We’ve seen a technological boom like few in recorded human history over the past few decades, with the processing power of the first iPhone dwarfing the technology it took to put men on the moon in the 1960s and 1970s… and, as anyone who used the first generation of smartphones is sure to tell you, we’ve come a long way past that too in the last 15 years.
Right now, one of the most popular arenas of the ongoing digital explosion is that of sports betting and other forms of mobile casino games, with the allure of winning money—and even doing so without leaving the comfort of your own home—drawing in millions of customers from all over the world.
Sports betting continues to surge in popularity thanks to endorsement by many major sporting leagues and broadcasting networks, and the barrage of advertisements can be hard to miss. Because betting sites UK are one of the fastest growing industries today, let’s take a look at the history of sports betting from its earliest roots to the modern day… and perhaps a hint of what is to come.
Sports Betting: the Earliest Roots
While I’m going to discuss the evolution of sports betting from traditional examples to the modern world, it can be difficult to quantify exactly what a traditional example is. By most accounts, sports betting got its start in the United Kingdom alongside the explosion of popularity of horse racing during the early 18th century. As they still are today, to some extent, early sports wagers were closely governed by the laws of chivalry.
Winning money from an opponent can be a touchy business, and the potential for thrown matches and other forms of undue outside influence weighed heavy on the minds of those who chose to partake. That’s where horse racing provided a natural solution: because outside forces couldn’t influence the actual competitors—with all due respect to the impact of the jockeys, of course—horse racing was seen as one of the most gentlemanly sports, known as the sport of kings for its close ties with and endorsement by the English monarchy.
Placing wagers on the proceedings was swept up on the wave, making an oft-maligned industry the pastime of high society.
Betting Roots: Friendly Competition and Digging Deeper
While horse racing might’ve been the first sports betting arena to receive official endorsement, it almost certainly wasn’t the first to begin operation. Wagering has existed in some form or fashion since the dawn of time, with people more than willing to quite literally put their money where their mouth is, adding some spice to their claims of talent—whether on their own behalf or that of someone else—with a little bit of fiscal encouragement.
In the old days, this might’ve taken the form of disputes over who the most accurate archer in the village was—like the apocryphal story of Robin Hood, managing to shoot an apple off of someone’s head— all the way down to the under the table bets placed between friends arguing about football at the pub today.
The Modern Era: Something For Everyone
While it’s impossible to predict the future, I expect to see the betting industry continue to find untapped reserves of revenue in the coming years as it occupies a larger share of the public consciousness. Right here in Birmingham, we’re already starting to see places like the Rainbow and Grosvenor Casinos continually rank among the top places to visit for tourists: who knows what will happen next?
One of the most interesting things about the ongoing explosion of sports betting is the way that it doesn’t seem to matter what player, team, or sport someone is betting on. Things like the premier league are more popular than the niche options, of course, but we’ve seen time and again that people will bet on anything if they’re given the opportunity to do so.
Right now, many sports betting platforms and local officials are looking into the possibility of opening up wagering to things like esports. With millions of matches played each day—and multiplayer ranking systems already providing a framework for who is more or less likely to win their respective matches—it seems like a natural leap to open up video games to the betting industry.
With traditional sports you have to worry about things like player fatigue and game schedules, but video games are bound by no such limits. Imagine just how fun FIFA night at the local pub could become with the added stakes of placing wagers on the matches.
