What In the event the betting line or spread was established by four sports advisory companies without collusion or previous familiarity with each others numbers!
Lets face some facts about this number or point spread that usually comes from one Sports Advisory Group. This number is sold or distributed to the sports betting outlets online as well as the legal Sports Books in Nevada. These outlets put their little tweak on the line by 1/2 point or 1 point or an extra $5 on the cash odds. Alternatively, everyone will post their number which will be the same or in a point of each other. This is the equivalent of price fixing and collusion in almost any other industry.
How come the Sports Betting Industry has the exact same price or spread on their betting board? WHY – because nobody desires to rock the boat!
What if this process of establishing a betting line was not only a monopoly but was provided by at least four sports consulting groups which were independent of each other. Each group would then post their calculated number for the worldwide sports betting outlets to buy and use for their operation.
This new mode of operation would unlock the monopoly that exists when the line is established. Now what happens? Would some books dare to post numbers that can be different from others by 4 or 5 points either way. I doubt it since nobody wishes to rock that boat. Is this collusion by the sports books so they can keep their share of the market and not create a price or point spread war.
The process of constructing the point spread number is probably done by way of a software program with all of the statistics as well as other information to get a base number. Then the specific number is refined to include public perception as to where the public will place their money. It really is no secret that Sports Books speculate or predict at what number the public will be evenly divided.
There are a number of times when the line is just not even close to the final score. They do come close about 65% of the time. On the other hand, in the event the spread is minus 7 and the favorite wins by 21 points or even the underdog wins outright, their number is way off.
If that minus 7 point favorite is listed at minus 11 points at another outlet would there be a Revolution among Sports Book operators. Would this difference of opinion cause a whole lot of anxiety with casino management. I am sure they can question each others actions after doing the exact same thing together all these years.
For a true and balanced market to emerge in almost any industry, there should be some options and competition among the players involved. A Betting Exchange can be very close to a more balanced betting market considering that the levels of competition are against other bettors. The spread is the same although the money odds are a lot easier better with more options.
If the Sports Books in Nevada and online books decide to re-arrange their Sports Book operations to include some alternatives to the spread, they’re going to increase their handle and be more competitive. I would install some form of Spread Betting that is big in Europe. Allow more options with alternative lines and charge just a little more vigorish. Some online books have alternative run lines on baseball. They post the run line at minus 1.5 runs on the favorite and underdog in the same game.
The Sports Betting outlets need to become more innovative to maintain a share of the market. We know they probably will not “rock that boat” unless one or even more sports betting venues develops a rogue or maverick mentality. This could be a big gamble which could payoff and increase marketplace share. On the flip side, it’s ironical that sports books do not want to be in the fantastic gambling business. They just want to collect their commission and avoid too much risk. They’re more worried about the heavy hitters than the small average recreational bettors who lose more frequently.
Promoting or seeing changes in any financial markets is just like getting people to stop smoking or obese people to lose weight. Change is difficult for a whole lot of individuals and businesses. Because they say “talk is cheap”. However, I feel technology is becoming more prevalent in Sport Betting industry. Hopefully, it shall create a far more vibrant market with better options and many more competition in the sports betting community.