In the past decade, the popularity of sports betting has been dramatic in many ways. We are talking about how more countries are legalizing sports wagering and accepting that gambling is here to stay. For most of South Korea’s history, sports betting has been illegal to Koreans, However, in the 1990s, South Korea began to relax its sports gambling law. Thus, they began to allow its citizen to bet on sports in a tight environment. Today, we take a look at the Evolution of Sports Betting and from its humble beginning to today.
In comparison to most of the world, South Korea is a new country that began in 1948. However, it did not begin to relax its gambling laws until 1967. This is when large hotels were finally given permission to offer casino games to foreigners.
In the 1990s, the gambling laws became even more looser with the creation of SportsToto, a government betting service. Since then, South Korean are able to bet on a variety of sports in the country. These include betting on football, baseball, basketball and golf at physical betting machines that can be found in shops.
However, the biggest drawback is that the wagering limit is ₩100,00 and only applies to certain sports. This is why, many Koreans often turn to offshore sportsbooks for higher betting limits, more betting options and sports markets.
The Evolution of Sports Betting in South Korea and the World
The Earliest Documented Form of Sports Gambling
Sports wagering and sports have had a long relationship throughout history. It was a given that when a sporting event took place, so would the wager. The earliest form of documented sports gambling comes from the Roman times.
Chariot races were common in the days of the Roman Empire. According to several historical accounts, wealthy Romans were big fans of gambling and would bet on chariot races. What made the racing even more exciting was that chariot racers would do anything to win and cheating was common. In fact,, Dabbling in black magic was not out of the ordinary to secure a victory.
Romans would bet on just about anything, including the fights between gladiators. One of their favorite activities to bet on was a board game. One of the most popular one was the “Game of 12” which is similar to what we know as backgammon.
Since, the Roman Empire was around before the birth of Christ, this means sports betting has been around for thousands of years.
The Rise of Modern Sports Betting – Betting on Horses
Modern sports betting can find its roots in horse racing in Europe during the seventeenth century. As Europeans began to move and settle around the world, they brough with them many of their traditions.
One of those was horse racing. Betting on horses was common in Europe and is now available everywhere around the world. In the U.S. it began in the eighteenth century. That is when events like the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes first began
For Korea, horse racing began in 1898 but a modern horse betting system did not take place until 1920.
Online Sports Betting
The biggest technological advancement of the current era has been the rise of the internet. The internet allows bettors to go outside of the country to bet on sports.
Offshore sportsbooks, many of them in the Caribbean and Central America, were not bound by the laws of any country. Therefore, they could cater to Korean bettors and gamblers everywhere in the world. Therefore, by the early 2000s online sports betting at the best offshore sportsbooks was huge.
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