Gambling and sports have gone hand in hand for millennia, long before sports became sports and long before gambling had taken on an organized form. The Romans loved to bet on the fights in their arenas, the Greeks loved to bet on chariot races, the Chinese organized lotteries millennia ago – some say that the construction of the Great Wall of China was funded through a state-organized lottery. Gambling has been part of humanity’s everyday life since the dawn of civilization. It took on an organized form in the last couple of centuries – and, unfortunately, the hunger for profit has corrupted it in time.
The forms of gambling
Gambling is a generic name used for an industry with many branches, It covers everything from lotteries and bingo to casino games and sports bets. Gambling groups and sports clubs get along quite well – in Europe, online and land-based betting companies often sponsor various sports teams in return for publicity. According to numbers published by EGBA (the European Gaming and Betting Association), its members sponsored various sports clubs with over $850 million since its creation in 2007.
Casino game developers often reach out to sports for inspiration. Microgaming, the company that provides All Slots Canadian Online Casino with its amazing games, has a whole series of titles inspired by sports. One of them, the Sports Star series, has games that were released at the All Slots in relation with major sporting events. Football Star was released in the wake of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, followed by Rugby Star (and the Rugby World Championship) and Cricket Star (and the Cricket World Cup, both in 2015). Other All Slots games pay tribute to other sports – Break Away is a hockey-themed game, Shoot! honors both soccer and the long-running UK football magazine with the same title, and there are many other games in its library inspired by everything from Formula 1 to illegal street racing.
The dark side
Unfortunately, not all gambling is done by law. The illegal betting business is massive, with an estimated value several times bigger than the regulated one. And, since it’s not bound by the laws and regulations, it often operates in shady ways to make the most profit off the world of sports. To this end, illegal bookmakers often influence the outcome of various events by bribing (or sometimes threatening and blackmailing) officials, referees or the athletes themselves.
This practice is not only illegal but robs the world of sports of one of its most important principles: fair play. Betting by athletes and team officials, especially on the games and events they are involved with, is not only discouraged but outright illegal. Yet when all the activity happens beyond the reach of the authorities, there’s no viable way to prevent the phenomenon.
Aside from massive crackdowns on the illegal betting industry, the only way to stop it would be for punters to understand that what they are doing – betting on games at illegal bookmakers – can potentially rip the heart of sports out. Hopefully this will convince them to stop, robbing the illegal betting world of its source of income, and leading to its ultimate destruction.
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