Sports betting has become an integral part of the social balance of leisure time. More and more bettors are finding their way into this industry and trying their luck. Because the bets not only bring money in the best case, but also provide a lot of fun and excitement. Sports betting has been legal since the beginning of 2011 and that wasn’t that long ago. But since legalisation, betting has become much more open, official and above all popular. This article is intended to provide information on the general legal situation of sports betting and explain what has changed since legalisation.
The history of sports betting
Sports betting or much more betting in general has existed since the beginning of our society. The first modern summer games took place in ancient Greece in 1896, which eventually led to the founding of the Olympic Games. But already in antiquity there were such sports events. And even then they belonged to the most important events in sport. History has shown that these events took place every four years in summer from around 880 BC to around 393 AD. At that time the sporting events always took place in the sacred grove of Olympia. At that time, however, they didn’t yet know what excessive betting could mean, and so many of the spectators at that time played house and courtyard (in the truest sense of the word) in just one game and were then faced with the gap. And only because the idea of wealth was simply too tempting.
In the 18th century another milestone in betting history was reached in England. It was here that the first horse races took place and the first real sports bets were placed. Even then, betting providers offered several betting options. So one could set beside the simple victory of a certain horse also on other exits or influences of the races. The idea behind it was very simple, because of course it costs a lot of money to finance such events. Various betting options were offered. So it didn’t take long for the betting fever to spread to the entire kingdom. Yes, even the royal family bet and Queen Elizabeth II do it to this day.
It was not until the end of the 19th century that football became interesting for the sports betting industry. And as betting on them became more and more popular, England introduced football betting in 1921. Thus 11 football matches were predicted and the betting possibility was organized by the state. And here, too, the ulterior motive was to support sport through income.
The bad reputation of betting
Despite the fact that sports betting has been around for so long, they still don’t have the best reputation. And even if this changes from year to year to a positive one, one still feels a clear dislike of the society. Because in most cases, nobody likes to admit they’re playing. Finally, you are quickly put into a drawer. And there are several reasons for that. On the one hand, it is simply the fear of addiction, because one or the other family member may have already come into contact with it or even been affected by it, and then there is the danger of losing all the money with every bet. Which isn’t so bad when you have yourself and your finances under control. Unfortunately, many people do not have this and therefore get into financial difficulties not only, but also into their family or even their friends. In addition, the sports betting sector is of course also an ideal place for criminals and let’s say the black sheep of society. Because it is not necessarily difficult to create a platform without an identity on the Internet to pull money out of other people’s pockets. And all these are examples or reasons that unfortunately still occur far too often. And until the subject of sports betting is 100% in the right light, some are likely to fall for the scams of shady people. But you can protect yourself from that. And all this quite simply with specialist knowledge, self-control, discipline and, above all, consistency.
Sports betting today
To clarify the biggest of all questions straight away, yes, sports betting is legal in Europe as long as the 5% tax levied in 2012 is paid either by the bookmaker or by the customer himself. And even though many of you are probably incredibly angry about this tax, there are still good sides to it. This makes it easier to find the black sheep in the industry than before. Because who makes it official and has no bad ulterior motives, deals openly and honestly with the tax and gives the customer quite clearly to understand, how it is dealt on its platform with the tax. In addition, there are now licenses that are issued, which also put the provider in the right light. These are all factors that may not make things any easier when it comes to pure betting fun, but safety should come first, especially when it comes to large amounts of money. On news sites like openodds.com to find the best betting sites.
It should therefore always be ensured that we have set up a location. If it is easy to understand, the supplier makes sure that the customer finds everything easily and, above all, there is a good customer service that is ready to answer questions quickly and easily. The offer of the different providers, their odds and the experience reports should always be taken into account when selecting the right bookmakers. And it is not advisable to register blindly somewhere without having first made a blow about what reputation this provider has. A further sign of the seriousness of the provider is, for example, that it offers a welcome bonus to give the user the opportunity to familiarise himself with the betting offer without having to risk his entire own budget.
