Odds making is one of the most delicate aspects of sports betting that impacts both sides of the equitation. Bookmakers invest a lot of work and resources to get it right, since odds that were set too low or too high can damage their business and result in a loss of customers or profits. That’s why it’s very interesting to note that most online betting sites are putting odds into a similar range, making it more difficult to spot really favourable propositions.
While this trend is not surprising in an ultra-connected world, it’s interesting to look at the confluence of factors that enabled it. We will also discuss what it means for the players who are trying to cash in on their sports predictions.
Online Sportsbooks Are Serving International Audiences
In the era before the internet, most sports betting activity was focused on local or national competitions. That’s not the case today, when bettors routinely follow international leagues and tournaments and make picks with confidence. In response, the operators are forced to find odds that appeal to players located in different countries who all have very accurate valuations of teams and players. That’s a stark contrast to days when local betting shops could count on home team supporters to bet on their favourites to win regardless of the odds. Bettors with no emotional attachment to the team they are picking tend to be more value-driven, and that has impacted how betting sites formulate their offers. In practice, it has led to a significant flattening of odds in all international markets, with only minor differences between websites.
Insider Information Is Revealed Faster
There are countless factors that affect the likely outcome of a match, and most of them are known well in advance so bookmakers can price them into odds. However, there are insights regarding player availability, unreported injuries, coaching issues etc. that only leak to the public hours before tip-off. In the era when sports news are shared on social networks nearly instantly, sports betting sites are able to pick up the intel and adjust the odds very quickly. Access to the latest information is certainly one of the biggest reasons for seemingly coordinated odds movement across online betting sites located half the world away. Smaller operators might not even bother to find out the details – as soon as they see major sportsbooks altering the odds they tend to follow suit and offer similar value of the bet. Woom bet sports book sits amongst those in the market making moves to ensure fresh stats are always up on the site for their players.
Competition Drives Odds To Optimal Level
Since there are literally hundreds of websites where you could go to make a bet, none of them can afford to overprice any wagers. It’s good business for betting sites to lower the odds on popular bets and take advantage of the sentiment among fans, but if they take it too far they risk losing business to a competitor. In a highly competitive market where players can easily directly compare offers, the final odds tend to faithfully represent the actual demand. Some fans are consciously trying to hunt for any odds disparities among sites and attempting to profit on odds that are set too high, and even average bettors usually check how much they can get with another bookie before filling out a ticket. Again, this is far different from the time when people always made bets at the same shop and accepted any odds.
Poorly Set Odds Can Be Costly For The Operator
As we previously mentioned, modern gamblers are quite savvy about exploiting any slip ups by the operators, and some of them are constantly scanning the web looking for undervalued bets. If a betting site accumulates a large volume of badly calculated bets, it assumes huge liabilities in case the outcome that most players supported comes through. Aware of the financial risk, sports betting platforms are investing heavily in analytics and retaining the finest odds makers they can find. Use of sophisticated software tools greatly aids in the process, and accounts for more accurate odds setting to a considerable degree. This is especially important for live betting, where odds have to be changed in real time during a match based on the current events and the only way that can be done is with automated tools.
How Can Players Benefit From Standardised Odds?
On the surface, uniform odds put players in a more difficult spot, as it becomes harder to identify highly favourable odds on any event. However, there are some silver linings that smart players can find in this situation. For one, standardised odds introduce more certainty into a highly volatile marketplace, making the offers more predictable and easier to plan around. Scientific approach to odds making also allows players to try and predict how the odds will change as the event draws closer, for example during multi-stage tournaments. Additionally, in a level field where everyone has similar odds it becomes easier to spot dishonest operators who are offering things that just don’t smell right. Global sports betting scene is evolving into a mass entertainment machine, and players everywhere now have access to exact same opportunities – and that can’t be a bad thing.
