Which Side Of The “Table” Would You Like To Be On?
Anyone who has ever gambled will at some stage have wished that they were the “house”, the “bookie” or the third party taking on our bets. But is life really so easy on the other side of the table? Is it really all champagne and caviar? One day it may be caviar, the next day it may be yesterdays sandwich!
Life on the other side of the gambling “table” is not as easy as many would have you believe, or which you might even believe from your own experiences. Whether you are looking at a “house” card game or sports bookmakers, on balance the margins are very small and the parties involved really depend upon the volume of players and the volume of money going through their books.
There are very few bookmakers or casinos who would take a massive gamble on one bet, for fear that it could actually have a grave effect on the business. In sports bookmaking you may see the “house” take on a big bet, but the chances are that this is covered by wins on other positions, or else all or part of it has been hedged off to reduce the liability.
While the gambling industry often benefits from the publicity surrounding a big win, or even a big loss, it can effect the perception which the public have of the industry. While a lot of the larger companies may announce record figures from time to time, these tend to be a very small percentage of the gambling stakes which go through their books.
However, sites such as the betting exchanges are in a no win, no loss situation, because they do not take on any liability themselves, leaving the gambling public to place bets and lay bets to make the market - with the exchanges taking a commission on each transaction.
The casinos and bookmakers are very different, and they play the averages game, knowing that if they have their calculations correct they will always retain a percentage of their turnover as profit. However, forecasting this profit on a monthly or yearly basis can often be difficult.