Welcome to Online Casino Gamester: Sportsbetting
Sports betting has a relatively obvious definition: it’s the pastime of betting on the outcome of sports events. Whereas gambling in general has blurred but similar lines between most nation’s laws, sports betting has a wide range of legality, and consequentially, illegality between countries. In the United States, the only state in which sports betting is legal, is Nevada- and then, only in their casinos. Most European nations, contrarily, bookmaking (accepting sports bets) is legal, though regulated strictly. Those in favor of legal sports betting tend to see it as a hobby for sports that fans already enjoy, and name its benefits to the economy in regards to increased attendance in games, and higher numbers in T.V. audiences. Those opposed to the arena of sports betting say that by allowing people to bet on outcomes, you risk professional and amateurs alike throwing games or otherwise falsely affecting outcomes to be reflected in the gambling world. It’s not totally unlikely either: the history of sports betting is wrought with instances of cheating, or cases in which gamblers attempt to “fix’ matches to their liking. The obvious counter-argument is that if regulated, it would be much more effective in preventing the bastardization of the sports themselves. Typically, the average sports bettor rarely wins, as bookmakers odds are set accurately, but the exception, as always applies, and there are a number of professional sports bettors that make good money in the industry.
Types of Bets
Though the term sports betting can be applied to even the simplest of situations, such as friends betting one another as to who will win a specific game, when it comes to a scale grander than buying a team square at your office party for who will win the Superbowl, bookmakers take wagers and pay out wins. Where sports betting is legal, you can find bookmakers; the US, Las Vegas, Nevada is the hub for the industry. Where the hobby is illegal, gamblers can always find someone to take the wager, most usually bookies, as illicit bookmakers are referred to. When it comes to Internet sports betting, American players can find legal bookmakers rather easily, as the UIGEA doesn’t apply to gambling institutions outside of the US borders, and most bookmakers are located elsewhere in the world. There are some that refuse to accept US players, since the law is not clear cut and under constant debate.
Bookmakers make their money off a small commission from each wager placed, called a “vigorish,” but commonly referred to as a “vig.” To exemplify this idea, we’ll use an example. A common bet is $110 for an outcome, with the payout being listed as $210 for a win, and $0 for a lose. In this bet, there will be a $10 vig for the bookmaker for each two opposing bets made. Say the wager is on whether a team wins or loses- you have one gambler who thinks they’ll win, and another that thinks they’ll lose. If both gamblers bet with the same bookmaker, each wagering $110 for their outcome, the bookmaker will take in $220 total for those two gamblers. One will be right, the other wrong- but the bookmaker will payout $210 to the winner, keeping the remaining $10 as his vig, or commission. It varies on whether it is interpreted that the winner pays the vig, or the loser since you can look at it either way, but most choose to see it as the loser paying the vig. But as the bookie will receive $10 for each two bets placed, it can stand to reason that he receives $5 for each bet placed, which equals a 4.5% fee. Odds on bets are adjusted for vig calculation, and quoted in terms of the favorite, or who is expected to win.
Typically, bookmakers will present two kinds of possible bets to be made: straight up (also referred to as money line bets) and point spreads. Moneylines are used for sports with low scoring numbers such as baseball, hockey and soccer (association football) as well as individual matchups like boxing championships. European and Asian bookmakers typically use straight up odds (hence the name) that are given in terms of the payout on a single bet. For instance, a 2 to 1 favorite to win would be listed with the price of $1.50, and the runner up would have a payout doubling that at $3.00. Usually, American bookies utilize moneylines, and the terms are given in relation to how much must be bet in order to win $100 on the favorite, or the payout for a $100 bet for the underdog. After all is said and done, the amount that the gambler has won would be the net amount after the initial bet has been subtracted. If a person wins $250 on a wager of $100, the bookie would give the bettor $350: his $250 win plus his initial bet back.
Simplified by example: a baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and the LA Dodgers might have a moneyline on the Dodgers (the favorite) at -200 and the Rockies (the underdog) at +180. If a person wanted to bet for the Dodgers, he would have to risk $200 for every $100 that he wanted to win in surplus (not counting the initial bet). An individual who wanted to bet for the Rockies would be winning $180 for every $100 he initially laid down. This takes into account the vig that the bookie will keep: the +180 moneyline on the Rockies includes a 20 cent “dime line.” Without it, the wager would payout $200 for every $100 bet, but with it, the bookmaker keeps the extra $20 as a commission. In the cases of favorites with moneylines of -120 to -150, the difference between them and the underdog will be 10 cents: meaning that for a favorite with a moneyline at -120, their competitor will have a price of +110. This changes for moneylines -160 and more/less.
The advantage of moneyline bets is that you are only betting on whether the team you think will win does, or not. In such sports like baseball where there can be a huge disadvantage between teams, rendering one an obvious winner and the other a severe underdog, the cost to bet will soar, anywhere in the -350 range causing bettors to but much more money at risk, and making an underdog bet look far more attractive, with a large sum to win when it happens.
In sports that accumulate more points, such as American football or basketball, there is an alternative betting option. A point spread wager takes into account that teams can win by a lot, or by a little. But requiring that a game be won by a minimum number of points, it “covers the spread,” that is caused between skills in favorite and underdog teams. Typically, a gambler is required to lay down $110 in order to win $100 on their choice team, the additional $10 being the bookmaker’s vig. Because of the spread, bettors can win when their team loses, if they do so by less than the spread margin. For example:
Assume that college basketball teams from Illinois and Florida are playing, with Florida as the 25 point favorite (Illinois +25, Florida -25).
If Florida defeats Illinois by more than 25 points, bettors for Florida would win $100 for a $110 bet. Illinois bettors lose their wagers.
If Illinois beats Florida, bettors for Illinois receive $100 on a $110 bet. Florida fans lose their wagers.
If Florida wins, but by less than 25 points, it is treated as if Illinois won: they have beaten the spread.
If Florida wins by exactly 25 points, it’s considered a push and original bets would be returned to all parties. In order to prevent spreads, and therefore ensuring their commissions, bookmakers will include a half-point in their point spreads.
more... Other bet types in sports betting
more... Bookmaking