Bet on Sports
Where did it all start? Well, the rich history of sports betting dates back to more than 20 centuries ago. The earliest records prove that the Greeks are the inventors of sports betting at the Olympics. The Romans later borrowed the idea to start wagering on gladiator contests, with Rome legalizing sports betting altogether.
Since then, gambling has become a favorite pastime across Europe and other continents. In England, it became widespread, thanks to horse racing. It’s here that sports betting crossed the Atlantic to the US, where it gained popularity pretty quickly.
But it hasn’t been a smooth ride thus far. When gambling became widespread in Europe during the medieval era, the early church passed strict laws to ban gambling activities.
Of course, this didn’t do much to prevent gambling from exploding into popularity. In the 80s and 90s, countries began formulating laws to regulate sports betting and gambling in general.
Modern sports betting
The booming sports betting market owes its success to more robust legislation across the world. For example, gambling became officially legal in the US in 1931, when Nevada legalized the activity. Soon after, other states like New York and Las Vegas followed suit.
Today, Las Vegas is arguably the largest gambling city in the world.
But it was until 1996 when Interlops launched the first online sportsbook. After that, it didn’t take long before the same company launched the first mobile betting in 2000.
Following the success of Interlops, more sports betting sites popped up, offering even juicier odds and better gameplay. All in all, sports betting has been there and will always be there for as long as humanity exists.
