Sports Betting: How do Bookmakers Use Sports Advanced Data?

Every single business in every single industry transforms input resources into output products or services through processes and operations. In the case of the online gambling industry, sportsbooks, in all parts of the world where online sports betting is legal, are transforming information into odds, where knowledge is the input and odds are the outputs. All bookmakers in PH, and in fact sportsbooks across all countries, take as much info they can about a game, analyze, statistically process and obtain predictive results on this game and then determine the odds to be offered for betting to their customers.

So, betting companies rely on information and data which, through advanced digital technologies, transformative resources and learning capabilities, enhance their knowledge and through this knowledge they are able to deliver competitive services, attractive odds and compelling bets to punters.

The “knowledge” era

We are living in the era of information and knowledge and in case you might wonder what this actually means, just think of what knowledge can buy you today! For punters, knowledge could be game-changing, allowing them to bet on that team or player that has the best chances of winning a match. On the other hand, for sportsbooks knowledge would mean an almost absolute control of the industry. But for everyone’s shake, knowledge is intangible, flexible, dynamic, ever changing and ever growing. So, what everyone does is try to gain more and more knowledge so as to improve their own power and position in any bargaining situation.

How do betting companies use advanced sports data?

Knowledge requires two fundamental processes: first, to collect, gather and accumulate data and information and second, to transform this data into something that is meaningful and adds to one’s capabilities. For the betting companies, this means that knowledge comes from aggregating data – sports advanced data, processing and analyzing them with the purpose of making informed decisions on compiling and setting odds for the various sport events. Then setting the right odds ensures profitability for the sportsbooks no matter what.

But what kind of data is actually utilized by sports betting companies and the best sports betting bookmakers?

The answer is simple: anything that can be relevant to the game, the team, the players, the field, the conditions or circumstances and so on. In fact technology and computer analytics have revolutionized the betting industry in that huge amounts of data are analyzed to produce forecasts.

Data such as past records, match-up history, game patterns, squad composition, players’ injuries, health and fitness conditions and many many more – the list isn’t exhaustive – essentially constitute the backbone of any analysis in sports betting. Bookmakers make use of literally anything that is linked to the events for which they offer bets. And this is made easier with the collaborations and partnerships between sports betting companies, leagues and teams!

The collection, aggregation, processing and analysis of data is enabled by advanced technologies. AI systems, data science and machine learning are vital here. Machine learning is what now stands at the forefront of bookmakers’ capabilities, enabling them to be smart by investing in technology that is constantly ‘learning’ when fed with on-going, continuously new data.

The pace of tech advancements, computer analytics and data science developments is so fast that sports betting companies themselves are often striving to keep up with.

Big data holds the future to the industry’s development. Sportsbooks become more competent in making match predictions and they offer tighter odds to punters. But what if big data could also be utilized by bettors themselves? Wouldn’t this be kind of interesting? The truth is that there are ways for bettors to leverage data and build their professional betting careers on systems that assist their decision making. How deep can punters go, however, is still unknown as the possibilities are endless.