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Where did it all start? Well, the rich history of sports betting dates back to more than 20 centuries ago. The earliest records prove that the Greeks are the inventors of sports betting at the Olympics. The Romans later borrowed the idea to start wagering on gladiator contests, with Rome legalizing sports betting altogether.

Since then, gambling has become a favorite pastime across Europe and other continents. In England, it became widespread, thanks to horse racing. It’s here that sports betting crossed the Atlantic to the US, where it gained popularity pretty quickly.

But it hasn’t been a smooth ride thus far. When gambling became widespread in Europe during the medieval era, the early church passed strict laws to ban gambling activities.

Of course, this didn’t do much to prevent gambling from exploding into popularity. In the 80s and 90s, countries began formulating laws to regulate sports betting and gambling in general.

For an avid sports bettor, knowing the history of sports gambling is undoubtedly essential. However, learning the varying types of bets is even more critical to your success. So, this section discusses the four basic types of sports betting.

Fixed odds betting

Fixed odds betting is indeed the most prevalent type of sports gambling, both online and offline. It involves placing a wager against the odds created by the online sports bookie, and the bet is settled when the event is over. As the name suggests, the price doesn’t change after placing a bet in fixed odds betting.

For example, a bettor might stake on an EPL match between Manchester City and Manchester United. Manchester City is the favorite with 1.90 odds in this match, whereas Manchester United maxes out at 4.89 odds.

Suppose the bettor backs Manchester United with a $100 stake, and they don’t disappoint, the win potential is $489. That’s a $389 profit. But if they lose, the bookie enjoys the $100 stake.

Exchange betting

Bookies can be mischievous at times. Therefore, to eliminate them from the scene, exchange betting should come in handy. But like in fixed odds betting, there are two sides of the coin here. One player backs an outcome while the other bettor opposes it.

Sticking with the example above, Player A backs Man United to win with a $100 bet. On the other hand, Player B supports Man City to win and matches the bet with a $100 stake of their own.

Depending on the lucky player, they walk away with a $100 profit. But, of course, the unlucky bettor loses their stake.

Spread betting

Spread betting is gambling where the punter wins or loses the wager depending on the margin of a particular outcome. In other words, the pay-off is based on the wager’s accuracy rather than a mere win or lose.

With spread betting, punters predict whether an event outcome will be over the ‘spread’ created by the sport bookie.

In other words, a bookmaker gives a spread of 10 for the number of fouls in a match. Then, a bettor buys the spread for $10. In that case, they’re predicting that the number of fouls will be over 10.

So, if the match finishes with 15 corners, they win $50 (5 x $10). The bettor neither wins nor loses if the game ends with 10 fouls. But if the outcome is five corners, the punter loses $50 ($50 x 5) plus their stake.

Live betting

Any sportsbook worth joining must offer live betting or in-play betting at the bare minimum. Essentially, live betting is much like fixed odds gambling but with a bit of tweak. Here, punters place bets after the match has commenced instead of pre-match bets.

For instance, say Man United is playing Man City, and the former is one up. If that’s the situation, there are several markets to predict.

You can predict the next player to score, the next team to commit a foul, the next card to be dished out, and so on. Whichever the case, in-play betting offers players a quick turnaround time and more accurate predictions.

As usual, it’s paramount to embrace responsible gambling to be successful in this vast world. First of all, only gamble with funds you are comfortable losing.

Don’t play with money for essentials like house rent, medical bills, school fees, etc. Also, don’t chase losses by trying to cover lost ground. And above all, don’t treat gambling as a full-time job. Remember to have fun.