Why Sports Betting Lines Move

Why Sports Betting Lines Move

Last updated on July 27th, 2021 at 11:32 am

When you get into the sports betting business, it is very important to learn everything there is to know about gambling. This means learning about bet types, line movement, player management, sports trends, and a little bit of statistics. Line movement is perhaps one of the most important things you need to know, since you, as a bookie, will be managing the lines in your sportsbook. So, if you are wondering why sports betting lines move, we’ll explain it so that you know why it happens, and how it impacts your income as a bookie.

Before we explain why they move, we need to explain a few things first. Now, when you become a bookie, you will see that there are terms that you will see with lines. Terms such as opening lines, closing lines and the like. These are very easy to understand terms. The first one is the opening line, which is the first set of odds that will be posted for that particular bet. The closing line, is, you guessed it, the last set of odds before lines close. These two are hardly ever the same. In between these two, the lines can change at any given time, and as frequently as needed.

Why Sports Betting Lines Move

Why Sports Betting Lines MoveSports betting lines move because the circumstances surrounding the event changes, which means the possible outcome will also change. With that, bookies need to adjust those lines to ensure that you earn from the wagers for this line. For example, the Golden State Warriors were always favorites, until Steph Curry was injured. Since then, this and other factors caused the Warriors’ stats and ranking to plummet. Had bookies not changed the lines on this, then they would have lost a lot of money. A new starting pitcher in baseball is also enough reason for lines to move. The weather can even be a factor, especially in baseball, tennis and golf.

Another reason why lines move, is because of the bets of your players. If you are using pay per head bookie services, then you can easily see where all of the bets in your sportsbook goes. You can also check by wager, so you can see if one side is heavily bet on. When this happens, you are at risk of losing out more from payouts than from collecting losers’ bets. So, you want to try to balance both sides to try to get them to be equal. That way, the losers’ payments will cover those of the winners. Here, you will adjust the lines to make it enticing for bettors to bet on the other side.

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Brian Young

Sports and Gambling News

An avid sports fan and writer, Brian has many years of experience in the sports betting industry. Together with other gambling and sports experts, they joined with tech experts to develop their own Pay Per Head services company.  On his spare time, Brian either watches the NBA, the NFL or both.  When he isn't doing that, he travels to different parts of the world.