Betting is an act of staking money on a sporting event or game with uncertain outcomes and winning a reward or losing the stake according to the result of the event or game. Also called gambling, it can be associated with all sporting and non-sporting events like football and casino games.
History
The history of betting dates back to the Mesopotamian civilization where a six-sided dice of about 3000 BC was found. Also, it is a prime recreational activity in Great Britain and the United States for centuries and today, it is popular all across the globe. Today, people bet on all sporting events but it is football that gets maximum bets. In non-sporting areas, it is casino games that attract more players.
Legality
The profession of bookmaking (accepting sports wagers) is regulated by law but it isn’t criminalized. Countries try controlling gambling through regulation and taxation and this has led to the development of betting as a significant source of revenue for governments. For example, take Monaco and Macau, China. People go to these places for gambling tourism.
Types of betting
Betting can be divided into specific types according to events like sporting, non-sporting, and casinos.
Casino games
Casinos are gambling clubs that provide a set of games according to their size. There are table games, card games, roulette wheel, and slots. And together these games provide a wide range of choices. Also, bettors are allowed to wager small amounts.
Non-casino games
Gambling games played without using casino services are dead pool, pull-tub, scratchcards and Mahjong. They also include coin-tossing like head and tail, confidence tricks like Shell game and dice-based games like Threes and Pig.
Fixed-odds betting
It is mostly related to events where a specific outcome is expected like a football match where one of the contestants wins or an election where one party gets the majority. Or it could be about the winner of a television competition.
Parimutuel betting
An ancient form of betting, it involves gambling on horse or greyhound racing. In this form of betting, players follow a pool system guided by bookmakers.
Sports betting
One of the most popular forms of gambling, sports betting involves betting on a specific outcome of a sporting event like football. In football, bets are invited on different forms like halftime full-time results and mixed parlay where different bets are accumulated into a single bet.
Virtual sports
These are fantasy sporting events made and run by software. Their advantage is that they can be run anytime and anywhere without worrying about external conditions like weather and ground.
Arbitrage betting
It is risk-free betting where bets are invited on every possible outcome of an event so that every bettor makes a profit irrespective of the result of the event or activity.
Bookmaking
An activity involving accepting and paying off bets at agreed-upon odds in sporting and non-sporting events and activities. A bookmaker could be an individual called a bookie or it could be a large organization called a betting syndicate. Most countries have regulated the bookmaking profession to prevent criminal activities in gambling.
Odds
It is a measurement of a specific outcome of an event or activity. They tell the probability of different outcomes and help bettors in choosing the right outcome.
Q: Is online gambling different from traditional betting?
A: Online betting is only a way of gambling. You play from the comfort of your home and get advantages like casino bonuses and online games. It is traditional games converted into online formats for the convenience of players.
Q: What is an online casino?
A: It could be a live casino that is the online availability of a real casino club or a website. If it is a real club offering an online gambling service, you will get real pleasure. But a website will ask you to download specific software for gambling.
Q: What is the casino bonus?
A: Online casinos offer free money for gambling but this money is strictly for playing casino games and there could be restrictions on spending the bonus amount.
Q: How to do online sports betting?
A: An online casino will allow you to play games, buying lottery, tickets and betting on sporting events. As an online gambler, you will be allowed to enjoy everything.
