book makers, but also the law. You're probably experienced with the popular image of the bookie; a thug who takes money and can behave violently when not paid. Alternatively, there are several legal, above board sports books today who are legally sanctioned to take sports bets. In North America, all of these books run out of Las Vegas.

In other areas of the world, sports betting is legal but is additionally highly regulated. Governments, and sports bodies also, desire to protect the honest competitive nature of sports. With the sheer sum of cash being bet on the outcome of games, it can be tempting for players to forget about competition in favor of a bribe or any other sort of payout. The history of most sports contains stories of players throwing games as a way to receive money from a bookmaker. Laws such as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act aim to prevent this from occurring by prohibiting sports betting in certain cases and places.

As always, the next chapter in the story of sports betting may make such efforts moot. Today, sports books are among those businesses that have capitalized on the opportunities available best soccer online. Bettors in North America no longer need to make the trip to Vegas in order to put some money down on their own favorite team; instead, the capability to wager is simply a click of the mouse away.

Not simply tend to be more people able to wager on sports throughout the Internet, the total amount of information available increases the probability of making good bets in a way that has never been seen before. Simply, the information also implies that books are able to compensate, but the opportunities for making some serious money (at some risk) are nevertheless around.

It's safe to say that betting on sports is something that has happened throughout human history, and something that will happen as long as you will discover competitions between people. Today, the internet has taken the story of sports betting to the next level; the end of that chapter has yet to be written!