It feels like an eternity since Neymar struck the third goal for Barcelona on the Champions League Final, doesn’t it? Thankfully, the new football season is edging ever closer and excitement levels are at their highest as we count down the days. Most supporters are occupied with their on-field concerns, such as Bastian Schweinsteiger’s capability to pull the strings for Manchester United or Aston Villa’s dreams of getting through the season in the absence of Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph within their ranks however, for a growing number of other fans, they are thinking about numbers, odds and prices.
There’s more than just football that returns this summer and it’s also betting. And make no mistake about it, gambling is a big business in the lucrative, obsessive, seven-days-a-week environment that football now takes part in. It was once a source of social discord, but betting on football is now embraced by the sport as well as media, government, as well as the majority of the population. But how did we reach this level? What caused this massive shift in our perceptions and attitudes?
Let’s go back to the 20th Century. Betting on sports was only focused on two sports – horse racing and greyhound racing. The bets on these events were held at racing places or the betting shops spread throughout the nation. The shops weren’t particularly comfortable places to be in; there was something edgy about them (especially in cities) that was similar to the rougher pubs of the area. Men were men, women seldom dared enter and you were required to pay tax on every bet struck. Horrible, eh? As time went on, things began to improve The introduction of shop televisions in 1987. the opening hours on Sundays and in the evenings began in the early part of 1990 and they even eliminated the betting tax in 2001.
The sport of football was a secondary consideration in the context of betting. It was the pools (ask your Dad) were the rule of the day in those simple times. When the first trade betting newspaper known as the Racing Post, was launched in 1986 they ran with just three pages of sports outside greyhounds and horses. On a busy Saturday there can be as many as to 40.
What is the reason for the huge fan-base for football betting? Well, I’m sure you’re very familiar with this tale. Back in 1992 satellite television channel Sky Sports bought the rights to England’s most prestigious division for a whopping (at the time) PS304m. The team was sacked Elton Welsby and John Bumstead and in came the knowledge that came from Andy Gray and pin-up looks of Ryan Giggs. As Sky declared, this was a whole new ball game.
The secret to this revolution when it came to betting was the size. In the final season of ITV being the owner of the top division, they broadcast a live league game every weekend during the season but certainly not on all of them. Sky was now planning to broadcast one on Sundays and another every Monday. Live games were the main marketplace for betting companies to spread the word about football betting, which is why this change was welcomed. It’s the rest…football got sexy and Manchester United got to No.1 in the charts.
At first, the bookmaking industry were slow to react to this surge of fascination with football. While football-related coupons and marketing materials began to be sold by betting outlets, the bookmaking industry was very strict about how bettors could bet on football. To begin with, if one were looking to bet on a single team, they had to be playing live on television for your bet to be accepted. Any bets made on games that weren’t live had to be bracketed with two other bets. This was referred to as the minimum triples rule. Things were changing though, when in-running betting was introduced, which allowed gamblers to bet on a live television game while it took place. Though it was considered a standard practice for many decades on this was a major breakthrough back then, and with growing numbers of games being broadcast live, interest was increasing.
The second major factor in the explosion of football betting was the advent and development of the internet in the gate into the 21st century. The two joys of being able to place bets from home and taking advantage of than a few odds with a variety of new online-only operators made betting more appealing to the new generation. Combine that with the fact betting tax was repealed in 2001, and it truly was a game changer.
Now from being hugely restrained in the early 90’s the new millennium introduced an entirely new type of football betting in which you can bet on anything! It is now possible to bet that corner, a team to lose, a player to score goals at any time and even bet on East Stirling to beat Elgin in a single bet. The dark days were over and betting had been liberated.
The stoic nature of the old traditional betting shop guard was replaced by new and exciting names like Paddy Power, Betfair and Bet365. These firms tapped into this new generation and made betting sound thrilling and aspirational for non-professional football enthusiasts. More and more innovations were introduced as these tech-savvy companies embraced the online world. Exchange betting, live streaming and the cash-out option transformed the field into a thrilling and attractive one for football fans.
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The mainstream media picked up on this and odds were added to the sport in itself. In addition to reporting the news of the team for the live game, Sky Sports would also give odds on the match. This would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. Huge steps had been made. While horse racing’s market share decrease, football betting went from strength to strength similar to the sport itself.
It is true that in-running (or play) betting has brought an exciting new strand of gambling where a huge twist during a game can bring terrifying or catastrophic results. The most well-known football change of the century took place in the Champions League final when Liverpool were 3-0 down at half-time returned to draw 3-3 before eventually winning on penalties. Joy for the Anfield team, no doubt, but a terrifying nightmare for a Norwegian gambler who put PS10,167 in AC Milan at odds of 100/1 and William Hill when they went three points ahead. Those odds indicate players will get PS1 for each PS100 staked. Therefore, our Oslo-based friend Oslo was owed a pitiful sum of PS101.67 If AC Milan had gone on to win the trophy.
On the flipside this game also produced an amazing story of winners for football punters. In the case of William Hill, one lucky chap placed PS50 betting on Liverpool to take home the trophy for the odds of 100/1. They were losing (and appeared to sink) in the second half.
Football betting is becoming smarter too. Most punters utilize stats and data to frame their wagers. As well as becoming an acceptable and socially acceptable form of entertainment betting on football also becomes a true battle of wits between bookmaker and customer. Opta Stats have become a visible presence on a number of bookmaker sites as more and more gamblers take advantage of data in order to earn profit. Brentford FC have adoped a strategy that makes use of stats, analytics, and data to boost their growth and it’s no big surprise to learn that the founder Matthew Benham has his roots deep in the world of gambling.
In 2022, placing an bet on football is now a regular aspect of the weekend for many people. There is no need to visit the smokey shop, and it’s easy to follow. The betting on football is now seen as the most important product for betting firms. The number of operators is growing and the time we spend watching is filled by more and more advertisements from these firms. Last year’s World Cup brought in around PS1 billion in revenue within the UK. Recession which recession? There’s no doubt that the rise in the game itself has fueled this growth together with the rise on the web. The days when gambling was an unsavory secret are gone.
