Sports Betting: $25B+ Year

Billions of dollars are bet each year on sports in America and around the world. Between the ‘World Cup’ and ‘Super Bowl’ matches over odds makers are estimating that over 5 billion dollars will be wagered (both legally and illegally) on the out come of these two sporting events alone.

With a large number of professional and college teams, the United States generates an estimated 26 billion dollars in wagers per year. With five major professional leagues (football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and arena football), and a large number of amateur sports leagues (college and high school) to generate bets, the US offers a sporting environment that is ideal for sports betting.

The professional leagues present a high profile face to sports betting but it is in the ranks of the amateur sporting events were the majority of money is wagered. For instance, in professional football there are 16 games for each team spread out over the year; in colligate football there are over 100 teams playing in over 50 games per week! This is just in division ‘A’ college football; there are an equal number of games in division ‘AA’.

While sports’ betting on professional teams is, currently, only legal in one state (Nevada), there is a huge amount of illegal and online betting that occurs each week. 

While a large number of these bets are considered ‘friendly wagers’ between individuals, an equally large number of ‘serious’ bets are placed with illegal ‘bookies’ or on online sites situated outside the jurisdiction of the United States. 

Placing a bet with an illegal ‘bookie’ is not a new phenomenon, the proliferation of online betting websites has drastically changed the landscape of sports betting in America.

In the past placing an illegal bet often involved a go-between called a book maker (bookie for short). Odds, or lines were often decided by the bookie and both the bet and payout made in cash. Bookies would often take a gambler’s ‘marker’ as pledge for payment if the bet was lost. Failure to pay often led to ominous consequences since many bookies had connections to, or were directly funded by, organized crime. 

With the advent of online wagering, transactions occur via the internet with the use of credit and debit cards. Payment is placed into a secure account accessible only to the individual with all records kept confidential (i.e. hard to trace for tax purposes). 

Online wagering is proving to be a safe and convenient way for gamblers to place a wager. Most sites will cover an unlimited amount for a wager (within the limits of the credit available) and payment is instantaneous. These sites also offer a wide variety of sporting events upon which to wager.

The amount of money wagered on sporting events has grown steadily over the past decade and shows no sign of slowing over the next 10 years. By the year 2019 it is estimated that over 100 billion dollars will be bet world wide on various sporting events. The advent of online betting has no doubt accelerated that prognosis

Football betting
Wagers on American Football are based on two basics betting formats: the ‘spread’ and the ‘over-under’. Football betting for winners.

Sports Betting in The US
Online Sports Betting in the US: A general Overview With the recent explosion of the home computer industry and the subsequent exponential growth of the internet it was inevitable that these two events would give birth to the growth of online sports betting in the United States.

Sports Betting Tips
The following are a few tips on betting on sporting events. These are generalized tips that can be applied to any game for any sport. If you follow these suggestions then you will find that your wagering will be more enjoyable and, in many cases more profitable (at least less painful).

What you Know in the world of sports betting knowledge is king.  Everything from general statistical facts about a specific event, to what a player did in practice.