Sports betting is a game of mathematics and probabilities. Back in the day, bookies tried to guess the probability of one team winning over the other based on their knowledge, which was limited. Over time, technology took over and the betting odds became much more sophisticated.
Today, all betting odds are calculated by computer algorithms which can get things right much better than any individual. The technology used in these calculations is quite advanced and the mathematical models are more sophisticated than ever.
However, the introduction of live betting required an even more sophisticated technology, since the odds had to be changed on the spot. Today, we look at how live betting odds work and what it takes to calculate them.
Fast Tech Makes Live Betting Possible
Real time sports betting, also known as in-play betting has been around for some time now. In the early days, sportsbooks allowed users to bet on basic markets such as the 1x2 market in real time. These bets only adjusted to the current result and the time remaining in the match, still leaving the house a reasonable edge.
Today, hundreds of online sportsbooks, such as the ones listed on BettingBilly, offer numerous live betting markets for all games. With so many different odds changing in real time, we must ask the question of how the bookies are able to do it with such accuracy.
Clearly, it would be impossible to hire enough people to monitor all the games and change the odds in real time. Instead, bookies use sophisticated software solutions mixed with ultra-fast servers which dish out the statistical analysis in real time and turn it into betting odds within seconds.
This is why the betting odds may remain unavailable for a few seconds at a time. However, the best betting sites will have the new and updated odds for you within seconds of any major event happening within the game. The faster their software and servers, the faster you get the new betting odds.
Can Live Odds Be Beaten?
The question that many sports bettors out there are asking themselves is whether in-play odds can be beaten. Many punters believe that the quick way in which the odds change in-play gives them a chance to capitalize, but the reality is quite different.
Before a match starts, players have a lot of time to prepare and do analysis of their own. Various software exists to help with this as well. On the other hand, while a match is happening, the software and the hardware used by the bookies will always be faster and more sophisticated than that a regular user has access to. Technology dominates in sports betting in general, but even more so in live sports betting.
