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You may have heard the word ‘bookie’ used in the context of sports betting. But what does bookie mean?
Here, we’ll explain the origins of the word and what role, in the world of gambling, a bookie performs for punters.
What is a Bookie?
‘Bookie’ is a shorter version of the word ‘bookmaker’. It’s a popular expression widely used for many decades in the likes of the UK, that have a well-established legal gambling industry. It is also used for some of the best gambling sites.
The role of a bookie is to calculate and offer the odds on a particular sporting event, and to take bets from customers who wish to wager on the outcome.
In the earliest days of sports betting, these odds would be written down in a large ledger, with all bets at different prices recorded on the pages.
The fact that these transactions and odds were all written down in a big book led to the label bookmaker being applied to a person who wrote down all those facts and figures.
In nations where individuals and companies operate, rather than having a pool betting monopoly in place, it’s still possible to place bets at racetracks and see your wager recorded in writing in a large book.
The first official bookmaker is believed to have stood and carried out his business at the historic Newmarket racetrack in England as long ago as the 18th century.
But the word bookie entered common parlance after off-course wagering at betting shops was relegalized?in the UK in 1960. Bookies a century before that being allowed to operate off-track.
In the 1960s, numerous shops owned by companies such as Ladbrokes and William Hill opened for business in British high streets, and the phrase “going to the bookies” entered the lexicon.
Even though in the digital-first world of modern gambling a bookie is unlikely to use an actual book to write down and record their odds and bets struck, it is still a commonly used word among regular gamblers.
What do Bookies do?
The job of a bookmaker is to analyze a sporting event and decide on what odds are offered.
All of the very best online sportsbooks licensed to operate will have a team of people specializing in this skill, using complex technology. All while making sure the bookie will come out on top in the long term.
- Setting the odds is a process of mathematical probability.
- A bookie will weigh up the event in question and decide on the likelihood of all potential outcomes.
- They will then express that likelihood in betting odds.
Example
To put it simply, it is 100 per cent likely that one of the two sides involved in the Super Bowl will win.
The skill of a bookie, let’s say at one of the best NFL betting sites, is to offer odds that come to a little more than 100 per cent to ensure that the sportsbook makes a profit whichever side wins.
However, it is not enough for a bookie simply to draw up the initial odds. Those prices will shift based on the weight of money wagered on each outcome.
If both teams in the Super Bowl game are priced on the moneyline at -110, but most of the bets are for one of the two teams, the favorite’s odds should change to -140 or -150, while the underdog should be backable at +120 or +130.
Odds are so critical to the operation of bookmakers that there are now specialized companies dedicated to providing odds to a range of sportsbook clients.
There are also sophisticated algorithms that can react instantly to the shifting fortunes of a game and alter the odds so that bettors can place in-play wagers at the very latest odds.
Even in a world of advanced digital techniques, however, the word bookie is still common parlance – and the art of making a book is still fundamental to the way online and in-person gambling operations carry out their business.
