Bookmaker Line
Definition
A bookmaker's line is a set of events and odds on variants of their outcomes.
I did not emphasize the word "sports" because bookmakers can offer events unrelated to sports, for example, on candidates' victory in elections or winners of famous/prestigious awards (Eurovision, Oscars, etc.).
Structure
Bookmaker line (usually) is a classic tree structure, which includes the following elements:
The "root" is the sport, and the "leaves" are the outcomes, which contain the odds (probabilities) of that event.
Let's look at each element in a little more detail.
Type of sport
Usually, these are classic sports:
When it is necessary to highlight significant events such as the "Olympics", they can be moved to the level of the sport if the system allows it.
Category
A sports event category is the country where the event takes place ("England", "Spain", etc.) or an international tournament ("ATP", "WTA", etc.), or a collective element including international/local championships ("International. Teams", "International. Women", etc.). In cybersport, if represented by a sport, the games will be categories ("Dota-2", "Counter-Strike", etc.).
Championship
A championship is a group of competitions taking place both in one country ("APL", "League 1", "Bundesliga", etc.) and internationally.
Event
Event is an event/match/contest/participants/etc. on the result(s) of which a bookmaker accepts bets/parties.
Classic variations are the following:
- competitors
- Teams/players, usually the so-called "Totals" of the competition:
- "Which country will win the Biathlon World Cup?"
- "Which actor will win the Academy Award for Best Actor?"
- The event, which can refer to several events of the same championship, for example:
Market
Marquets are variations of outcomes that can occur before or during an event.
- "Winner" - who will win the event?
- "Total" - the total amount of goals/points/headshots, etc.
- "Handicap" - with what advantage will the participant win?
- "Will come out in the starting lineup,
- etc.
Outcome
The outcome is a variant of how the event will end, and the odds express its probability.
For example, in the event "Manchester United vs Liverpool", in the "Winner in regulation time" layout, the outcomes would be:
Data providers
The betting line is a product for the companies that create and distribute it, and bookmakers purchase it.
Companies that provide data for the line
Some of the largest on the market include:
There are also those that supply solutions for cybersports:
Own bookmaker line
Bookmakers can create their line. For this purpose, they keep a staff of sports analysts, mathematics and support engaged in compiling and maintaining the line.
☝️Despite the apparent attractiveness of this method, it requires a bookmaker:
- A large team working 24/7/365 to run the line;
- A large team working 24/7/365 to maintain the line; profound expertise in various sports, and it is not easy to find experts in exotic sports;
- Mathematicians create and adapt odds calculation models because analysts have to be mathematicians, but their skills are not always enough;
- complex, high-performance and expensive IT systems and equipment for this;
- monitoring the so-called "world line" - what odds other bookmakers give for events.
What line do bookmakers use?
First of all, it depends on the size of the bookmaker because line services are not cheap, and then on his goals and desires for development and scaling.
💡Small bookmakers use one provider, medium-sized ones usually no more than two, and large ones can combine their lines with several providers' lines.