Wagering is almost as old as man. You can find places in the Bible where it talks about casting lots, which is a form of gambling.
No one knows for sure when the first bet was made on a sporting event, but the odds are that it was made soon after sports were invented.
If you want to learn how sports betting works and how to get started placing bets you’ve come to the right place.
Here’s what you’re going to learn on this page to help with understanding sports betting.
How betting works
What sports betting is
The different types of popular sports bets
How to place bets
Where to place bets
How the sportsbooks make money
How Does Betting Work?
The basics of how betting works are really quite simple. Two or more parties agree a bet on whether something will or won’t happen. Something of value is wagered, usually money, and there are typically odds involved. Whoever is correct wins the bet and the other party or parties must pay out accordingly
What is Sports Betting?
Sports betting is what it sounds like. You place a bet on a sporting event and win a set amount of money if the team or player you bet on wins. If the team or player you bet on doesn’t win you lose your bet. You can place a wide range of different bets and find many different places to bet and ways to make the bets.
Placing bets on sports is a way for some people to make money and a way for many to enjoy watching a contest more than if they didn’t have money riding on the outcome. Only a few people are able to make money in the long run betting on sports, but millions of people bet on events every year.
According to the Daily Mail, the global sports betting market may be as high as three trillion a year.
The article states that the majority of that amount is made in illegal ways. You’ll learn more about legal and illegal betting later on this page. The important thing to do is learn if what you want to do is legal or illegal so you stay out of trouble.
Plus and Minus in Betting
The plus and minus in betting can mean two different things. They are used in American style odds to denote how much a $100 wager will pay out if it wins (when a plus sign is used), or how much must be staked to win $100 (when a minus sign is used). Plus and minus are also used in point spreads.
Point spreads are among the most common wagers in sports betting, in the United States at least. And the lines for such wagers are displayed using plus and minus symbols.
Most contests are listed with a favorite and an underdog. The favorite gives points or runs and the underdog receives points or runs.
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