How To Start A Sports Book

I've been doing some research for the last couple of weeks about starting an online sportsbook. As many are probably aware, the biggest hurdle for someone in the US is finding a way to accept payments and facilitate withdrawals. Sports Book Operations, provides strategic direction, management and oversight of daily operations for all Race & Sports Books across MGM Resorts properties that offer sports wagering. Jay began his career with MGM Resorts as a Sports Book Ticket Writer at MGM Grand Las Vegas on the resort’s opening day in. He got his start as the sportsbook manager at the Royal Inn in 1977 and has been a mainstay on the Vegas scene ever since. Currently, he is the director of sports operations and public relations.

If you need a starting point, start with the sites we’ve recommended at the top of the page. If none of these work for you, check out our sportsbook ranking page.

With the NFL and College Football seasons hitting their stride, and the NBA and NHL seasons spinning up, one may have noticed a certain part of the typical Las Vegas casino being a bit busier than normal, especially on Saturdays and Sundays.

Many of us are quite familiar with this part of the casino, often spending whole days in or involved with it. For those that only curiously look into the casino sports book to try to catch a glimpse of the score of a game, or for those who only make a futures bet once a year, hopefully, this can serve as a primer for how it all works.

The first thing that most everyone notices in a sports book is the sheer number of screens. There are TVs and monitors everywhere. Usually, there is the main set of screens that are larger than the rest, acting as the central focal point and displaying a single game that also has the audio being piped through the entire sports book. Other TVs and monitors will be tuned to various other games, and depending on the day of the week, some horse races.

The view of the boards, screens, and betting stations from VIP

Beyond that, the next major item that people will notice in the sports book are the big boards with all of the various lines that are available for betting in all of the different leagues. This time of the year there will be lines up for the daily games for the NBA and NHL, as well as the upcoming games for NCAA Football and the NFL.

A line for a football game will typically have a format like this up on the board:

How To Start A Sports Bookie Business

The first column is simply an identifier for the side to bet. The second column lists the two teams that are associated with each side, the Colts for 275 and the Panthers for 276. The third and fourth columns are where things get interesting, as this is where the betting action is described.

The top number of the third column is a value that is called the total. This represents the total number of points that both teams combined will score, and a bet can be made on the actual result of the game being either over or under that value.

The bottom number of the third column is what is known as “the spread.” This number is on the bottom because it is associated with the Carolina Panthers. When a bet is made against the spread (ATS), the bettor will choose a side and will either be laying the points, meaning that they are betting the favorite to win even if the spread value is subtracted from their final score. Or, getting the points, meaning that they are betting the underdog to win if the spread value is added to their final score. In this example, an ATS bet on the Panthers would win if they won the football game by 7 points or more, but the bet would lose if they won the football game by 6 points or less.

In the case for both total bets and ATS bets, the standard odds are -110, which means that the bettor must lay $110 to win $100. The nuances as to why this is so will be covered in a follow-up article. This example also lists the spread (typically known as “the line”) as -6.5 (-115), which means that instead of the usual -110 odds, a bettor must lay $115 to win $100.

Finally, the fourth column is what is typically called a money line (ML) bet. This is simply a listing of odds that the given side will win the game outright, or in betting terms, straight up (SU). One can see that the odds are much different, and much more reflective of who the favorite is and who the underdog is. In this case, the Colts, since they are the underdog, have odds to win straight up of +235. This means that for every $100 bet, a bettor would win $235. Conversely, the favored Panthers have odds of -300, which means that a bettor would have to bet $300 to win $100.

How To Start A Sports Book

There is sometimes a third outcome other than a winning or losing ticket. If, in the case of a money line bet, the game ends in a tie, or if, in an ATS bet or total bet, the value ends up exactly on the spread or total number, then the game will result in a push and the bettor would get their money back. It is for this reason that sometimes the spread and total lines (like they do in this case) have an extra half point tacked on. This extra element, called, “the hook” prevents those pushes from happening.

The lines to place bets around game start times, especially during March Madness, can get pretty crazy

The betting elements described above hold true for standard football, basketball, hockey, and baseball games. There are many more types of bets to be made, but we’ll save those for another article as well. With this basic knowledge, the next thing one could do is go make a bet. Some basic etiquette to follow, which will also endear a bettor both to the workers who are writing the tickets as well as to your fellow bettors in line, is to have the side number, the type of bet to make, and for what amount, all ready by the time one is up at the window.

What this means is that, in our example, if one wanted to bet Carolina against the spread to win $100, when up at the window, one would be ready to say 276 for $115. In most cases, one could also say Carolina minus the points for $115 since with the NFL they will have most numbers readily available. However, when betting lesser known games or during busy times, it is often simpler all around to use the bet identifier.

One other thing to note is that unless one explicitly states otherwise, the ticket will be written for the amount specified as the “to bet” value. That means if one says 276 for $100, the ticket will be written to win $86.96. If one is ever unsure about the correct amount to bet, but the amount to win is known, simply make it clear during the bet that the amount is to win. An example would be saying 276 to win $200. The ticket writer would then state that the bet will cost $230 (115 x 2).

How to start your own sportsbook

Most books will take a rewards card although the utility of this is dubious at best at the moment. Other than some general tracking of amounts, it is currently an underutilized metric within most rewards programs from what I can tell, but it can’t hurt to have it being tracked in the hopes that it becomes more fully developed regarding rewards going forward. The rewards card should be ready and presented before any bets are made to keep things running smoothly.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for drink tickets. Some books will have certain betting minimums, but if one is friendly and asks politely one or two can be easily had. Besides, it can never hurt to ask. Usually, those tickets are good for the day and can be redeemed by anyone with the ticket, so they can be passed around and shared with friends.

The updated PH sports book with integrated restaurant

One recent trend in sports books in Las Vegas is the cross-monetization of some of the space. In many places, at least some areas of the book are being incorporated or associated with a restaurant, and not just the traditional bar and lounge setup. To me, this seems like a way to try to make additional non-gambling revenue within what was probably considered an under-utilized area. I’m still waiting to see how this plays out in some of the other books, but for the PH sports book at least, it does seem to have turned out well and has had the added benefit of drawing more people into the sports book area that may not have stopped in before.

If you are one of those people, I hope that this article has helped give you some insight into how things work within the sports book. Perhaps between the newfound knowledge, and the lure of some good food and drinks, you will step into a sports book and hopefully have a winning experience.

Start

How To Make A Sport

[Images: gennadius]

Last month we held a little clinic on Sports Book betting and let you behind the curtain on some sports wagering slang terms. After all, you need to talk the talk before you can walk the walk. This month we are continuing our education in letting you know how Sports Books work. Again, if you know why sports books do the things they do, you may have a better experience while playing.

How To Start A Local Sportsbook

Right off the bat, let’s be perfectly clear. Sports books make money on every straight bet they take action on. It’s a foregone conclusion. Let me explain.

Sports Books charge vigorish also known as “the vig” or “juice”. Juice is the amount charged by a sportsbook for their services. By taking on the risk of handling all bets, the book takes a percentage, typically 10%. Why else would they take the risk of covering all bets? Bookmakers use this concept to make money on their wagers regardless of the outcome. Because of the vigorish concept, bookmakers should not have an interest in either side winning in a given sporting event.

Piggybacking that same concept, sports books set the line at a certain number that will encourage betting action on both teams. No matter what NCAA Football Predictions you may hear on the radio or read online, the point spread is there to encourage the exact same amount of money is wagered on both teams.

Please keep in mind that sports books have no rooting interest in any game on the boards. They just want equal action on both sides. Because most sports books keep 10% juice, when you win a bet, you are only paid about 190% of your bet. If you bet $100 on the Ravens this past weekend and another person bet $100 on the Steelers, the sports book would be happy. Because the Ravens won, the sports book would take the $100 lost by the Steelers bettor and apply it to your winnings. You would get your original wager of $100 plus a portion of the money the Steelers bettor lost. You would cash a ticket worth $190 and the sports book keeps the remaining $10 as their commission for taking the betting action and risks.

You may sometimes see a point spread move up or down from the day the opening line was announced to game time. A line moving up or down simply indicates one team has received an inordinate amount of money placed on it. Because the sports book wants to encourage equal betting on both teams, they will then move the line a point or two in the favor of the other team that has been under bet. By giving more points to the other team makes them more attractive to sports wagerers and thus encourage more money to come in on the other side.

How To Start Your Own Sportsbook

When a sports book announces the opening point spreads, they are not based what the actual professional handicapper thinks will be the final score differential. The opening line is the handicapper’s guess as to what he believes the general public will perceive the final score to be. Under performing teams that are popular nationwide, Notre Dame is a prime example, will typically get smaller opening odds because handicappers know people will bet with their heart. Many fans will lay down a wager on their favorite team just because they want to support their team not only in their heart but at the betting window. Teams with large fan followings that are loyal to a fault are hard to handicap because the lines maybe skewed to encourage others to bet on the opposition and to balance out all the rabid fans.

How To Start A Sports Booking Website

Now that you know the inner working of how a sports book can afford to pay out all those huge winners, you can be a better informed and knowledgeable wagerer. Next month’s installment of Sports Book 101 will involve smart sports wagering and how to wager responsibly using a tight bankroll.