How and where did it start?
Have you ever wondered where all of this began? Here, on BetBrain, you will get all the answers!
Sports betting has a history that dates back more than 2,000 years. Greeks were enthusiastic athletes, and as a result, they founded the Olympics. They made it known to the rest of the globe, and the competition brought the first betting records.
It was stolen by the Romans, who loved wagering on the gladiator battles. The first people to allow sports betting were the Romans. Gambling has since expanded to every country in the world. The church attempted to outlaw the activity throughout the Middle Ages by enacting regulations.
In the modern era, gambling became popular in England due to horse races. The wealthy men enjoyed placing bets on the horses. It immediately moved to the US and made fast progress. However, one of the biggest markets is still Europe.
So, this activity is practised since the beginning of humanity and is considered to be one of the most popular hobbies among people. Here are the most important countries where this activity has been developed to the next level.

England
In this country, betting activity became popular in the 16th and 17th centuries due to horse racing. An important mention would be that this activity was available only for the aristocracy and horse owners, who could put wagers on confidential races.
This phenomenon was developed by the innkeepers and pub owners who popularized the concept and became basically the first bookmakers.
The British authorities quickly realized that gambling in such close proximity to drink was having hard effects and was ruining many people. The government outlawed gambling in bars, which led to the establishment of betting shops.
USA
Same as in the United Kingdom space, gambling activity was used by people for many years until it became officialized by the authorities. Started with horse racing where, also, only the elite had the chance to bet and enjoy this event.
It provided gentlemen with a sort of amusement. Traditional sports betting gained popularity in 1876 when professional baseball began to grow.
Later, in 1931, sports betting was made legal in Nevada, especially in the casinos of Las Vegas. The issue was that to physically place your bets, you had to enter a casino.

Sports betting scandals
On this topic, our team wants to expose some relevant controversies that have spoiled the image of this fun activity. Here is a list of memorable events that occurred over the years:
Black Sox Scandal
1980 Totonero
Calciopoli
2007 NBA Betting Scandal
Black Sox Scandal
This scandal could not pass unseen by the media and the authorities at that time. The Black Sox Controversy was a Major League Baseball game-fixing conspiracy in which eight Chicago White Sox players were suspected of throwing the 1919 Championship game against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from Arnold Rothstein, the leader of the gambling syndicate at that time.
1980 Totonero
The 1980 Italian Serie A and Serie B match-fixing scandal known as Totonero was considered one of the biggest scandals in European football. Avellino, Bologna, Lazio, Milan, and Perugia of Serie A and Palermo and Taranto of Serie B were the participants in this scandal, and all of them were found guilty following the investigations.
To be mentioned, among the outcomes of this controversy was Paolo Rossi's suspension. However, Paolo Rossi's three-year suspension was reduced to two after a request, and he later supported Italy's winning 1982 FIFA World Cup campaign.

Calciopoli
Another major controversy in Italian football that had several aftermaths is Calciopoli. Serie A and, to a smaller measure, Serie B of Italy's premier professional association football league experienced the Calciopoli scandal. The scandal was discovered in May 2006 when a number of telephone calls revealed relationships between club executives and referee organisations during the football season. The scandal involved numerous clubs, numerous executives, both from the same clubs and from the major Italian football cells, as well as some referees and referee assistants.
Anyway, one of the major outcomes was Juventus’s relegation as they were found convicted of this scandal.

2007 NBA betting Scandal
Being a popular sport in the USA, basketball could not miss from this shame list.
A referee for the National Basketball Association (NBA) was accused of placing bets on professional basketball games using his knowledge of the relationships between refs, coaches, players, and owners in the 2007 NBA betting controversy.
According to the sources, the referee Tim Donaghy was reportedly putting bets on matches that he officialized.
As most of these events were in the past, we should be aware of their negative effects, which many of them still persist. These controversies have increased investigations and restrictions around professional sports and acted as a reminder of the possible disadvantages of sports betting.
How does betting work?
The answer is simple! This system works around the odds format which in different ways shows the probability of each event occurring. Odds are offered in either European format (decimal odds), UK format (fractional odds), or American format for multiple outcomes in a single wager (money line odds). Here is a table to understand this concept better:
Decimal | Fractional | American | Implied probability |
1.50 | 1/2 | -200 | 1 in 1.5=67% |
2.00 | 1/1 | +100 | 1 in 2=50% |
2.50 | 6/4 | +150 | 1 in 2.5=40% |
3.00 | 2/1 | +200 | 1 in 3=33% |