Why Don't Sports Books Track Action for Comps?

Why don't casinos track sports book play as they do with all other action? It seems to me that books could offer worse odds and attract players who are chasing comps.

In general, sports books are loss leaders for casino companies. The house advantage for most straight bets is 4.5% and though many books hold well over 5%, due to all the parlay bets made by the public, the sports book is low on the casino's money-making ladder.

Yes, labor and equipment costs are substantial, but the real estate is also a major factor. The revenue a casino could earn just by installing slot machines in all that space adds to the loss-leader effect. It's true that casinos have to buy or lease the machines, but it's an axiom in the business that slots aren't on the payroll, they don't call in sick, they require very little attention, and they don't really have any variance; the casino makes its $100-$400/day with no real risk.

Another important consideration is the time it takes for a decision on a sports bet. A dedicated slot player accrues hundreds of decisions per hour, while a piker who puts down $11 to win $10 on a football game gets one decision in two and a half hours or more.

Yet another is the caliber of sports betting customers the book attracts. They're loud and can get vulgar (when their team is losing) and the sports book can be intimidating to less hardy souls. (That's why the Wynn sports book, for example, is tucked into the "lower-rent" area of the casino, next to the less-expensive restaurants and the poker room.)

So why do casinos have sports books at all?

Casinos are fully aware of the limitations of the sports book as a moneymaker, but they also understand how the book brings in customers. While the casino may earn a mere $5 theoretical hold on a husband who bets $110 and gets free drinks while he watches Monday Night Football in the book, his wife might be playing slots for three hours (or going to the shops). Then they might meet friends for dinner.

A sports book also helps give a casino "character" and brings in energy during all big sporting events.

So the whole thing is a trade-off. And that's where tracking sports-betting action comes in -- or doesn't, as the case may be. Given the loss-leader realities, sports bettors simply aren't worth enough to the casino, especially compared to slot, crap, and even blackjack players, to invest in a tracking system or provide comps to even big bettors, some of whom undoubtedly bring sharp money.

It's also why brick-and-mortar sports books will probably shrink in the coming years. These days, books around the country are focusing a lot of time, attention, and money on their betting apps that allow wagering from phones and at home. Now the sports books can make their money without providing a counter and ticket writer for the piker who shows up to lay $11 on a three-hour game and ask for a drink comp.

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Comments

Dave Mar-08-2021

Concessions

Aren’t most sports books concessions? And doesn’t that affect how the casinos treat sports bettors?

Of course, things may change now that Circa owns their own sports book, and Caesars bought William Hill…

Adam Cohen Mar-08-2021

That is what I expected

@Dave  I expected the answer to be about the fact that casinos do not own Sports books.  So I was surprised by the response as well

Ray Mar-08-2021

a couple of thoughts

First of all, sports betting is becoming bigger with in-game bets, same game parlays, constant action. Look at the handle in states that have approved sports betting like NJ, and now PA, IL and many others, so I don't believe that it's a "loss leader" or other states wouldn't be so big on getting it. Other than that, I know that there are place that give points for horserace betting. My recollection is that I have gotten credited at Jerry's Nugget and I'm pretty sure Arizona Charlie's. I know that doesn't help the Strip snobs, but horseracing, especially since they are bot booked by the casino anymore and the house only gets a small cut of the bet, that shold be considered a "loss leader" too.

jay Mar-08-2021

Marketing

I maintain that Casinos do NOT know how to market. It would make sense to give every sports book player a free table match bet coupon and get them out onto the floor. Put the big game on in the pits, and poker rooms. Bet $100 or more and receive a $20 credit to our Steak house - what time can I arrange a seating for you sir ? 

If I was a group like ceasars I would be very active at booking every hotel guest into my restaurants / buffets (if that is still a thing) at specific times every day of the week and stop the public from wandering off to other chains. How about a discounted Show or buy 6 drinks and get a line pass for you and your guest to one of our clubs.  

How about a guide to sports betting at the Black Jack table, how about a guy at the front door calling out to the public - Hey you look like a San Jose fan, don't you want to see them kick some Maple Leaf butt and earn a few bucks while they are doing it...

There is so much untapped potential

Kevin Lewis Mar-08-2021

Faulty premise?

Almost all of the sports books where I've made bets (I don't visit the Strip megatoilets) will put slot points on your card if you ask, the points per dollar amount being the same proportion as if you had been playing a slot machine. And given that point accumulation results in comps, mailers, etc., I'd say that they ARE tracking your play.

Now, whether $5,000 in sports action gets you the same offers as $5,000 in slot action is a different question.

Llew Mar-08-2021

Hmmmm

“Casinos are fully aware of the limitations of the sports book as a moneymaker, but they understand that the book brings in customers”, who may spend otherwise and/or bring other people with them who will. That’s the argument that we poker and video poker players have been making for years!  Unfortunately, our reasoning seems to fall on deaf corporate ears.

Question of the Day - 08 March 2021

Comments