In case you are a sports enthusiast and had wished to wager on sports within the past, but were weighed down by all the technical jargon such as point spreads, odds, and book making, relax. After you have read this post, you shall be ready to participate within a short period of time. Although sports betting may appear quite difficult in the beginning, it is not as complex as it may seem.

Gambling had deep roots in England and quite naturally, the colonists brought their love of gambling over to the country and continued with the tradition. Early colonists happen to be known to bet on cock-fighting, boxing, and horse racing. In the early nineteenth century, the vast majority of gambling was centered on horse racing with boxing in second place. Conversely, with increasing popularity of baseball, the focus of sports gambling shifted to baseball betting towards the later part of the century.

Through the start of the twentieth century, sports like the college basketball and football started getting the attention of public and with the passage of time these sports were competing with baseball in terms of popularity. The earliest type of wagering on quality online football gambling (visit Kinggeorge now >>>) and basketball involved the use of odds - a system still practiced today - generally known as the money line.

The method of betting with money line posed big problems for the bookmakers and they were forced to come up with a substitute. A majority of gambles were inclined to place bets on college teams who were quite superior to their opponents, making the outcome of the matches a foregone conclusion and resulting in losses for book makers. Just ahead of the Second World War broke out, the bookmakers introduce a whole new method of sports gambling that transformed this industry forever.

In simple terms, the point spread is a handicap which is placed on the likely winner of any basket ball or football game in points. As an example, in the event the Lakers were expected to simply demolish the Clippers, the point spread for the game could possibly be calculated at up to 20 points. Basically, 20 points will be either subtracted from the total score of Lakers score, or added to the total score of Clippers. In such a case, any sports enthusiast who placed a sports bet on the Lakers would only make money should the Lakers win by at least 21 points. Similarly, gamblers wagering on the Clippers stand to win their bets in the event the Clippers win the game as well as should the Clippers lose the game, gamblers can still win provided Clippers lose by 19 points or less.

The point spread helped the bookmakers to balance their books as bets on sports events were more evenly placed in comparison with the previous system where nearly all of gamblers placed bets on the same teams.

The huge success of the point spread helped the bookmakers recognize that the more betting options the general public had, the more bets they will be prone to place. This realization resulted within the establishment of another system, the totals. Also known as "overs / unders,", this betting proposition provides the gamblers to bet on the total score of both the teams, irrespective of the outcome of the game.

Sports betting has gone through many stages of evolution with the passage of time. Bookmakers have continued to come up with betting methods and opportunities, latest of them being teasers and parlays. In contrast, placing a sports bet with the traditional money line, against the point spread, or through totals, remain the three most popular forms of sports gambling. No matter what sports you follow, there is definitely an equal opportunity now to earn money from your favorite sports.