Largest Sports Betting Companies in 2024 [Updated list]

The term bookmaker was created from two terms – book (stake) and maker (make). So, a bookmaker is a person who stakes. Note that the development of bookmaking is between the 14th and the 20th century. The British island is the home for bookmakers’ craft. Bookmakers’ craft means keeping a record book of accepted stakes. From the very beginning in England, the notion of bookmaker wasn’t well taken. But later, under the influence of Leviathan Davis and Fred Svindela, lists of bookmaker bureaus and real money sports betting began to be published in London. This was the beginning of placing bets outside people’s dwelling places. Here people would bet on who would win.

Harry Ogden was the first bookies – he spent his time studying horses and their performances on horse tracks. He noticed that some horses consistently performed better than others, even if they weren’t winning all races. He recorded his observations and crafted specific odds on how the horses would perform, similar as how bookmakers with statistics are doing today. Before races began, he announced his odds and allowed people to place bets. Since he was wealthy enough, he would pay those who won. However, the odds he created favored him more.

John Moore introduced the bookmaker bureaus. He opened the first bureau, “Littlewood Pools of Liverpool,” in 1922 in Liverpool. Remember, casual gambling was present in entire Europe and the united states in the 19th century. In 1931, gambling became legal in the US state of Nevada – Las Vegas casinos. This was the first state to legalize gambling – several states followed later. In Europe, sports betting popularity grew exponentially because of mass media – regional journalistic publications that presented match reviews. The advent of the internet breathed a new life into bookmaking. Ideally, alongside the development of informatics and telecommunication, the internet gave infinite possibilities of pacing stakes. The first official stake after the development of computers was in 1972 in Canada. However, the use of the internet, which allowed placing stakes globally, was in the mid-’90s. Offline bookmakers proliferated in the last ’90s in many states, thus attracting many punters. All over Europe, thousands of bookmakers and their affiliates mushroomed. After that, these companies shifted online. Today, their hundreds of thousands of sportsbooks in the world that punters can access from anywhere, but for more information, you can read our article about Online vs. Offline betting or find out if is gambling a sport.

Many operators are embracing different funding options and withdrawal options to their punters. Good thing; some methods allow both depositing and withdrawal. And since some bookmakers prefer a specific payment mode, you can choose bookmakers by payment methods  and the most common methods are:

Debit Cards: if you own a bank account, you might have a debit card. You can use it to make purchases online (online and offline) or withdraw cash from ATMs. You can use your debit card at sports betting companies with a debit card payment option.

Credit cards: there are many credit card bookmakers online as it’s one of the safest payment options. Punters can get a credit card from Visa, MasterCard and American express. Among all credit cards, visa bookmakers and betting sites are the majority.

PayPal: this digital payment mode allows sports bettors to store their money in digital form. PayPal bookmakers and betting sites allow all, if not most, people to top up or withdraw cash from their bookies’ accounts.

Electronic Wallets: common eWallets include EcoPayz, Neteller, PurplePay, Skrill, and EntroPay. Skrill is the most popular eWallet; thus, you can try any available Skrill bookmakers and betting sites. Similarly, PurplePay bookmakers are gaining popularity; try some of them.

Prepaid Cards: also called e-vouchers, prepaid cards (e.g., Flexepin and PaySafeCard) are an excellent option for bettors without bank accounts or access to a line of credit. Besides, they are anonymous and very secure. You can buy prepaid cards at a designated shop and use the unique PIN on your betting site.

Cryptocurrencies: bitcoin is the most popular crypto. Digital currency betting allows punters to load their betting account instantly. Although a new method, you can try an increasing number of bitcoin bookmakers and betting sites.