The history of football itself is long, fascinating and somewhat mysterious. No one can precisely pinpoint the date, year or even century when the sport came to being. Taking into consideration remainings, sports fields, and balls made out of organic materials some scientist say that it can be traced back to ancient civilisations such as Ancient China and Egypt.
However, the football as we know it today, or at least a very similar form can be traced back to 19th century England. this was the first time rules to football were presented, and this is precisely why the UK is the place commonly related to this sport.
Soon along after the game became popular betting on football matches became popular as well, so let us dig a little deeper and discover how it evolved.
How did it begin?
Just as no one can pinpoint the exact date when the sport appeared, no one can do that for football betting either. Nevertheless, it is assumed that it was an inseparable part of this sports long before anyone can trace it. What is familiar, is the fact that sports wagering was considered illegal in the UK before the 60s. As a matter of fact, most wagering was conducted in the streets or somewhere secluded.
When football betting became legal in the UK and the sportsbooks started to open it ensured a bright future for different wagering types. During the next couple of decades, wagering shops were not the greatest place one would like to be at. They weren’t advertised and you couldn’t read about it on the internet and they had to keep everything on the low, even the design on the shops which was rather dark with blacked-out windows. Now you can read about it in the Betrivers sportsbook review.
During 80s sportsbooks across the UK started to look a little bit more inviting when the powerful operators of the time started to grow their interest in football betting. Besides, the 1986 legislation allowed the betting shops to have different interiors and exteriors.
Similar to today’s gambling scene in the UK, Coral, William Hill and Ladbrokes were the main operators leading the industry. During this period the most popular types of bets were live-bets, as the futures were too complicated to handle.
Better Days for the Football Betting Industry
The beginning of the sports wagering craze as we know it today started back in the 90s. With the sportsbooks finally out in the clear, football sports betting became popular and available to millions of wagerers. One of the milestones of the period was the Sky Sports acquiring the license to live stream the Premier League on TV in 1992 which brought more customers to sportsbooks.
Let us remembers that at that time one could still bet only on live events. And by showing many games bettors could bet on multiple events every week, which eventually led to the birth of in-play football betting. Marketing materials were allowed inside the shops and on store windows.
The early 2000s and Online Football Betting
With the emerging on the World Wide Web and the Internet, the concept of many industries changed, and the same goes form gambling and betting. The end of 90s and the beginning of 2000s was marked by many technological breakthroughs, which eventually led to the arrival of online football betting.
Bookies that operated online started to multiply in the UK and one of the first were bet365 and Betfair.
In 2001 when the betting tax was annulled, many gambling rules changed, until the ‘minimum trebles’ law changed in 2002. This meant that the players can place wagers tax-free, which made the industry even more popular. Besides, now, the bettors could bet on singles, rather than 3 matches as it used to be.
Football Betting Today
The evolution of football betting was long and eventful, but it is definitely not over. The football wagers as we know them today look completely different from those made many decades ago. The bettors can now bet on a range of different markets, on any game, and league, and from anywhere at any time. Online operators offer a range of options to their users and even some football exclusive bonuses.
So, yes, a lot has changed and we are yet to see the continuing of the football betting evolution in the years to come.