• Doomsider@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    The goal is engagement. If you don’t understand drawing as many players on both sides of the bet is the most profitable for them then you must not understand how this really works.

    You must be operating under some profound misconceptions of what modern bookies for sports betting do.

    • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
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      1 day ago

      bookies put up their own money on the other side. adjust odds to try to even up the sides of a bet. Prediction markets are like a casino rake on a poker game. The casino is not gambling its own money.

      • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        That was how they used to do things, and I am sure there may be some people who still operate like this.

        Modern bookies use juice which amounts to small fees to make profit, balance the books by encouraging betting on both sides, hedge their bets by passing on risk to larger bookies and/or betting sites, and of course ban players if they are winning too much.

        The deregulated nature of this form of gambling results in a lot of corruption and predictive betting is even more problematic.