If you're a sports fan, odds are very good that at one point or another you've got engaged in some form of sports betting. You may have been associated with a fantasy pool, you might have bet a beer with a buddy, you might even have placed a few of bets on the outcome of the Super Bowl or March Madness.
Although sports gambling is so common it really is almost natural (in fact, it has been a part of human culture for as long as sport itself), the very fact is the fact that many forms of sports gambling we engage in are actually illegal. This really is particularly true if you reside in Canada or the United States Of America.
The big argument against gambling on most sports in these countries is a belief that betting on sports has the possibility to undermine the integrity of the game. Although in the past this tended to hold true with all sports, today it's more a problem with minor sports and collegiate level athletics than the professional leagues.
The reasoning because of this, of course, is fairly straightforward. Athletes who are receiving little or no money for playing their sport will be more susceptible to bribes from individuals with a vested monetary interest within the game they may be playing. When you are playing for nothing although the joy of it, the offer of several thousand dollars to throw the game may be very tempting. Sports history is rife with examples of athletes both minor and pro who have succumbed to this temptation.
Legalities aside, it is fairly obvious that sports betting is still an important part of our culture. In fact, it is quite rare to hear of circumstances through which anyone beyond those directly associated with the game even get in trouble for engaging in sports betting. Those involved would include coaches, officials, and players, rarely those betting on the game itself.
In fact, you could state that sports gambling is pretty much an "open crime" currently. Odds and money lines are posted on all of the major sports channels, and bookmakers operate safe online soccer gambling (inquiry) with relative impunity. You can find little or no efforts to stop mass betting on sports, which seems to indicate that eventually the laws prohibiting the activity will be done away with for good.
Within the meantime, however, if you want to get a piece of betting action on a sport but want to stay well within the law, you'll find a couple of ways to do it. Let's take a quick look.
Pari-mutuel betting: There are actually certain sports by which the government actually endorses betting. This sort of betting is described as pari-mutuel, or revenue shared, gambling. Strictly regulated, it applies only to dog and horse racing, and jai alai. All of these events are quite short, and thus harder to rig in regards to results. And, the government gets a cut of all bets!
Go to Vegas! Nevada is the one state in which sports betting is legal and practiced as well. Again, who knows the real reasons, but you will find Nevada bookies ready to take bets from people all over the country.
Go on-line: In the majority of of the rest of the world, sports betting is regulated and not seen as an issue. That implies that because of the internet, people from North America can place their bets with well-known bookies across the globe. Bookmakers out of Vegas, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and any number of other countries have a presence online. Just ensure that they are going to take your money; some are leery of American bettors do to the government's ambiguity on the issue of sports gambling.
Although sports gambling is so common it really is almost natural (in fact, it has been a part of human culture for as long as sport itself), the very fact is the fact that many forms of sports gambling we engage in are actually illegal. This really is particularly true if you reside in Canada or the United States Of America.
The big argument against gambling on most sports in these countries is a belief that betting on sports has the possibility to undermine the integrity of the game. Although in the past this tended to hold true with all sports, today it's more a problem with minor sports and collegiate level athletics than the professional leagues.
The reasoning because of this, of course, is fairly straightforward. Athletes who are receiving little or no money for playing their sport will be more susceptible to bribes from individuals with a vested monetary interest within the game they may be playing. When you are playing for nothing although the joy of it, the offer of several thousand dollars to throw the game may be very tempting. Sports history is rife with examples of athletes both minor and pro who have succumbed to this temptation.
Legalities aside, it is fairly obvious that sports betting is still an important part of our culture. In fact, it is quite rare to hear of circumstances through which anyone beyond those directly associated with the game even get in trouble for engaging in sports betting. Those involved would include coaches, officials, and players, rarely those betting on the game itself.
In fact, you could state that sports gambling is pretty much an "open crime" currently. Odds and money lines are posted on all of the major sports channels, and bookmakers operate safe online soccer gambling (inquiry) with relative impunity. You can find little or no efforts to stop mass betting on sports, which seems to indicate that eventually the laws prohibiting the activity will be done away with for good.
Within the meantime, however, if you want to get a piece of betting action on a sport but want to stay well within the law, you'll find a couple of ways to do it. Let's take a quick look.
Pari-mutuel betting: There are actually certain sports by which the government actually endorses betting. This sort of betting is described as pari-mutuel, or revenue shared, gambling. Strictly regulated, it applies only to dog and horse racing, and jai alai. All of these events are quite short, and thus harder to rig in regards to results. And, the government gets a cut of all bets!
Go to Vegas! Nevada is the one state in which sports betting is legal and practiced as well. Again, who knows the real reasons, but you will find Nevada bookies ready to take bets from people all over the country.
Go on-line: In the majority of of the rest of the world, sports betting is regulated and not seen as an issue. That implies that because of the internet, people from North America can place their bets with well-known bookies across the globe. Bookmakers out of Vegas, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and any number of other countries have a presence online. Just ensure that they are going to take your money; some are leery of American bettors do to the government's ambiguity on the issue of sports gambling.