Or, just anecdotally, a sports radio host has had five guests on over the course of the week and they all like the same team. Frequently, a game will land at 51% of the bets one way and 49% the other, or even 55-45 or 60-40, and there is no obvious public side.īut sometimes, the bets run 75-25 one way. A sportsbook’s goal is usually to be as close to a 50-50 betting split as possible to guarantee a profit no matter who wins, thanks to the vig. In the case of many games, there isn’t a clear “public” side. If the public wasn’t on the wrong side most of the time, they wouldn’t be able to keep building them.” Look at all those gigantic casinos in Vegas. “Yep, when the public is all going one way, you have to bet against them.”
So you just know the Vikings are going to cover.” Something is fishy here, it’s so one-sided. Everyone is taking their side of the line.
If you’ve watched or listened to any sports TV/radio/podcast conversations from media members with an interest in betting, you’ve surely heard a few discussions like this one, especially in the last couple of years as regulated sports gambling has picked up steam:
