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>> The Birth of Point Spread: Sports Betting in America

We'll start with a little history lesson on the birth of the point spread. There may be a test!

As football became more popular in America in the early part of the 20th century, professional teams began in major cities. They were owned by wealthy or prominent businessmen in their respective cities who were willing to pay players who had achieved a certain level of excellence. As these teams evolved throughout the Eastern and Midwestern part of America, they eventually formed the NFL, or National Football League. As such, they played each other once or twice per year for the purpose of determining a league champion.

Yet it was often not enough for these powerful owners to be happy with the pride that came with fielding a winning team. They needed to feel a gratification for their ego and greed. More specifically, these wealthy owners began to bet on their teams when they played each other. As the series of games wore on, it became obvious that one team was superior to the other. Thus, a "handicap" or "point spread" had to be accorded to the inferior team as a way of evening out the betting. For example, if the Pittsburgh Steelers had beaten the Cleveland Browns three consecutive times, costing the Cleveland owner a tidy sum of, for example, $60,000, he may ask the Pittsburgh owner for a handicap, or to spot him some points the next time they played. Eventually the winning team would have to give away so much that even if they won the game the opposing team would "beat the point spread or the handicap." When the two owners could no longer agree on an appropriate number of points, it led to the birth of linemakers.

Linemakers were men who independently set power ratings on the individual teams. Thus, when including a value for a home field, they could set a point spread on a game which represented the number of points they felt one team was superior to the other. As a result, not only were the individual owners able to make fair bets with each other, but it also allowed people across America to wager on their opinions regarding the abilities of their favorite team. As the practice spread, it was necessary for the linemakers to hire agents in each representative city to handle the action. As a fee for the time spent processing these bets, as well as collecting and paying the bets, the bookmakers and linemakers decided that 10% of each losing bet should accompany the principal of the wager when the game was lost. Thus was born the concept of the "vigorish", or "juice", or commission paid to the bookmakers. Shortly after the conclusion of World War II, the concept spread rapidly to racetracks, local bars, and other neighborhood establishments. Today, legal sports book wagering is available through walk-up betting in Nevada or via phone or internet betting throughout the Caribbean. Each year, billions and billions of dollars are wagered by over 50 million American bettors.

>> Many Shops to Choose From

There are more than 200 licensed sports books between Nevada and the Caribbean that can legally accept sports betting, and they're all kept busy year-round setting the line for a variety of wagering activities that include professional and collegiate sports such as football, baseball, basketball, hockey, golf, tennis, soccer, boxing, and auto racing. A line from one of these establishments is usually what your local office parlay ticket's odds are derived from. One thing that is important to remember: do not confuse the wagering lines that you receive from a legal bookmaker with those you see in most local newspapers. Most of the time, the newspaper line is often an "early line" or an approximation of what the "true" line is going to be without all of the pertinent information available. In most cases, these lines (for today's games) have to be in when the newspapers go to print before the games are even completed from the night before. Obviously, a great deal can happen that can, and will, affect the betting line (which we will cover in greater detail later) within that time frame.

As we mentioned above, sportsbooks offer a multitude of sports and sports wagering options. As for this coverage, we'll stick with the most popular sports wagered upon throughout the Caribbean and in Nevada: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, and Boxing. After you learn how to interpret a betting line, you can understand the odds for, and against you, and the expected payoff if you win, for any type of sports book wager you might choose to make.

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