How it all Began With Betting

Recently, the bookmaker business has received a powerful leap in development. It has become possible to place bets over the Internet with tremendous speed. In addition, the lines of bookmakers have expanded significantly, and the BS themselves have become much larger. It may seem that the entire betting industry was born recently. But in fact the case, its history goes back more than one hundred years. Want to know when and how bookmakers appeared? Then this material is for you.

What is a bookmaker?

The bookmaker is an organization that makes bets with its customers. The player pays a certain amount and if everything happens as he expected, then he gets his bet plus a surcharge in accordance with the odds set for this outcome. In this case, the outcome is understood as the result of a match (or other event) — a victory of the first or second team, a draw. You can argue with a bookmaker on the result of a certain event in a sport (victory of a team or player, number of goals, etc.), as well as a host of other things, including:

• the victory of a candidate or political party in the election;
• winning a talent show;
• the result of a high-profile trial;
• doomsday date;
• date or other circumstances of a cultural event.

The British, as the most gambling nation in the world, even bet on weather forecasts. For example, in the UK, bets on weather on January 1 are very popular. In the last days of December, thousands of Britons rush to the bookmakers to guess what the weather will be like on the first day of next year. Another unusual form of betting is events in the royal family. For example, bets are accepted on the date of birth of a new person of royal blood, their gender and name.

Large and reputable BS have a whole staff of professional analysts who evaluate sporting events and determine the likelihood of a particular outcome. Based on these calculations, the odds are derived, according to which subsequently the players will be invited to place bets. To calculate a good line, you must have a large staff of people who would be well versed in their subject. One person cannot equally successfully predict, for example, the results of football and basketball matches. In order to create a clear picture, such specialists take into account:

• statistics of previous games of both participants in the meeting;
• morale and physical fitness of players;
• psychological situation in the team, relations with the coach;
• situation around team leaders;
• venue of the game and the condition of the field;
• specific goals of the participants for this match;
• injuries and disqualification in teams and much more.

The work is very serious, because it is important for BS to prepare such odds for which it will be interesting for players to set. Moreover, the shop itself should make a profit on any operation, regardless of the outcome of the event. Therefore, only the largest BS can afford to set their own odds. The rest simply borrow them from the leaders, slightly changing their situation.

How and when did the first bookmakers appear?

Bookmaking was a continuation of the tote, which originated in ancient times. A tote is a type of bet in which all players make bets, and then the collected game bank is distributed among the winners. In this case, the intermediary leaves a certain part to himself as a commission. By the way, many bookmakers today provide the opportunity to bet on the tote.

The first documented cases of accepting bets date back to ancient Rome. In this, those days most often put on the outcomes of gladiatorial fights, race competitions and chariot races. Bets were taken by special people, who then paid the winners according to the result of the event. But until the 19th century, it did not have an organized system. Opinions about which bookmaker was the first differ.

There is a version that the first BS was the club of the owner of the auction of thoroughbred horses of Tatersalls Duke Richard Tattersall. His improvised bookmaker began its work in 1766. By the way, his auction exists to this day, it is considered one of the largest and most respected. According to another version, the creator of the first bookmaker was the Frenchman Pierre Auler. And the birthplace of the first BS was not England, but France, in particular, Oler’s office worked in Paris and at the initial stage accepted bets exclusively on horse racing. It is worth noting that it was the most popular sport for betting in those days.

Of course, at the dawn of the emergence of such institutions, their activities were not regulated by law, and they, in fact, were outside the law. England became the first country to legalize rates. Therefore, it is not surprising that the very first legal BS appeared in London, its owners were Leviathan Davis and Fred Swindell.

After that, BS began to appear throughout Europe as mushrooms after rain. A few years after the creation of the first legal office, such organizations worked throughout England, as well as in France and Germany. At the same time, the so-called odds sheets began to appear — the forerunners of modern betting lines.

UK Bookmaker

It is believed that the homeland of sports betting is the UK. The most reputable and oldest offices in the world, as a rule, have a British residence permit. In this case, most likely, the key role was played by the fact that here they were legalized first. Some of the offices that were opened at the dawn of the emergence of gaming legislation are working to this day. Bookmaker in England has its own unique characteristics. We invite you to find out some interesting facts about offices from the WB:

• the first sports for betting in Britain were horse racing and dog racing;
• in any rating of BS in the first positions there will definitely be an shop from the UK;
• all eminent offices from England work exclusively under license and their activities are controlled by employees of a special organization;
• the staff of leading English offices is simply huge, they hire professional analysts for all sports represented in the line;
• English offices are distinguished by the widest lines of bets; on the list you can find not only sporting events, but also a variety of events from the world of culture, fashion, politics and show business;
• Take a look at the freebets offered by the bookmaker.
• cooperation with leading British offices implies a high level of confidentiality of personal data;
• since the odds in British offices are calculated manually, here you can find the most interesting and unusual offers, even for popular events, the leading English BS do not follow the others in this regard;
• working with English offices is also pleasant in the sense that, given their authority, there is very little chance that you will be deceived or unreasonably canceling a winning bid.
• What can you bet on today? The answer is here.

The leading British bookmakers are:

• William Hill. William Hill — one of the first BS, founded in the distant 1934;
• The Ladbrokes. Ladbrokes is one of the most respected BS in the world; more than 30 million users are registered on the site;
• Bet365 is an exclusively online shop that has been operating in this market for over 40 years.

Leading British bookmakers set the pace of development for the entire sports betting market. Despite their credibility, they create the most comfortable conditions for players, thereby attracting more and more users.

Development of BS in the USA

In the United States, bookmakers began to appear shortly after the start of the bookmaker boom in Europe. However, to legalize this activity the US authorities do not become bookmakers were forced to work illegally. The only place where any gaming activity was allowed is the state of Nevada, which houses the US gaming capital, Las Vegas. To date, the situation with gaming legislation has not changed much and bookmaking is still illegal. Nevertheless, BS operate in the United States, however, they obtain licenses in offshore zones.

Despite the illegal situation, American BS are distinguished by a high level of service and various functional advantages. For example, in terms of speed or latitude of the line. There are offices that have been operating quite successfully for several decades. They are developing and becoming market leaders. As a rule, BS from the USA are guided primarily by American and European betters, although many of them work with players from the CIS countries. Among the largest American offices it is worth highlighting:

• PinnacleSports — the largest international bookmaker, invariably occupying the leading lines of BS ratings, the shop was founded in 1998, it also works with players from the CIS countries;
• Follow the link and get your prediction before the match starts.
• BetOnline — a bookmaker founded in 1991 and registered in Panama, offers a wide line, good odds, reliable and stable;
• Sportsbetting — one of the most reputable companies in the world, it makes big bets here, and the entrance bonus is $1,000.

The main difference between American BS is the presence of popular sports in America, such as American football or baseball. And this must be taken into account when choosing one of them.

Ground offices

Ground offices mean the point of receiving bets at the betting shop. Their number in settlements is directly proportional to the number of inhabitants. In large cities there are many such institutions, especially on central avenues, in smaller ones, respectively, less. The first official bookmaker, in principle, was one single point of receiving bets. This is a small room where the representative of the shop works, accepting bets, and then paying the winnings based on the results of a sports event.

With the development of online bookmaking, some offices have completely switched to the Internet, closing ground offices. However, not everyone did this, the largest and oldest BS seek to leave offline representations and, obviously, this makes economic sense. Today, ground offices have such features and differences from online sites:

• they work strictly according to the law, because illegal ground offices can be easily and quickly shut down;
• which implies the impossibility of cutting the maximum when making a bet or not paying a win (a player can defend his right to win in court if the truth is on his side);
• Free sports predictions 24 hours a day.
• very often, ground offices are located on the basis of sports bars or cafes, there is a special atmosphere, you can watch matches on a large screen surrounded by like-minded people;
• since the data is entered manually by the operator and the payout is also made, it is possible that the data from the player’s words are entered with an error, which then can have both negative and positive effects on the outcome of the bet, or the operator can pay the win to the player, and through a few minutes, the results of the match will be reviewed, but the player will remain with his own (unless, he has time to leave quickly);
• Find out which bookmaker you can get a sign-up bonus from.
• at a perfect bet, the better receives the winnings immediately in cash on hand; there is no need to withdraw money from the account and wait for their crediting;
• at the same time, every win is legally taxed because ground offices cannot work illegally;
• collective decisions are often made in ground offices when the players discuss the match and jointly arrive at the most likely outcome, the collective mind is always more effective, moreover, experienced players can often be found in ground offices and talking to them to make a profitable bet is especially valuable for beginners.
• We make dozens of free sports predictions every day.

And although the ground office has its own advantages, in terms of mass they are inferior to the sites of bookmakers. This is facilitated by their disadvantages.

It is impossible to make an unambiguous conclusion about where it is better to play in ground offices or on a website on the Internet. But it’s obvious that a player who wants to use his knowledge to systematically make a profit will most likely choose the Internet, since working in a global network is simply more convenient and comfortable.

Sports betting on the Internet

The history of betting on the Internet started, perhaps, from the moment when Barbuda and Antigua confirmed their right to issue licenses to those BS that accepted bets on the global network. It happened in 1994. The first office, which started officially working with the rates on the Internet has become the company Intertops.

It worked earlier, but offline, and in 1996, its website was launched. Next on the online market was the Vip Sports bookmaker, which also developed a vibrant activity in the global network. The offices that launched the sites after them were Big Book, Rio International, Sportsbook, and others.

InterTops became not only the first shop to accept bets on the Internet, but also a pioneer setting the pace to everyone else. A few years later, the site had the opportunity to play in a casino, and a little later earned a poker room. In 2000, one of the first offices launched a mobile version of its website.

It was greatly curtailed and severely limited the players’ capabilities, but at that time it was a real breakthrough. Today, neither mobile applications for betting, nor the additional services of users of online BS can be surprised. But the Internet has changed the industry once and for all, opening the players such opportunities:

• Watching online broadcasts of sporting events from anywhere in the world for any sport;
• simplification of betting in Live mode, expansion of betting lines in this direction;
• simplifying the search for betting arbs and the emergence of an entire industry aimed at finding arbitrage situations;
• formation of express bets;
• the study of a huge amount of sports analytics and other thematic information.

The leading online offices are all the same market leaders as offline. The pattern is simple, if BS seeks to attract as many users as possible, develops and does not stand still, then sooner or later it will have its own website.

It is unlikely that anyone will dispute that the bookmaking activity today more and more goes to the Internet. Anyone who wants to be in the forefront of this industry is simply obliged to take this fact into account.

Cash settlements with bookmakers and account verification

The process of depositing money into bets has undergone all the same changes as the entire betting industry. As we already mentioned, at the beginning there were only ground points for accepting bets and in them bets could be made only in cash. In ancient times it was possible to play not only for money, but also for property or even for people. But the period when the bookmaking activity was not somehow streamlined and systematized, we will not consider.

With the development of the banking sector, terminals appeared through which it was possible to conduct operations with bank cards. But the Internet has fundamentally changed the entire betting industry, significantly reformatting the process of paying bets. Today you can still bet in cash and by credit card. But also settlements with bookmakers through electronic payment systems became available.

In addition, today many bookmakers accept payments directly from bank accounts. Payout of winnings is also possible by all the methods indicated above. Each bookmaker has a specific list and I/O conditions. It is worth considering such a moment as player verification. This phenomenon is also continuously associated with the emergence and development of online bookmakers. Since the user can no longer be seen live, and the risks of laundering illegal money through BS have significantly increased. Offices now require players to verify their identity and address before transferring their winnings.

In most cases, verification is a verification of identity documents and confirming the address of residence. Less often you will need to provide documents on a card or bank account, communicate with representatives of the BS via Skype or phone, come in person to the office staff and pass the check with the operator.

Verification or identification not only removes the risks associated with money transfers, but also allows the shop to solve the problem of multi-accounting.

How did the risks for players and BS change?

The format of organizing the processes associated with sports betting also determines the risks for players as well as bookmakers. In those days when it was possible to play only in teaching staff, the main risks for the player were the probability of the operator making a mistake at the moment when he made a record of the bet.

In addition, there was always the risk of receiving false information regarding the results of the match, because the communication channels were imperfect. In turn, the bookmakers were afraid that they might be physically robbed or that a manual error would creep into the calculations, which could lead to financial losses.

The development of the Internet by the betting industry has led to the appearance of fundamentally new risks for both betters and BS. The main problems that may be encountered by shop users:

• cutting maximums — today most of the BS are fighting against successful players, because they are able to leave them without profit, which is why if abookmaker sees a player several large successful bets in a row, he will most likely limit him the size of the maximum bet, sometimes this limit can be 1 a dollar, which makes the whole game process pointless;
• Free sports predictions 24 hours a day.
• refund of the bet — sometimes at winning bets instead of profit the player receives exactly the amount that he bet on the account back, BS reserves the right to cancel bets at their discretion without explanation, this is another way to deal with too successful players;
• account blocking — a shop can close access to an account for significant reasons, among which there is a suspicion of money laundering, fraud or the use of special software to make bets, almost all BS reserve the right to block user accounts for any suspicion without any consequences for themselves, deposit funds are transferred to the player in the same way as he was replenished;
• Find out which bookmaker you can get a sign-up bonus from.
• inability to withdraw winnings — very often the list of ways to replenish a deposit in the BS is an order of magnitude longer than the list of withdrawal methods, a player who does not pay attention to this feature runs the risk of being unable to withdraw funds if, for example, none of the proposed offices works in his country systems;
• contact scammers — the gaming sphere is extremely popular and attracts a huge number of users, such a stir seems to be very attractive to scammers, for example, they create a one-day bookmaker, are actively advertised, collect user money, and then simply disappear with all the funds collected; to find and hold accountable the organizers of such schemes is extremely difficult, almost impossible, it is easier to avoid offices that are not credible;
• We make dozens of free sports predictions every day.
• an automatic mistake — to make a mistake when placing bets on the Internet is as easy as a finger, the finger slid off the key and you bet not $10, but $100, it is important to carefully check all the entered data on the bet before sending it to the bookmaker;
• the emergence of gambling addiction, the inability to control emotions — making bets on the Internet is so simple that people with an unstable psyche can fall victim to excessive excitement and gambling addiction, if previously it was impossible to make 200 bets a day, today it’s really possible to lose literally everything in a day, because today you can also get a loan via the Internet in just a couple of clicks.
• Find the best odds for sports betting.

In turn, bookmakers in modern conditions are also forced to face certain risks:

• professional software — a bookmaker’s nightmare — it’s a player who always wins, if there are only a few people capable of it, the program calculating bets by a mathematical algorithm can make many of them, which is why BS mercilessly blocks user accounts that were suspected of using the game ON;
• multi-accounting — BS blocks some users on suspicion of fraud, using dishonest methods of playing games or money laundering, and they freely open new accounts and continue to do their job, everything on the Internet is impersonal and it’s extremely difficult to keep track of one person’s presence, but BS do everything possible steps to combat this phenomenon;
• New predictions for soccer, tennis, hockey, basketball, etc. are created every hour.
• Arblifts — with the development of the Internet, finding a bookmaker’s arbs when a player makes a profit at any outcome of the event has become much easier, it’s an unacceptable situation for a bookmaker, because if you bet on the arbs it’s easy, all players will become arblifts, because BS for the most part suppress such activity.

People started making bets a very, very long time ago, thereby sending the energy of the dispute to a peaceful course. Initially, it was an opportunity to demonstrate and defend their innocence, as well as give vent to excitement. Today it has become much easier and more interesting to set. This activity allows not only to relax and lose steam, but also to earn real money. Moreover, the amount of income depends solely on the persistence and productivity of the player.