Gambling is part of Human Nature

gambling

Betting and gambling has been part of our culture since man could utter a sound. I would be willing to wager one caveman man bet against another he wouldn’t eat a particular berry or couldn’t hit a mammoth with a spear. I am sure everyone can remember doing something on a dare simply because someone says “I’ll bet you ten bucks you won’t……….” Now couple this with State sponsored gambling in the forms of lotto, scratch offs and quick draw. There is a natural progression into other forms of gambling.

The most prevalent form of organized non-State sponsored gambling is “sports” betting. In the past if one wanted to place a bet and they were not in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, they would have to find a bookie. Bookies are often considered to be shady characters that break legs and hang out in dive bars. I guess this perception may have discouraged many from placing a bet. This creates a challenge in that its human nature to gamble on the outcome of an event and perception is quite the opposite. Couple this with the bombardment of the publication of sports betting lines in every newspaper and the mention of the Vegas line on sports shows. All this would soon change, now there is an abundance of venues for sports betting.

With the invention of the internet came an entire new and vast venue for online sports gambling. In this venue one can place on any sport: NFL Football, MLB Baseball, NBA Basketball, NHL Hockey, PGA Golf or even NASCAR auto racing. There is an interesting twist when it comes to Soccer / FUTBOL, in England in that gambling is not only legal but mainstream. While the American football, the NFL, pretends to frown on gambling it also understands that it is an important piece of the popularity and in a way it feeds the (gambling) beast. Feel free to dispute this but first answer one question, “Why are there injury reports published in the newspaper?”

Last but certainly not least, is the most mainstream version it is sports boards and office pools, these are consider “social gambling.” Social gambling refers to 100% payout; where as the one running the pool or board gains no monetary advantage by running the sports promotion. These are found in the form of March Madness, Last Man Standing and Super Bowl boards. These have the advantage of being popular in the office, in bars and also a form of online sports betting. Sports boards have an additional advantage in that the participants need not have any knowledge of sports or the sporting event.

The popularity of sports betting grows every year due to demand and shows no signs of stopping. Regardless of your personal beliefs and viewpoint there is no disputing the draw of gambling.