Betting has existed in human culture as far back as humans have had a culture to speak of. Archeologists have discovered dice, which is believed were used for gaming and gambling, dating back all the way to Ancient Greece. Not to mention, many historians believe gambling and wagering date back much further than that. It may be that humans have been gambling since before civilization.
As human society changes and develops, wagering changes with it. Once upon a time, the only way to gamble was to gather in big groups, with friends, neighbors and strangers and place wagers on dice rolls, cards, and other competitions. This practice quickly became supplemented by gambling dens, which were largely illegal betting houses operating in the underground. Once governments saw the potential profit to be made from gambling, the first casinos started opening their doors to the public.
With advancements made in technology and computer science, more and more people are beginning to embrace the online casino. Just like the land-based casinos supplemented the gambling dens in their day, so too are online casinos now supplementing their physical counterparts. Being that casino websites are a rather new phenomenon, many people still don’t quite understand how they work or what they are.
The Rise of Online Casinos
Online casinos first started appearing in the late 20th and early 21st century. The goal was to make gambling easier and more accessible to fans of the games. In the past decade, online casino websites have grown massively in popularity, becoming more popular than ever. These websites offer the exact same games as most traditional casinos, as well as numerous original games, which players might find interesting.
Online gambling has especially been embraced by European countries. Looking at the statistics, we can see that most countries where online gambling occurs are European, with residents of the United Kingdom being the most prominent users of online betting sites.
The history of betting in London is a long and storied one. Local lords would often sponsor and wager on their local cricket teams. Horse racing, for a long time, was a favorite betting sport among the British. And today, football is, by far, the dominant sport in the English betting scene. Of course, in the past, the only way to post a proper bet was to visit the local sportsbook. Today, most English people prefer to place their bets online.
Online Betting
Today, online betting has become a major industry. People have largely moved away from visiting bookies. The main reason for this, is that online betting websites are accessible from any electronic device, meaning punters can place bets on their favorite player, team, or sport from their home, or anywhere with a safe internet connection.
Another advantage that the best betting apps on the market offer is the streaming service. This means that bettors can watch the game that they are betting on from their phone or PC, and place additional live bets as the game is going.
Can the Industry Grow?
As we said before, the online betting and gambling industry has drastically risen in popularity in the past couple decades. This has prompted many to wonder whether it can grow even further? The answer, of course, is yes.
The first thing to mention is that in 2020, the online betting industry saw a huge boom in popularity. This was caused by the sudden pandemic which swept the entire world. The 2020 pandemic has only increased several aspects of the betting industry. Gamblers and bettors were stuck at home, unable to visit their favorite casinos or sportsbooks. As one might expect, this led to many of them finding alternative avenues for gambling, which led them to online betting sites.
Apart from the pandemic, the online betting and gambling industry has been seeing a massive rise, and many believe that it will grow even further in the future, simply due to how much easier it is to place a bet online than in person.
