Promoting Parlays
One of the issues with the legal North American sportsbooks is the way they push parlays. A straight-up bet at the best pays at -110, meaning the player must bet $11 to win $10. For some people that’s just not enough. They want a better payoff. Some of us, like me for example, love to bet the underdogs so I can get a better payoff. But in the end, when you add the 11-10 equation to it, you’re still giving the operator that advantage.
So that’s where parlays come in. If you can bet on two games, your payback is better because it’s harder to predict the results of two games versus just one. Let’s say you’ve got a feeling, or have done some research that shows two teams are likely to win. If you bet them both, you’ll get more than the -110. Not much more depending upon the odds, but enough to get your blood pumping.
Operators love this kind of action. Just like casino games, the more bets (decisions) a player makes, the more money the casino or sportsbook operator will make, because most of us, like me again, just go on our feelings and not solid research. That leads to more revenue for the operators.
But what happens if you do a three-, four-, or five-leg parlay? That’s right, those of us dummies who salivate over the potential payoff get slaughtered. And hearing about players who win five or more leg parlays sucks us in even further, even though the odds are lottery-like for those who win.
I’ve been getting a lot of “profit boost” emails from some of the sportsbooks where I’m active. Not really sure how this works, but I’m being peppered with them every day, encouraging me to bet more and bet more often.
Granted, I’m far from a frequent bettor. For years, I stood behind gaming tables watching people lose much more than they win. Sure, you’ll get an occasional gambler who is either highly educated to the numbers of the game or just gets lucky, but the vast majority of them are losers over the long run.
I can attest that my sports betting activity falls into the latter territory. In fact, a couple of years ago, I found the perfect system. Bet the opposite of what I bet because I lost almost every bet I made throughout that football season. Sadly, I could not cash in on that system because well, you know.
Anyone who has been in the gaming business for a few years knows that sports betting is a low-margin endeavor for casino operators. Before online sports betting, casinos offered a sportsbook as an amenity. They never expected it to be a profit center; it was just another attraction that would bring gamblers to the property who would hopefully play other games with a much higher house edge.
When online sports betting was legalized, it suddenly became a stand-alone business that had to make a profit, particularly given the high licensing fees and high tax rates in the individual jurisdictions. One state even demanded that the sportsbooks hold a minimum of 10 percent—this in an operation where a 5 percent hold was considered good.
So along with jiggering with the -110/11 to 10 ratio, online sportsbooks must promote things like parlays, bonus bets and profit boosts to reap the great profits that the stakeholders expect—and that includes state officials who want to get those tax numbers up. Operators want more players to bet more money, and that sometimes results in slightly unethical marketing campaigns and then negative feedback from the very state officials who want more tax revenues. Yes, it’s a vicious circle.
Truth be told, sports betting works best when paired with casino betting, just like it did in the Nevada casinos before online became a thing. In the states where iGaming is legal, sports betting apps are just a portal to a casino app where the operator—and the state—make more money. In those states, there is much more action on casino-style games than on sports, and subsequently more profit.
So rather than ramping up silly parlays or cute bonus promotions, put your efforts into convincing public officials that online casino gaming will make everything better. No more deceptive marketing practices, no more complaints from losers, and a system that rewards operators and states alike with a better product and a transparent process.
