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Exclusive To WagerOnFootball.com - Sport Books Review
- Our #4 Pick For
Best Sportsbook Bodog.com's
Own Rob Gillespie will appear here with his weekly
article for Wager On Football.com Readers. We can't
begin to tell you how lucky we are to have this
man's expertise right here on our site.
What won't WagerOnFootball.com do for its loyal
readers? Well We'll do everything but give you the
$$ to place your NFL bet.
Rob Gillespie, President of Bodog
Sportsbook, Casino and Poker, has been involved
in sports wagering and gambling since he was a young
child. Whether it was playing five-card stud with
his dad's Navy buddies or running a sportsbook out
of his high school locker, Gillespie has always
had a knack for the gambling game.
What are the Differences?
The single biggest difference between land-based
books and Internet books is that there are no face-to-face
transactions over the Internet. That difference
is manifested in a variety of ways. First, with
internet-based books there are no line-ups. Vegas
books can process maybe 20-30 clients at a time,
while Internet books can process thousands simultaneously.
(Note: I know Vegas is now allowing some Internet
betting from within the state, but based on people
I talked to there, it has yet to take off.) And
because there is no need to have people on hand
to personally process every bet means that the Internet
books have much lower costs per wager and they can
pass this type of savings on in the form of deposit
bonuses or reduced juice to bettors.
 
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Second, with Internet books you can shop lines
very quickly and act accordingly when you see a
line you like. Going from the Mirage to Bally's
to the Bellagio to Mandalay Bay to check lines would
take at least an hour, whereas you can check the
lines at dozens of Internet books in mere seconds.
You don't have to drive through traffic, pay for
parking, walk through the casino maze, and then
wait in line to get a bet in. By the time you realize
that the line you saw at the first book you checked
was the best line after all, it is more than possible
that the line has since changed! The Internet makes
it very easy for you to get the best line on any
event. When you consider that an extra half-point
gives you roughly a 2% better chance of covering
a football or basketball spread, you can imagine
the compound effect of getting an extra half-point
or full point on every bet over the course of a
full season.
Third, it changes the way lines are moved. There
is an old Vegas bookmaking mentality that you never
move lines until you write action at that number
(unless there is an injury or trade, etc.). For
example, if the posted line at a land-based book
was -6, they wouldn't move to -6.5 unless they had
action at -6 to justify the move. Moving to -6.5
because other books were moving their lines without
action is called "moving on air". The
logic is sound when you can control the number of
bets you take at a price. For example, if two bettors
bet $1000 on -6, the bookmaker could move to -6.5
and call out the change to those standing in line.
With Internet books, there can be thousands of
wagers placed inside a minute so you don't have
the luxury of waiting for action before moving every
line. As our head bookmaker puts it, "It is
better to move on air than to die from lack of it."
If the line is moving from -6 to -7 everywhere else,
staying at -6 is risky. You are presenting bettors
the opportunity to play for a side (bet -6 and +7
at the same time and profit nicely if either of
those scores lands). Also, you will get a flood
of favorite money and dog bettors will be looking
elsewhere to get more points, and favorite bettors
will see the value in your line. If a book was looking
to get favorite action, they could do so with a
line of -6.5 so comparing prices is a huge key in
setting lines. Vegas books obviously does some comparison-shopping
as well, but not with the same sense of urgency
(this is changing with the addition of Internet
betting though I am sure). This is the reason cell
phones and pagers are not allowed in Vegas sportsbooks,
they don't want to facilitate line shopping or syndicate
betting (where dozens or even hundreds of bettors
bet the same line at the same time to take advantage
of a line…a very big reality for Internet
books).
Vegas books also suffer some geographical influence.
Their clients are predominately from California,
Nevada, Arizona, and other nearby states. Many of
these clients bet their favorite teams and that
drives the price up on west coast teams a little.
Internet books can suffer the same thing if their
marketing is heavy in one city or state for some
reason, but with line shopping being very easy,
those biases don't last long as value shoppers see
the line and move in to take advantage. In other
words, you generally get a fairer line on the Internet.
There are a lot of advantages to sportsbetting
online, but Vegas books will always have a place
in the market as well. It is just too much fun sitting
in a huge room looking at hundreds of lines and
dozens of screens while being served ice cold free
beers and eating 99-cent hot dogs!
A Fresh Take on the New Year!
Over the next couple of weeks, I will try a couple
of new ideas. Next week I will review the biggest
games of the year for the book in terms of excitement,
win and loss. After that, I will start the New Year
with my first mailbag column, sort of an "Ask
the Bookmaker" thing.
Please feel free to email me ([email protected])
or the guys at WagerOnFootball.com
with any questions you want answered and I assure
you they will have a good chance of making the column
(or a subsequent one) as I plan on making this a
monthly column. On behalf of me, my family, and
the entire WagerOnFootball.com & Bodog team,
have a very Happy New Year everyone.
The enjoyment of your wagering experience with
us is my number one priority. Should you have any
questions, concerns, or comments, I will personally
ensure you are satisfied with your Bodog experience.
NFL
Sportsbooks Ratings Guide ranked by our Sport Books
Review
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