What Role Do Oddsmakers Play in Making the Odds?
The sports betting industry has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade, especially in the United States. Betting on sports is more popular than ever, but some people get into the industry without really knowing what they are getting themselves into.
I am Wunderdog, and I have been in this industry for more than 20 years. I am known as a handicapper that delivers sports picks to customers who are looking for some help when betting on sports.
In this article, I will discuss the role that oddsmakers play in setting the odds and what that looks like today. The role of oddsmakers has changed dramatically over the last few decades, but their goals remain the same.
Oddsmakers have many things to consider when setting the odds, and it’s not all about trying to take your money. Here are a few major roles that the oddsmakers take on when setting the odds for the bettors.
What Are Oddsmakers
If you’re new to sports betting, you may not have heard the term “oddsmakers” before. The oddsmakers are the people who predict the outcome of whichever matchup you’re betting on.
Not Always About Winning
The first thing to keep in mind when trying to determine the role that oddsmakers play in setting odds is that it’s not always about being right. Sure, oddsmakers are paid to set the correct odds, but they aren’t trying to set perfect odds for each game. They are trying to get even money on both sides in a perfect world. That way they get the vig no matter the outcome.
When it comes to making picks I look at all aspects of the game including line movement, who the public is betting on, reverse line movement, and many other factors to keep ahead of the oddsmakers.
Oddsmakers have several different aspects of oddsmaking to take into account when setting betting odds, and we will discuss some of these in more detail below. It’s also important to know that the oddsmakers aren’t out to take your money, as they will likely never see any of the profit that a sportsbook makes.
Oddsmakers are simply providing sportsbooks with a service, and their job is to get people interested in betting on a particular game or sporting event. If sportsbooks are seeing plenty of action, they are happy with the oddsmakers that work for them.
Oddsmakers Want Action
Perhaps the biggest job of an oddsmaker is to ensure the sportsbook that there is plenty of action for each game or sporting event. This is why setting odds are extremely important.
Oddsmakers want to set betting odds that entice bettors on both sides of the action, rather than set odds that are easy to ignore or walk away from. Sportsbooks want bettors to have to make a decision, but they also want to set odds that grab all the bettors’ attention.
If sportsbooks aren’t seeing a ton of action on a particular sporting event, they will likely ask their oddsmakers to review and adjust the betting lines. In a perfect world, oddsmakers are able to set odds that will bring the same amount of action on each side of a wager.
Creating the Odds Requires a Ton of Research
The biggest role that an oddsmaker plays in making the odds is to do an extensive amount of research. Oddsmakers cannot set any odds without doing a proper amount of research, which is a very time-consuming process.
Doing the research behind creating odds is a full-time job for most oddsmakers, and typically oddsmakers are able to focus on just one sport at a time. It’s very rare that an oddsmaker sets lines on numerous different sports or leagues because there simply isn’t enough time to review the information.
I spend a lot of time doing research myself before I release my sports betting picks to my customers. The time I spend researching odds is extremely important, but I don’t spend as much time on it as the oddsmakers do.
Research is paramount in the sports betting industry, and that’s why sportsbooks and oddsmakers are right more times than not.
Location Plays a Role in Making Odds
The location of the sportsbook that an oddsmaker is working for also plays a role in making the odds. Oddsmakers can adjust betting odds for different markets in an effort to bring in more action (remember we said that getting action is the oddsmakers main goal).
For example, oddsmakers working for sportsbooks in Illinois will likely adjust the odds for the Chicago Bears game, because the majority of bettors will be Bears fans. This might allow sportsbooks to add a point either way to create more action.
Teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Yankees, and New England Patriots are extremely popular in the US, and oddsmakers can take advantage of this popularity by adjusting odds just a bit.
Why Do Odds Move?
If you are someone that has bet on sports regularly, then you know that odds move often. You might have always wondered why this takes place, and it shouldn’t surprise you to know that it is indeed the oddsmakers that are adjusting these odds. For example, if heavy money comes in one side vs. the other the lines makers may adjust one way to even out the money and get more betting dollars on the other side.
Oddsmakers are constantly reviewing their odds, and they are forced to make changes if new information becomes available to them. Injuries are one of the biggest reasons that oddsmakers are forced to change the betting odds.
Oddsmaking Processes
In the “older days,” oddsmakers simply used their instincts to come up with odds for sporting events. There was very little inside information available to oddsmakers, and often they just went with their gut.
These days, Oddsmaking is a much more mathematical and statistical process, which tends to make the job a little bit easier for oddsmakers and more reliable for bettors. Computers are able to look at all of the data, and it’s usually the computer spitting out the odds.
Oddsmakers will sometimes adjust these odds based on some of the factors listed above, but there is very little margin for error with computers. This has also made it much harder to beat the odds and win big when betting on sports.
Some Sportsbooks Simply Copy Odds
Every sportsbook or sports betting site has an oddsmaker department, but not all of them are created equal. Sportsbooks are in the business of making money, and some choose to save some money by keeping a small oddsmaker department.
Other sportsbooks choose to outsource this process, and they hire oddsmakers that aren’t employed at the sportsbook. This can make some odds look strange at times because third-party oddsmakers are not affiliated with that sportsbook.
Another strategy employed by some sportsbooks is to simply copy the odds posted by another site. Most odds look very similar for most sporting events, but some odds are the exact same on rare occasions.
Now you’re clued up on one of the behind-the-scenes roles of betting, why not try your hand at sports betting yourself? Check out our How To Bet on Sports series and start winning today!