There is nothing, it seems as natural to human beings as gambling. Gambling has been a part of human culture on every continent on Earth. From the natives of North America to China and everywhere in between, betting on the outcome of a game has been a part of sports life.

Sports betting continues to be a huge part of our culture today. As in times past, there is not a single sport you can name that does not have some kind of betting crowd. Sports betting advocates say it’s a harmless way to add a little fun to the game. Even if you have never been to a bookmaker, chances are you have placed some type of bet on a sporting event. It might be a fantasy group, it might just be you betting on a beer with a friend, but you’ve been drawn to the lure of making a correct prediction.

For some people, sports betting is more than just a way to spice up their favorite pastime; it’s big business. Around the world, bets are placed on lacrosse, cricket, soccer, football, baseball, and any other sport you can name. Some people win big, some people win consistently, but it’s always the books that win. Let’s take a deeper look at sports betting and some of the burning questions people have on the subject.

Is sports betting legal?

One of the biggest questions surrounding sports betting is whether or not the activity is legal. The fact is that in many parts of the world, sports betting is legal. Most of Europe and Asia regulate sports betting quite a bit, but bettors can place their bets without fear of legal reprisals.

North America is a different story. In Canada and the United States, sports betting is only allowed in four states: Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon. Of these, only Nevada allows sports betting equipment to operate.

Now, this does not necessarily mean that Americans are out of luck if they want to bet on a game. The Internet has opened up a wide range of opportunities for West Atlantic residents to place sports bets, although they must do so through books operated in an area where sports betting is legal. Still, the status of those operations is a bit murky.

How does sports betting work?

Official sports bets, those placed through bookmakers rather than friends, are carefully measured odds offered by astute analysts of trading numbers. Whether we’re talking about Las Vegas or Beijing, you can be sure the books are one step ahead of your average punter when it comes to betting.

This is not to say that you don’t stand a chance of winning when you place a bet, because one of the attractions of betting on a sporting event is that winning is both knowledge and luck (unlike casino betting, which is more or less lucky no matter what Charlton Heston has to say!).

Sportsbooks offer several different types of bets, all of which are designed so that the bookmaker makes a profit regardless of the outcome of the event. That benefit is known as vigorish (vig for short). It is usually around $10, paid by the person who loses the bet.

Punters will typically select one of two options when betting on a sporting event. The first is the money line, where an outright win for the chosen team will result in money being returned to the bettor. They look like this, in a

baseball game:

Chicago White Sox -200
New York Yankees +150

That example tells us two things. First of all, the White Sox are the favorites. This is indicated by the negative sign. If you bet on the Sox, then you have to put in $200 to win $100. That’s the second thing the example shows us; the amounts indicate how much you win if the team you select wins. For the Yankees, the underdogs, you only have to pay $150 to get a shot at that hundred bucks. But of course the Yankees will have to win!

The other type of bet that is made in sports is the spread. Here, bookmakers will offer bettors the chance to win even if the team they are betting on loses. Here’s a look at how spreads are expressed:

chicago bulls -10
denver nuggets

Once again, the negative sign indicates that the Bulls are the favorites. However, in this case, a punter is not just betting on who will win, but how much. If you were to bet on the Bulls and they won, but only by 8, you would still lose the bet. The Bulls have to win by more than 10 points if a bet on them is to return money. Conversely, you could bet on the underdog Nuggets and still win if the team loses by less than 10 points.

That is a brief introduction to some of the basics of sports betting. Read some of our articles to gain a deeper understanding of sports betting!