Sunday 9 September 2012

The history of bookmaking along the years

By Dan White


The bookmaker takes both bets, and maintains a spread which will guarantee a profit regardless of the result of the wager. The Federal Wire Act of 1961 was an attempt by the US government to stop illegal bookmaking. Nevertheless, this Act is not applicable to other types of online gambling. The Supreme Court has not ruled on the meaning of the Federal Wire Act as it pertains to online gambling. Many of the leading gambling sportsbooks from the 1930s to the 1960s have their origins in the prohibition era of the 1920s. They were mainly descendants of the influx of immigrants getting into the USA in that period of time.

To the uninitiated, bookies are the people who make books. In fact, most professional sportsbooks or bookie are something different from traditional books. Rather, their activity concentrates on odds. Bookmaking, as a betting profession, began at the horse track in 1780 and expanded on from there to the football stadium, tennis court, hockey rink, and just about in any sport event where is the chance to bet money on a predicted result. Professional bookmakers are that most critically central of all gamblers, the one who posts odds, accepts wagers, and collects or pays out on bets placed. The street word, bookie, has the origins in the practice of filling notebooks with the data of wagers.

While lots give sportsbooks high marks for shady behavior, honesty is very important to the profession. In fact, the honesty of the bookie is very important to the success of his or her betting activity. Punters need to trust the odds and get reliable payment on bets. Building a reputation as an honest punter will also help when it is time to collect monies owed. Most modern bookmakers function somewhat like actuaries.

Bookmakers aren't after making money on any set of single bets but rather on the entire wager. The aim is a balanced book wherein there are an equal number of bets on both sides of the wager, or by varying the sums wagered to cover the odds. If a particularly high bet is made on one outcome of a given book, the bookie can attempt to balance that book by taking bets at another bookmaker. Some also charge a small fee per bet placed, in particular for the online services.

Rather than being fly-by-night, the profession is both legal and well-regulated. Bookmakers are subject to strict laws. Even so, they also take part to the game in the modern age. Some bookmaking firms sponsor events and advertise. They have also integrated the latest technologies, as the internet simplifies the process of balancing books by more readily matching for and against bets on any given competition. This further guarantees the way for spread betting and brings in a wider audience, assuring that future bookmakers will be open for business. Finally, betting may be legal or illegal, and may be regulated; in the United Kingdom it was at times both regulated and illegal, in that time licenses were necessary but no debts arising from gambling could be enforced through the courts. In our time, since the inception of the National Lottery, it is not only legal but also a small contributor to the British economy, with a recent explosion of interest with regard to the international gaming sector industry.




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