Games From The 1800s You Can Still Bet On – Gambling in the Past

If not from the history classes, from movies and books, you most likely have seen how the aristocracy has spent their free time back in time. The Regency and Victorian eras offered a wide range of opportunities for wealthy families to spend their leisure time. We have collected some of the games from the 1800s you can still bet on and some of which you can try at home!

Horse Racing

One of the most prestigious races to this date was introduced in 1779 by the Count of Derby in England. The word Derby might sound familiar. However, it has been a professional sport and gambling opportunity since the 1720s. So, the rules have been in place for 300 years. During the first Derby, only mares took part on flat terrain in the 2.4 km race, which proved so successful that ever since then, the sporting event has been organized annually. The next one will be on June 4th, so you still have enough time to prepare and place bets at 888sport! Horse racing has always been a crucial part of the famous English social seasons. Of course, usually, only men could enjoy this privilege.

Horse racing is among the games from the 1800s you can still bet on since the gentlemen took pleasure in wagering on them. It’s the same nowadays too, with the exception that not only men, and not gentlemen, can place bets, though it’s still an elegant event. The essence of betting is simple! Predict the winner of the race! So, the fastest and best horse. Professional bettors, in these competitions, look for the best breed and their development on the track. As we have mentioned, horse racing is almost unimaginable without putting money on the winning horse. Horse race gambling is as old as the sport itself, moreover, it is the basis of the whole race.

Games From the 1800s You Can Still Bet On – Boxing

The 1700s and 1800s were the age when boxing, although already a sport, was still just a fairground sideshow. We are talking about an activity that is thousands of years old. Although, fist fighting as a sport dates back to James Figg’s rise in England. He was the sport’s first heavyweight champion who opened a boxing academy in 1719.

However, Figg was not the only one in this industry, but the popularity and interest in boxing matches and bets began to increase after he started teaching and promoting it as a competitive sport for the first time. The 180 cm tall, 84 kg Figg was an experienced swordsman and a talented athlete who entertained the audience with highly skillful performances at trade fairs. Boxing betting also makes an appearance in the famous Netflix series, Bridgertons. It shows well how gentlemen could gamble during a boxing match.

Billiards

Imagine a smokey gentlemen’s club, where the men escape from their wives and ambitious mamas. After all, what could have done a gentleman with rank and title during the day? The answer is playing and gambling. Billiards is among the games from the 1800s you can still bet on. Even though that era could not differ more from ours, the habit of having fun with gambling games remained. By the 18th century, billiards became part of the daily life of men, and, most likely, ladies also tried it when no one was looking. Check out our article about the badass famous female pool players! The most popular games were Port and King, War Game, Carambole, and the Winning Game. Many had to go home with empty pockets after billiards matches. Don’t make the same mistake and study the rules and strategies at online sportsbook sites in the UK!

Games From The 1800s You Can Still Bet On – Soccer

Soccer is a sport we don’t have to describe to anyone. However, it was not always played like today. Those who wanted to play soccer 150 years ago had to head to the local butcher. This is because people made most soccer balls by hand, out of the bladder of oxen, pigs, or bulls.

They covered the inflated bladder with leather, which people tied with shoelaces. Soccer balls made this way were heavy and stiff, especially if the rain-soaked them or the mud dried on them. Heading in soccer was a painful, thoughtless stunt. For those who didn’t want to sweat over making the bladder, Indian rubber served as a modern alternative, although balls with a rubber interior were more likely to burst.

There have been no goalkeepers a hundred and fifty years ago, or, at least, there has been no such official position. The original rules allowed any player to catch the ball and score goals. The player who caught the ball could not run with it, and the teams switched halves after each goal. Tripping and pushing each other and even trapping the ball were allowed, so it was hard to find any reason for getting a free-kick. The penalty and corner kicks didn’t exist at all. If the ball passed between the posts marking the goal at any height, they considered it a point. There were no referees either, and their presence did not become common until after 1870.

Quoits

Quoits is not exactly a game from the 1800s you can still bet on but a rater fun activity. Everyone loves it, but we know little about what it is and where it came from. People believe that the Greeks played this game with discus, and then the Romans started playing the game, as well and brought it to Britain with them. Of course, at that time, the hoops were still made of iron, not of wood, rope, or plastic, as they are today. According to another opinion, quoits evolved from another game, horseshoe throwing.

Either way, it was a popular pastime of the ton and the poor. People played this game very early in England. If you have a good eye for such things, you can catch quoits in Pride and Prejudice (1995). They play this in the garden at the beginning of the film. Bridgerton fans could also catch sight of it in the series. Of course, like all games, the quoits have changed over time multiple versions have evolved depending on the area. There are also Northern, East England, and Garden versions, but you can often play it in amusement parks and fairs, where the hoop is not thrown on a pole but on the object you want to win. You can also find such a scene in the Downton Abbey series.

The rules and versions of the game were first described in 1881 by the world’s first game and sports magazine, The Field. Though if you decide to try it yourself, the rules you choose for some garden fun are for you to figure out yourselves. For example, you can play it by marking the distance from which the players had to throw the hoops. You can determine how many rounds you will have in advance, and the one with the highest score will be the winner. Though, get ready because the game is not as simple as it sounds! On the other hand, it’s fun for the whole family, guests, a party, etc. It’s a very English pastime!

Croquet 

You have probably seen croquet in several films before. For example, in Anna of Green Gables, when girls play croquet in the garden of Kingsport Girls College. Or Alice also plays croquet in Alice in Wonderland, where the mallets are flamingos, by the way. Bridgerton seems to feature every game from the 1800s since almost a whole episode is devoted to playing croquet and is a significant part of the series. Though, what is this game that looks a bit like golf and has a French name? Is it French or English?

The game probably arrived in England in the middle of the 17th century from France and became a popular game during the reign of Charles II, when the game was called Paille-mail or pall-mall after the Latin words for ball and mallet. Hence the name of the road in St. James Park is called The Mall, where King Charles also often played various games with his courtiers. Other speculations suggest that the croquet spread in Great Britain in the 1850s from Bretagne. Either way, the rules of the game were first described by a London toymaker, Isaac Spratt, in 1856, and then sold the patent to the world-famous toy company, Jaques of London. 

However, according to some rumors, John Jaques introduced the croquet to the English at the 1851 World’s Fair and began making the equipment for it. It is possible since Jaques of London has been producing sports equipment, toys, and board games for six generations. The croquet lived its heyday in the 1860s. It was the favorite pastime among the English middle and upper class. However, a decade later, tennis entered the picture, and croquet lost its significance. Even though it’s not a game from the 1800s, you can still bet on it, but try it with friends or family, it’s so much fun! Cricket was also popular in the 19th century. If you have seen Becoming Jane, the movie about Jane Austen’s life, you might remember the scene where they play cricket. If you want to check out our cricket betting guide, read our article!

Games From The 1800s You Can Still Bet On – Badminton

The game of badminton can be traced back thousands of years. Wherever you read about it, they mention its many ancestors. The Chinese dsi-design-dsi, Aztec India, the Greeks spherics, and the Romans paganika are noteworthy. The direct predecessor of badminton in Europe is the jeu volant, which means flying game. Mainly, people in royal courts played it in the 17th century. Then, badminton became a common game of the upper and middle class in the 19th century. So, it is definitely among the games from the 1800s you can still bet on!. 

The ball game in its present form was introduced to British soldiers in India around 1860 as Poona, who brought it with them back to England. From the 17th century onwards, literary and fine artworks were born about badminton. In 1872, badminton was played competitively in the English town of Badminton for the first time. Hence the international name of the competitive sport. English clubs formed the Badminton Association of England in 1893. 

Since it requires relatively inexpensive sports equipment, it’s an excellent exercise, great fun, and a profitable betting opportunity, even with relatively little knowledge of the sport. 888sport offers a variety of badminton wagers; check them out! However, if you want to play it as a competitive sport, you need to train regularly and a lot, to develop skills, brilliant reflexes, and endurance. The sport, which has become part of the Olympics, also provides an extraordinary spectacle for the audience. 

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