Bookmaker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article deals with bookmaking in the context of gambling. For the act of making books, see bookbinding.

A bookmaker, bookie or turf accountant, is an organisation or a person that takes bets and may pay winnings depending upon results and, depending on the nature of the bet, the odds.

1 Range of events
2 Operational procedures
3 Legality
4 Scams
5 United Kingdom gambling industry
6 Internet gambling
7 See also

[edit] Range of events

Most bookmakers stateside, bet merely on college and professional sports, though in the United Kingdom they offer a wider range of bets, including each-way betting on golf, soccer, tennis, as well as horse racing and greyhound events. They also specialise in novelty events such as betting the probability that it will snow on Christmas day, and more controversially, on the evictees of X Factor, the outcome of political elections, and reality television contests such as I'm A Celebrity (Get Me Out Of Here), and Big Brother.

[edit] Operational procedures

By adjusting the odds in his favour or by having a point spread, the bookmaker will aim to guarantee a profit by achieving a 'balanced book', either by getting an equal number of bets for each outcome, or (when he is offering odds) by getting the amounts wagered on each outcome to reflect the odds. When a large bet comes in, a bookmaker can also try to lay off the risk by buying bets from other bookmakers. The bookmaker does not generally attempt to make money from the bets themselves, but rather profiting from the event regardless of the outcome.

[edit] Legality

Bookmaking may be legal or illegal, and may be regulated; in the United Kingdom it was at times both regulated and illegal, in that licences were required but no debts arising from gambling could be enforced through the courts. Now, since the inception of the National Lottery, not only is it a hundred per cent legal in the UK, it is a major contributor to the British economy, with a recent explosion of interest with regard to the international gaming sector industry.

Bookmaking is generally illegal in the United States, however, with Nevada being a notable exception. Recent controversial law changes linked to the Bush administration and the Republican Party through the money-laundering rulings surrounding George W. Bush's "War on Terrorism" have made bookmaking a federal criminal offence, with legal prceedings taken against the former CEO of Sportingbet for taking illegal telehone bets from USA clients.

In some countries, such as Singapore and Canada, the only legal bookmaker is state-owned and operated. In Canada, this is part of the lottery programme and is known as Sport Select.

In the United Kingdom, trusted legal bookmakers are members of IBAS, which, as the bookmaking equivalent of an ABTA travel agent, is an industry standard organisation which resolves to settle disputes.

[edit] Scams

Sometimes, savvy individuals set up an illegal book in an attempt to make money - a scene often seen in films, sitcoms and so on. One of the most infamous real-life illegal bookmakers was Robert Angleton of Houston, Texas. Not only was he a bookie, but he also was a police informant about his smaller rivals. When they were shuttered, he took their business. His bookmaking scheme ended with the death of his wife, Doris Angleton.

[edit] United Kingdom gambling industry

Traditionally, bookmakers have been located at the racecourse, but improved TV coverage and laxer laws have allowed betting in shops and casinos in most countries. In the UK, on-track bookies still mark up the odds on boards beside the race course and use tic-tac or mobile telephones to communicate the odds between their staff and to other bookies, but, with the relaxation of United Kingdom Bookmaking laws (in marked contrast to the tough measures introduced to combat American gambling by George Bush), online and high street gambling are at an all-time high, with a so-called Super Casino planned for next year.

In 1961, Harold Macmillan's Conservative Government legalised betting shops and tough measures were enacted to ensure that bookmakers remained honest. A large and respectable industry has grown since. At one time there were over 15,000 betting shops in the UK Now, through consolidation, they have been reduced to about 8,500. Currently there are four major "high street" bookmakers in the United Kingdom: William Hill, Ladbrokes, Gala Group, and state-owned ToteSport, with Bet24, BetFred, Victor Chandler, Stan James, Sportingbet, and bet365, rapidly emerging, in terms of turnover and event sponsorship.

[edit] Internet gambling

With the arrival of the World Wide Web, most if not all notable bookmakers have an online brand, usually where punters can check prices and place cash bets. The main websites accept bets from countries where internet gambling is not prohibited only, and is only available to over 18's. Often these websites are linked to online casinos. Controversially, the explosion in Internet gambling is being linked to an increase in gambling addiction, according to the UK's help and advice organisations for addicts, GamCare and Gamblers Anonymous.

Increasingly, online bettors are turning to the use of betting exchanges which automatically match Back and Lay bets between different bettors, thus effectively cutting out the bookmaker's traditional profit margin, the most famous of which, is BetFair.com, the next, BetDaq.

Some bookmakers have even taken to using betting exchanges as a way of laying off unfavourable bets and thus reducing their overall exposure. This has led insecurity from the TAB in Australia, a government-run betting agency which attempted to deny Betfair an Australian licence by running unfavourable ads in the media regarding the company.

Bets are also taken via phones, using SMS text messages, though poker and other sports are more suited to other mediums. As technology moves on, the gambling world ensures it is a major player in new technology operations.

Most televised sport in the United Kingdom and Europe, is these days, sponsored wholly or partly by internet and high street bookmakers, with sometimes several bookmakers and online casinos being displayed on shirts, advertising hoardings, stadium signs, and competition event titles, although Werder Bremen are currently fighting the German courts for the freedom to continue featuring boomaker Bwin on their shirts, as Germany and France take action against online gamers.

With the recent banning of tobacco sponsorship, and the significant commercial budgets available to the gaming industry, these days, sponsorship by car manufacturers, alcoholic drinks, soft drinks and fast food marketers, is being rapidly replaced by gaming companies, in the Far East and Europe.