Did you know that professional soccer debuted primarily in the 1800s before becoming more popular in the late 1900s here in the United States when Major League Soccer started? The evolution of soccer's history is as rich and diverse as the history of soccer sports betting, which we will be learning more about today. 

You can log on to any online betting portal like NetBet to bet when you want to wager on upcoming soccer games from late summer until the fall each year. Depending on the soccer league you want to spectate and bet on, they may have games going into the winter and even the spring. Check the seasons of each league in which you are interested in betting so that you can prepare to make your wagers at the right time. 

Soccer Betting Started In Ancient Rome

Ancient Roman individuals began betting around the 500s BC on matches between gladiators and even chariot races. Okay, we know this isn’t really about a ball game. But this ancient practice was the early days of making wagers on a sportsbook when online sportsbooks became popular in the 1990s to take the place of going into a physical location to wager on a sportsbooks In America. 

Harpastum was a ball game equivalent to soccer that the Ancient Romans used to play. However, there are no reports of the locals betting on the sport like the other sports activities in their cultural arsenal in which they wagered bets. Each team would be composed of at least a dozen people, sometimes up to 14 players. The main notion of the ball game was to keep the ball on that specific team’s side longer than the opposing team. 

American Professional Soccer Leagues

Major League Soccer (MLS) is in Division I and has 29 teams (26 teams in the United States and 3 stationed in Canada), originating in 1996. The USL Championship in Division II comprises 24 teams and began in 2011. MLS Next Pro had its start in 2022 and includes 29 teams. 

The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) started in 2019 to 2020 with a total of 9 teams. USL League 1 also started in 2019 and is composed of 12 teams. MLS Next Pro, NISA, and USL League 1 are all in Division 3. The National Premier Soccer League has a total of 92 clubs throughout 4 regions. 

The Early Days Of Sportsbooks

Intertops was the first online sportsbook that debuted online in America in 1996. Not only were they the first sportsbook in history, they were also the first sportsbook ever to have mobile betting as an option for wagering. Allowing sports lovers to make wagers wherever they were rather than having to go to a physical location to do bets on a sportsbook changed the way soccer betting and other sports betting procedures occurred, therefore increasing its prevalence and popularity in American culture. 

Soccer Betting Regulations

Betting regulations tightened for soccer and other sports as the American government was seeing not only the popularity of online betting, but also gambling addiction with bettors and cheaters trying to rig the system. The only legal way to wager a soccer bet is on a valid  licensed and regulated sportsbook. Wagering a bet off the books is against the law.

For each type of soccer bet you want to place, such as two-way or three-way moneyline bets or over/under bets there are certain rules you have to follow to place the bet validly. Every country has its own way it handles paying out bets and what constitutes a win or loss of a bet.