Bookmakers charge what can be considered a commission for their services; this is commonly known as “vigorish” or “vig” for short. The word “vigorish” is of Russian origin, meaning “to win” or “winnings”.
This commission is how sports bookies make money out of players bets no matter what the final outcome of the event is. Thanks to how the vigorish works sports betting bookies should not care about the final outcome of the game, as long there are same amount of wagers on both sides of the play. This is the reason why sports bookies care so much about maintaining the same amount of wagers on both sides of the action. Keeping the action in this way the bookie can profit from the commission and minimize the risk. The most common way a local bookie is able to aim towards keeping an equal amount of action on both sides is to move the sports betting line depending on how much action is received.
A certain truth about the entire “vigorish” concept is that the players that lose their wagers are the ones that have to pay the vigorish. This is not correct. No matter who loses or wins the bet all players, both winners and losers, ought to pay a certain commission for the sports betting bookie to take their wagers in the first place. You may ask how a local bookie comes up with the proper sports betting odds for each event. Usually odds come from the main source which is Las Vegas sportsbooks. Additionally an experience sports bookie can come up with good enough numbers to be able to successfully move the line and keep his sportsbook balanced. The more successful sports bookies who are able to react appropriately to require lines movements are the ones who tend to be more successful on the business.
Sports Fanatics 