Sports betting analytics: a key tool for bookies to improve odds and boost profits

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Gambling is a huge industry – in 2022, it was worth $449 billion. In 2023, it grew to an estimated $702 billion.

The industry’s value and astonishing growth can be attributed to the increased role analytics play in the day-to-day. Data reigns supreme – and betting operators are discovering increasingly sophisticated ways to leverage it.

OddsMatrix sits at the forefront of sports analytics aggregation. Our solution helps betting operators and bookmakers make informed, business-savvy decisions and set accurate odds by providing relevant data across multiple markets. This article will explore sports betting analytics, the role they play in the industry, and how OddsMatrix helps operators make the most of data.

What are sports betting analytics?

Sports betting analytics describes the practice of gathering various data pieces that will impact a game’s outcome. Professional oddsmakers and bookmakers use this data to construct an objective historical narrative that allows them to set accurate odds.

The Role of Analytics in Sports Betting

Analytics has seen a tremendous rate of adoption in the last few years. As this field has progressed, so has betting operators’ ability to measure factors once filed under “out of our control.” Factors such as a team’s defensive strategy, how referees call a game, and even individual player injury and performance can now be predicted with reasonable accuracy.
Betting operators have not only not kept these metrics for in-house use, but they have also started including these measurements in their odds offerings in an attempt to make it easier for customers to bet on games with more accuracy.

However, analytics are but one piece of the puzzle.

As hinted above, another important factor in gambling is knowing the odds. Odds data is becoming increasingly accessible through big data technologies.

In other words, betting operators can now rely on technology to track every bet made and its odds.

The advantage is threefold. For one, operators can provide customers with increasingly accurate odds predictions through technology.

Secondly, their technology can give betting operators an advantage over competitors.
Thirdly, sports analytics help bookies minimize risk and increase profits, as data can be used to address potentially disastrous betting trends proactively through measures such as setting betting limits and analyzing player profiles.

This also means that technology can make or break a betting operator, which makes investing in a reliable sports betting data solution all the more important.

OddsMatrix is designed to address the core needs of bookmakers and operators by providing risk management and assessment tools and the means to make accurate, data-informed decisions. Sports analytics and automation are at the heart of OddsMatrix.

Specifically, what can analytics predict?

To understand what sports bettors can predict through analytics, we must look at how sports teams leverage sports data analytics.

Generally, teams use data analytics for the following:

  • Injury predictions. Teams use wearable technologies in conjunction with analytics to identify and address injury risk factors.
  • Team strategy. One of the techniques employed by professional sports teams is the so-called “heat map.” Heat maps, which fall under the umbrella of a wider field called Data Visualization, help teams gauge the opposing team’s strategy by following players’ movements and actions on the pitch.
  • Player valuations. While many factors go into determining a player’s valuation, scouts generally use predictive modeling to assess whether a player is a good fit for the team. This technology is immensely useful and complex and varies according to the league’s stature. For example, it can involve tracking players’ performance through cameras installed at multiple angles to capture every second of the game and every motion. Other teams may install chips in the ball or players’ shoulder pads for the same reasons. Betting operators take player valuations into account as well when setting the odds.
  • Ticket churn. Professional teams employ logistic regression models to evaluate ticket churn and address it. Logistic regression “estimates the probability of an event occurring, such as voted or didn’t vote, based on a given dataset of independent variables.” Teams use these models to predict how certain marketing initiatives and promotions influence ticket sales, customer retention, and even ROI based on attendance.

The most important thing to note is the overlap between sports bettors and professional teams. The former uses these technologies to predict odds and adapt them in real-time per the realities on the pitch, while teams use data analytics to evaluate and boost performance.

Industry-standard analytical techniques and tools

Now that we have a general understanding of data analytics, it’s time to dive into industry-standard analytical techniques and tools.

Predictive analytics

In short, predictive analytics is a branch of Artificial intelligence that deals with data handling. It gathers historical data and uses statistical algorithms and machine learning models to identify the likelihood of future outcomes.

Think of predictive analytics as a tool that helps betting operators make accurate predictions about trends, events, and customer behavior to support data-driven decisions.

As AI becomes more ubiquitous within organizations, predictive analytics are starting to play an especially important role in the sports betting industry.

Fields previously viewed as “mostly automatable,” like customer interactions, financial transactions, fraud detection, and customer betting behavior, can be streamlined and taken to the next level with predictive analytics.

But most importantly, predictive analytics allows operators to handle and interpret the huge amounts of data generated by millions of bettors interfacing with their platforms of choice.
In other words, predictive analytics can aid bookmakers in the following aspects:

  • Accurate customer insights. Through predictive analytics, betting operators can better understand customers, helping them personalize offerings and improving the overall experience.
    Decision making. Through their very nature, predictive analytics provide operators with insights and forecasts that would’ve taken a lot more time to gather and corroborate without AI.
  • Fraud detection. Predictive analytics can spot potentially fraudulent or abusive betting behaviors and raise red flags, which the betting operators can address before they snowball and cause financial consequences.
  • Maintenance. Infrastructure is key in today’s betting industry, and predictive analytics can signal potential issues before they occur or become a significant concern.

Machine learning

In the simplest terms, machine learning is a sub-branch of artificial intelligence that uses data and algorithms to simulate how humans learn, with the ultimate goal of improving its accuracy.

With such a pitch, it’s obvious why the sports betting industry is so keen on this technology. Both sports betting operators and bettors have been adopting machine learning to more accurately predict the outcome of events.

From a sports betting operator’s perspective, machine learning speaks to a continuous industry effort to predict outcomes as accurately as possible. This is because bookmakers always strive to “balance the book” so that their operation remains profitable no matter the event’s outcome.

Ergo, with machine learning, operators can, for example, create automated odds that give the best ROI from events. They look for patterns in points scored by both teams, weather conditions, and injuries. And through machine learning, operators can easily corroborate these pieces of historical data to predict how likely a particular outcome will be.

Obviously, machine learning is an immensely complex field and far from a be-all and end-all solution to the whims of randomness. Sports betting operators have lots of data points to keep track of. Spread, injuries, kick-off time, weather, team composition, player substitutions, whether the team is playing at home or away, individual player performance (recent and historical), team chemistry, and so on.

However, machine learning is sports operators’ best tool for risk mitigation.

OddsMatrix, the leading sports analytics provider

OddsMatrix is a leading sportsbook platform that aids bookmakers and betting operators in their efforts to build scalable sports betting businesses. OddsMatrix provides bookmakers and operators with essential data and tools to help them manage operations more efficiently and effectively.

OddMatrix, through its powerful algorithms and vast data sets, streamlines and improves the bookmaking process; instead of crunching numbers and sifting through data manually, bookmakers can simply rely on OddsMatrix to do the grunt work.

OddsMatrix is:

  • A solution that delivers betting scores, odds, and settlements for sports and esports events
  • Designed from the ground up to help bookmakers scale and diversify their portfolio in mind
  • A highly customizable platform with flexible odds, events, and markets selection

As an overview of its features, OddsMatrix offers the following:

  • Odds feeds and management. The platform provides real-time odds data for various sports across many betting markets. OddsMatrix integrates this data natively into the platform so bookmakers can access accurate, up-to-date odds. This helps bookmakers set personalized odds that can be adjusted to the day-to-day realities of the market and trends.
  • Risk management tools and features. With OddsMatrix, bookmakers can identify and address risks proactively. Elements such as betting patterns and customer behavior can be accounted for and analyzed, helping bookmakers balance books and minimize their exposure to potential losses.
  • Live sports data. OddsMatrix’s continuously real-time updating sports database allows bookmakers to offer live betting (also known as in-play betting). Customers can enjoy the prospect of betting in real time, while bookmakers have the opportunity to attract more customers with this feature.
  • Real-time data. OddsMatrix is the premier platform for bookmakers and sports operators looking to make fast, informed decisions on various events.
  • Customization and integration. Through OddsMatrix’s API offerings, bookmakers can customize the data and features they access. OddsMatrix also integrates with existing betting platforms, ensuring operators can easily maintain their workflows.

In terms of its real-time data products, OddsMatrix provides two types of solutions: a Bookmaker Feed and a Market Feed.

The Bookmaker feed provides the following:

  • Pre-live & Live Odds Feed
  • Settlement feed
  • Real-time stats & Scores feed
  • Fluid odds with minimal bet suspension
  • Fast, streamlined settlements system
  • The possibility to tweak odds and customize margins

As for the Market feed:

  • Pre-live & Live Odds Feed
  • Adjustable latency
  • Stats & Scores Feeds

In addition to the global features that address bookmakers’ operational necessities, the platform incorporates advanced analytics to provide superior betting services for customers and smooth operations for the provider.

  • The advanced algorithms are trained to account for market movements, betting patterns, and individual player behavior and adjust odds accordingly. Naturally, these algorithms can also help mitigate financial risks and losses. OddsMatrix’s algorithms are based on predictive modeling.
  • Automatic Settlement Engine. Also called Outcome Settlement, this system monitors sports-match events in real-time to automatically determine the result of every betting outcome as early as possible. The system draws information from multiple scores and matches event data pools, which are cross-checked for maximum accuracy and confidence.
  • Real-time data collection. OddsMatrix collects data from multiple providers, allowing bookmakers to generate and customize their odds.

Benefits of using OddsMatrix over other platforms

  • Comprehensive back office with access to event settings. Through this feature, operators can customize payouts, from sports to market level, follow the payout of relevant competitors from different markets, and manually tweak odds.
  • Scalability. OddsMatrix is designed to grow with its users. Bookmakers can safely scale their business without the risk of infrastructural issues.
  • OddsMatrix is licensed and regulated in multiple markets and jurisdictions, ensuring the product complies with local laws and regulations.
  • Engaging bonus campaign. OddsMatrix’s BonusEngine allows operators to offer engaging campaigns – Free Bets, Odds Boost, Stake Back, Risk-free Bets, and Cash Bonus. It’s both a great customer retention derivative feature and cost-efficient, as it reduces bonus costs for operators.

Take sports betting analytics to the next level with OddsMatrix

OddsMatrix is the foremost sports betting analytics solution for bookmakers and operators wanting to make informed, data-oriented decisions. If you’re a bookmaker or a sports betting operator looking for a powerful sports betting analytics solution, look no further than OddsMatrix.

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