Man, by virtue of his survival instinct, is naturally a gambler. Given the risks of living from day to day, it was considered an act of skill to stay alive until sunset, especially during the Stone Age. As the human race began to develop systems that would facilitate the physiological need for survival, man’s inherent gambling instinct did not dissipate. Rather, it grew stronger as time went on.
The gaming instinct, in a nutshell, shows up early in the history of human civilization. The Romans were known for their fierce and relentless gladiator combat, which was mostly violent at least and visceral at best. For the year 80 AD. C., Emperor Titus led the first official ceremonies in the Colosseum and thus began the festivities. The slaves fought against each other in most battles to the death, and sometimes against wild beasts as well. Spectators relished the idea of betting on their favorite gladiator, hoping that he would live to see the end of the glorious battle.
But as time passed, the violence of the human sport proved too much for some, and the game was reduced to animal fights. Of course this has been around even before the human blood sport of gladiators, but they have become very popular in certain parts of Europe, particularly Spain, Portugal, the UK, France and even some parts of Asia such as the Philippines and Indonesia. Among these fights were bullfights, cockfights, and fox hunting.
As European influence spread more and more to every continent in the world, the thrill of gambling soon became a worldwide phenomenon. Gradually, the lust for blood was soon overcome by the promise of amassing riches. The stakes were high, but made more attractive by the rise of establishments such as casinos. Gambling has never been more fun.
But unfortunately, the pent-up momentum of sports betting came to an abrupt halt with the advent of the two world wars, as activities such as racing and lotteries were severely restricted. Its comeback only came in the mid-1950s, and it was soon back in bloom.
Not to be outdone, sporting events continued to be strong in betting circles, as events like horse racing, basketball games, and baseball games seemed to call for more incoming bets. The rise of communications technology also facilitated the development of sports betting, with telephone betting becoming an attractive option for those who live far from the games. Companies like Intertops in Antigua started this as far back as 1993.
When the Internet finally came out for public access and personal use, the world of betting became a tighter community. Globalization served its purpose by connecting the world in ways previously thought inconceivable; After all, who would have thought that you can bet on a game on the other side of the world with such ease? In 1996, a Gibraltar company called Microgaming took advantage of this trend and began developing software for use by other gaming companies around the world. Others soon followed suit, and thus online sports betting as we knew it was born.
