Man, by virtue of his survival instinct, is naturally a player. Given the risks of day-to-day living, it was considered an act of skill to stay alive until sundown, especially during the Stone Age. As the human race began to develop systems that would facilitate the physiological need for survival, man’s inherent play instinct did not dissipate. Rather, it grew stronger as time passed.

The play instinct, in a nutshell, shows up early in the history of human civilization. The Romans were known for their fierce and unrelenting gladiatorial combat, which was mostly violent at least and visceral at best. For the year 80 d. C., Emperor Titus led the first official ceremonies in the Colosseum and thus began the festivities. The slaves fought each other in most battles to the death and sometimes against wild beasts as well. Viewers relished the idea of ​​betting on their favorite gladiator, in the hope that he would live to see the end of the glorious battle.

But as time went on, the violence of the human sport proved to be too much for some, and the game was reduced to animal fights. Of course, this has existed even before the human blood sport of gladiatorship, but they have become very popular in certain parts of Europe, particularly Spain, Portugal, the UK, France, and even in some parts of Asia, such as the Philippines and Indonesia. . Among these fights were bullfights, cockfights and fox hunts.

As European influence spread further and further across all the world’s continents, the thrill of gambling soon became a worldwide phenomenon. Gradually, the craving for blood was soon overtaken by the promise of amassing riches. The stakes were high, but it was made more attractive by the rise of establishments such as casinos. Gambling has never been more fun.

But alas, sports betting’s pent-up momentum came to an abrupt halt with the advent of the two world wars, as activities such as racing and lotteries were severely restricted. Its return only came in the mid-1950s, and it soon flourished again.

Not to be outdone, sporting events remained 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 has 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 early as 1993.

When the Internet finally came out for public access and personal use, the world of gambling became a more united 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 capitalized on this trend and began developing software for use by other gaming companies around the world. Others soon followed suit, and online sports betting as we knew it was born.