Sports Betting: An Eventful History

Sports betting and Betway App in South Africa are now more popular than ever. This is partly due to the development of the Internet, which allows players to easily place bets on all sports around the world. Sports betting has a very long tradition.

Betting means different things to many people: from an economic point of view, it has meanwhile grown into an important branch of the professional sports business. The government treasury can also show high annual revenues. According to the Federal Statistical Office, in 2016 alone, tax revenue for the federal states from racing rates and lotteries amounted to 1.8 billion euros. And for a sports fan, it can be an interesting pastime.

Ancient sports betting

The Olympic Games are undoubtedly one of the largest, most traditional and popular sporting events. According to historians, this happened every four years from 880 to 393 BC. It is said that even then, players were placing bets on their home and yard to cash in on this big event quickly. Experts estimate the beginning of this form of organized sports betting in 676 BC, that is, during the 23rd Olympic Games.

Gladiator betting

Competitive games were no stranger to the ancient Romans. For this, gladiatorial fights were ideal. We only know about fierce competitions of this kind on television or in films. What may seem barbaric to people today was quite normal between 264 BC. and the 5th century AD. Unsurprisingly, the upper class also made big bets to make the spectacle even more exciting. The same was true for the spectacular but dangerous chariot races of the time, most of which probably should still be known from the classic Ben Hur movie.

Sports betting on horse racing

Horses also played an important role in the further history of sports betting: the British in the 18th century were also not against majestic animals, but especially from the money that could be earned from them. To make these equestrian competitions and the related bets more challenging, but all the more exciting, new variations have been introduced. Thus, players could now place bets not only on the possible winners, but also on the potential outcome of the entire race. The so-called gallop race also became more and more popular, so that here, in 1810, bets were first placed on the outcome of the race.

When did soccer betting start?

One of the most popular sports, of course, is football, which is also a popular bet. Major events such as the European or World Championship always attract new betting fans. This sport became really popular in Europe only at the end of the 19th century. In terms of bets, England was sort of a pioneer here again and started doing so in 1921. After World War II, the sport also gained in popularity and the eleven bet or sweepstakes game was introduced, which means betting on 11 Football matches became possible. However, the focus was not only on winning the players, but also on providing additional financial support to the sport itself.

Bookmaker creation

Although rates were common in England for some time, they were not legalized until 1853. The profession of the bookmaker gradually gained recognition and in 1886 the first bookmaker company Ladbrokes was founded. Many sports bets, such as horse racing and dog racing, can now also be negotiated professionally. Of course, other betting providers were added later, such as William Hill, a bookmaker founded in 1934 and still famous today.

A revolution in sports betting in Europe

The betting boom soon spread to other European countries, so that more and more bookmakers, or so-called bookmakers, could start new ones and do business. At that time, tickets were sent to customers by mail. Unthinkable these days. Some of these providers still exist today and have even survived the entry into online business. This happened in 1996 and revolutionized business and industry. More and more suppliers are pouring in and continuing to enter the market today, and potential customers have to choose between them.

What are the biggest betting scandals?

Like any other lucrative business, the bookmaker also sometimes attracts scammers. However, there are betting scandals that stand out from the crowd and do not quite contribute to the development of the respective sport or betting industry. Here are some of the more capacious and curious examples:

1919 — Black Sox: American baseball definitely has a rich history. One of the biggest scandals came when the impoverished professional players of the Chicago White Sox allowed the Mafia to pay to lose to their opponents. Players were banned from participating in the professional league for life.

1976 — Derendorf Prize: In a rather minor race in Düsseldorf, two jockeys, Manfred Cosmann and Peter Remmert, deliberately stepped back to influence the race result. Three days later, they confessed to fraud, and they were banned from sports for two years.

2007 — NBA referee scandal: Referee Tim Donaghy of the American professional basketball league bet himself on the games and passed on important information to the Mafia. He had to go to jail for 15 months and recover from gambling addiction.