What Has Changed in Sports Betting Over the Last 20 Years?

I recently purchased a used copy of Arthur Reber’s The New Tigerexch 247 Gambler’s Bible. It was completed in 1996. The sports betting area has approximately 50 pages of information and recommendations.

As I read through the part, it struck me how similar sports betting is now and then. Yet I also saw that some things had altered.

Here are some observations I made when the knowledge was still fresh in my mind. Even experienced sports bettors might benefit from this information in order to boost their winning rates.

Punters who are just starting out might utilize history to learn what changes to expect over the following 20 years.

The Lines Have Improved

The sports books have gotten better at setting opening lines on all of the main sports over time. I believe this tendency will continue until practically all starting lines are within a couple points or less.

The public still has a big influence on the final lines, and sports bookmakers will adjust the lines if there is too much action on one side or the other of a game. As a result, the final lines are not always as exact as they should be. But, when the main sports books establish starting lines currently, they are closer to a genuine line than at any other time in history.

This makes finding successful opening lines for keen sports bettors more difficult. But, it also assists them in identifying closing line opportunities when the public has placed a large bet on one side of a game.

Here’s an illustration:

The public has a tendency to overbet favorites, especially those who play at home. Because sportsbooks are aware of this, they set the odds slightly against the favorite. The general population pays the price for an extra point or two in this manner.

If the Patriots play the Dolphins at home and the sports book handicaps the genuine line at Patriots -7, they’ll most likely open the week with Patriots -8 or -9.

The public has traditionally backed the Patriots. If the public money outweighs the sharp money, the line may climb higher this week. If the line swings to Patriots -1012, clever sports bettors will most likely deposit as much money on the Dolphins as possible before the line begins to move back.

The finest sports bettors are aware of what the sports book is doing in this situation. They also grasp that if the genuine line is 7, a line of 1012 has a high value.

They may not win every time, but a spread between a real line and a line that has changed this much will be beneficial over time.

The good thing is that you can start looking for these kinds of line changes during the week. You can earn from them just like the professionals.

When attempting to profit from changing lines, keep an eye out for one trap. If a line moves immediately after it is published, it is usually due to savvy sports bettors who believe the starting line was incorrect. Avoid the game unless you are better than the professionals who moved the line early.

It happens all week when the public adjusts a line. There won’t be a significant shift right away.

On some games, it may be difficult to tell the difference. But who said being a successful sports bettor was simple?

You’ll learn to recognize most motions for what they are as you study games and look for these possibilities.

Information is more easily accessible.

I had to gather knowledge for handicapping games 20 years ago by reading newspapers, magazines, listening to the radio, and watching television. These weren’t horrible ways to handicap, but they didn’t always provide the most recent news and information.

Every morning when I got the paper, I would pour over box scores to handicap baseball games.

Box scores provide a solid statistical representation of what happened, but they don’t distinguish between a pop out and a deep drive that barely stayed in the park.

You may now get whatever information you want online and watch game highlights around the clock.

Yes, the sportsbooks have access to the same data. Yet, it is a far more balanced system than it was previously. The Internet has greatly aided in leveling the information playing field.

It is now easier to place bets.

You have to travel to Nevada in the United States to put legal bets 20 years ago. Other countries had their own laws and restrictions, but the majority of players had to travel or bet with a local bookie.

These choices are still available, but you may now gamble from practically anywhere in the globe over the Internet.

Many countries have attempted to make this practice illegal, yet you can find a sports book prepared to accept wagers on games and matches in practically every country on the planet.

I haven’t bet on my phone yet, but the technology is there. I use it all the time to check lines and sports news.

The challenge now is figuring out how to get your money into and out of the sports book. It is simple to locate wagering locations.

I know several gamers who live in states where it is allegedly unlawful to put bets online. They’ve been Cricket Betting Online for a long time. Most governments across the world go after the proprietors of online sportsbooks, but they rarely go after the people who place the bets.

There are more wagers available.

Did you know you can wager on the length of the National Anthem before the Super Bowl?

What about betting on who will be the next President of the United States?

You can now gamble on more sports and situations than ever before. Some sportsbooks offer lines on even the tiniest college football and basketball teams.

Take a look at all of the prop bets available before the next Super Bowl. Even during the dull regular season, you may discover all types of wagering choices, such as in-game betting on the next play, the total points in the first or second half, whether the next batter will strike out, and hundreds of other options.

Here’s the query:

Do all of these additional betting options provide a greater or lesser likelihood of profit?

You’d expect that additional alternatives would provide more opportunities for sportsbooks to make mistakes. While they do occasionally offer a wager that is advantageous to the bettor, the majority of these bets have such a high vig that the book profits handsomely from them.

Another thing it does is separate the casual bettor’s attention. To be a successful sports bettor, you must specialize in a few areas so that you can see and learn things that the sports bookmakers do not know or respect.

Of course, you can specialize on some of the newest betting opportunities, but make sure you can overcome the vig before putting in too much time and effort.

Certain Things Are Similar

The majority of professional sports bettors specialize in one or two categories and focus on defeating the spread, over/under, and/or money line.

This is unlikely to change very soon.

If sharp sports bettors are focusing on the same bets they utilized 20 years ago, don’t you think you should be working on a technique to profitably make the same bets now?

Another constant that I can see continuing is that sports bookies are the true profit generators in the sports betting market. Only a small percentage of sports bettors profit in the long run, yet every sports book that is operated properly makes money.

How frequently do you see a local bookie close his doors unless he has legal issues?

Accepting bets is still more lucrative than placing them.