In the event that you are a sports enthusiast and had wished to wager on sports in the past, but were weighed down by all of the technical jargon such as point spreads, odds, and book making, relax. After you’ve got read this post, you will be ready to participate within a short time period. Although sports betting may appear quite difficult at the start, it is not as complex as it may seem.

Gambling had deep roots in England and quite naturally, the colonists brought their love of gambling over to the us and continued with the tradition. Early colonists have been known to bet on cock-fighting, boxing, and horse racing. In the early nineteenth century, the vast majority of gambling was centered on horse racing with boxing in second place. Alternatively, with increasing popularity of baseball, the focus of sports gambling shifted to baseball betting towards the later a division of the century.

By the start of the twentieth century, sports like the school basketball and football started getting the attention of public and with the passage of time these sports were competing with baseball when it comes to popularity. The earliest type of wagering on football and basketball involved the usage of odds – a system still practiced today – better known as the money line.

The method of betting with money line posed big problems for the bookmakers and they were forced to put together a substitute. A majority of gambles were inclined to place bets on college teams that have been quite superior to their opponents, making the outcome of the matches a foregone conclusion and resulting in losses for book makers. Just before the Second World War broke out, the bookmakers introduce a brand new method of sports gambling that transformed this industry forever.

In simple terms, the point spread is a handicap that is placed on the likely winner of the basket ball or football game in points. By way of example, should the Lakers were expected to simply demolish the Clippers, the point spread for the game may be calculated at up to 20 points. To put it simply, 20 points would be either subtracted from the total score of Lakers score, or added to the total score of Clippers. In such a case, any sports enthusiast who placed a sports bet on the Lakers would only earn money if the Lakers win by at least 21 points. Similarly, gamblers wagering on the Clippers stand to win their bets should the Clippers win the game and even if the Clippers lose the game, gamblers can still win provided Clippers lose by 19 points or less.

The point spread helped the bookmakers to balance their books as bets on professional sports were more evenly placed when compared with the previous system where a large number of gamblers placed bets on the same teams.

The huge success of the point spread helped the bookmakers realize that the greater betting options the general public had, the greater bets they will be prone to place. This realization resulted within the creation of another system, the totals. Also referred to as “overs / unders,”, this betting proposition provides the gamblers to bet on the total score of both the teams, good soccer irrespective of the outcome of the game.

Sports betting has gone through many stages of evolution with the passage of time. Bookmakers have continued to come up with betting methods and opportunities, latest of them being teasers and parlays. On the other hand, placing a sports bet with the traditional money line, against the point spread, or through totals, continue being the 3 most popular forms of sports gambling. Regardless of what sports you follow, there is an equal opportunity now to earn money from your favorite sports.