A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.

Range of events

Most bookmakers in the United States bet merely on college and professional sports, though in the United Kingdom they offer a wider range of bets, including each-way betting on golf, football and tennis, and especially horse racing and greyhound events. They also specialize in novelty events such as betting the probability that it will snow on Christmas Day, the outcome of political elections and reality television contests such as I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Big Brother and The X Factor, or that aliens will be found on Mars.Fact: date=October 2008

Operational procedures

main: Mathematics of bookmaking By adjusting the odds in his favor or by having a point spread, the bookmaker will aim to guarantee a profit by achieving a 'balanced book', either by getting an equal number of bets for each outcome, or (when he is offering odds) by getting the amounts wagered on each outcome to reflect the odds. When a large bet comes in, a bookmaker can also try to lay off the risk by buying bets from other bookmakers. The bookmaker does not generally attempt to make money from the bets themselves, but rather profiting from the event regardless of the outcome. Their working methods are similar to that of an actuary, who does a similar balancing of financial outcomes of events for the assurance and insurance industries.

Legality

Bookmaking may be legal or illegal, and may be regulated; in the United Kingdom it was at times both regulated and illegal, in that licences were required but no debts arising from gambling could be enforced through the courts. Now, since the inception of the National Lottery, not only is it completely legal in the UK, it is a small contributor to the British economy, with a recent explosion of interest with regard to the international gaming sector industry. However, gambling debts still remain unenforceable under English law. Fact: date=October 2008

Bookmaking is generally illegal in the United States, with Nevada being a notable exception.Fact: date=October 2008

In some countries, such as Singapore, Sweden, Canada and Hong Kong, the only legal bookmaker is state-owned and operated. In Canada, this is part of the lottery program and is known as Sport Select.

In the United Kingdom, trusted legal bookmakers are members of IBAS, which is an industry standard organization which resolves to settle disputes.

United Kingdom gambling industry

Traditionally, bookmakers have been located at the racecourse, but improved TV coverage and modernisation of the law have allowed betting in shops and casinos in most countries. In the UK, on-track bookies still mark up the odds on boards beside the race course and use tic-tac or mobile telephones to communicate the odds between their staff and to other bookies, but, with the modernisation of United Kingdom Bookmaking laws, online and high street gambling are at an all-time high, with a so-called Super Casino having been planned for construction in Manchester prior to the government announcing that this plan had been scrapped on 26 February 2008.