Handicappers

Help Wanted: "Individual to determine winning odds on each horse of each race of harness-racing program by analyzing data, such as horses' and drivers' past performances, post position, and race distance, for use in racing publications." The preceding is the actual wording of a help wanted advertisement placed on an internet gambling site.

The rest of the ad reads like any other job description. It used phrases such as "review data" and "work with printers of racing programs." Still, one wonders how an applicant words the resume. Normally admitting that you spend a lot of time in off track betting (OTB) parlors or that you hang out with bookies is not the best way to get a job – that is unless you are looking for a job as a handicapper for a sportsbook.

Job Requirements

One thing that might not help such a job applicant is to claim to be a successful gambler. Handicappers and operators of sportsbooks are not in the business of gambling, they are in the business of making a profit from people who gamble. That means they are looking for employees whose skills and acuity are more closely aligned with those of a stockbroker than those of a gambler.

While a successful handicapper can make a very comfortable six-figure salary, it is a very demanding, stressful job. Sports handicappers are asked to sift through reams of statistical analysis and dig for news and even rumors "on the street" – again much like a stock or commodities broker – and to turn that analysis into a point spread or betting line that could cost an employer millions of dollars if even only slightly inaccurate.

Job Market

The seeming good news is that with the explosion of gambling-related web sites and the myriad of sportsbooks that have appeared over the past decade, there is a tremendous need for handicappers. All the Las Vegas sportsbooks, and those around the world, all need oddsmakers to provide their initial betting lines and odds. The bad part is that most contract with an outside consultant for that information, and there is only one company most sportsbooks use -- Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC).

The company was founded in 1982 and has grown into a global gambling information and oddsmaking service. It is estimated that from 60 percent to 90 percent of the licensed sportsbooks in Nevada use its services. As such, it is a reputable service overseen by Nevada gaming regulators. LVCS is owned by a company called SportsLine.com Inc. and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock market. Well, that brings us back to the stockbroker.