Interview with Bet24 Head of Odds "Morton Olsen".
Posted on 12th Jul 2010, at 14:18
Last updated on 12th Jul 2010, at 14:33
Welcome to the latest Industry Interview from thegamblingtimes.com. This month we speak with Morten Olsen, the "Head of Odds" at Bet24:
Q: Morten, can you tell us how you got started in the gambling industry?
A: I started in the business together with Bet24 in February 2001. Initially, I worked in the support department and then filled various roles before moving into the odds department in 2003. Since 2006, I have held the Head of Odds position within Bet24.
Q: How would you describe a typical day for yourself at Bet24?
A: We are a team of 10 full-time bookmakers and we have 30-40 freelancers working with us at various times during the year. It's hard to describe a typical day since two days are never the same and the variety is what I love about this business.
Q: And what kind of attributes do you feel you need to be good at your job?
A: A flair for mathematics and statistics is going to get you a long way but you also require the skills to look ahead and keep your head calm in stressful situations. I often describe the work environment as like playing a football match – it can often get hectic and the tone can go up and down but, after the day, we are still good friends/colleagues.
Q: Can you give examples of when pricing markets is more statistics based and when it is more about intuition or ‘insights’?
A: Of course, the stat part does take a role in the pricing but common sense is also very important. Just because X have won the last 3 matches against Y doesn’t make them win game 4 if Y have a promotion spot to play for while the season of X is over. On more special markets such as X Factor, American Idol, etc, then it is very much about trying to get a feeling of who the viewers will vote for and what you feel yourself.
Q: What is the process of evaluation that you go through when a player contacts Bet24 wishing to bet on something you had no plan of offering a market for?
A: We really enjoy getting special requests from customers as long as they are funny or useful for other customers as well. However, we will never offer odds on natural disasters, terror or war. A real example of a funny bet request thatwe received in the past was an uncle wishing for odds on their nephew to one day play for the England national football team.
Q: If a player is unprofitable to a bookmaker and it appears they consistently take prices above the closing price or it appears they have some knowledge, do you think it is better to limit their stakes but follow their plays (and adjustlines if necessary) or to close their account completely?
A: We don’t mind skilful players at Bet24 – we sometimes use their information to balance our book and to get a heads up if our odds are going away from the market line. I would be lying if I said we didn’t keep an eye on our customers and if you keep on betting on a typing mistake from our end or you otherwise try to cheat us in then we will look into a limit. Also, we don’t accept punters from other betting companies that use us to balance their own sportsbook.
Q: In an instance where prices are put online incorrectly – for example, if a market should be priced as Over 2.5: 2.1 and Under 2.5: 1.65 but they’ve been listed the wrong way round as Over 2.5: 1.65 and Under 2.5: 2.1 – what is the process you have of informing players if they have taken the palpable line? And are there situations where you will still honour bets if the line was put upincorrectly – perhaps if the odds weren’t so obviously wrong or the stake was quite small?
A: We are generally fine if the error is minor but the rule of cancelling bets applies to both us and our customers. So even if we could actually earn money from our mistakes, we are still obliged to cancel the bets.
Q: And finally, I assume in your line of work that it’s important to keep one eye on sports news reports in case of injuries and so on but beyond sports news television channels, do you also have your own sources such as localised journalists who contact you directly or even contacts within the clubs themselves?
A: We have a good and healthy communication with various journalists and the media. And we are happy to get requests from journalists and customers with special request on odds.
Morten, we really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us and wish youand all your colleagues at Bet24 a very good summer. Bet24 offers a good range of sports and markets to bet on (including livebetting) as well as some fantastic specials on Abba and Aliens amongst others which will bring a smile to your face! For any readers who are not yet signed upto Bet24, we can thoroughly recommend you get involved there. Bet24 currently offers new players a 50% sports betting bonus up to £30 and they also have poker and casinos offerings too. See here to for the full TGT Review : Bet24
Finally, you can discuss the interview on the forum here: Interview discussion
Until next time!Team TGT
Q: Morten, can you tell us how you got started in the gambling industry?
A: I started in the business together with Bet24 in February 2001. Initially, I worked in the support department and then filled various roles before moving into the odds department in 2003. Since 2006, I have held the Head of Odds position within Bet24.
Q: How would you describe a typical day for yourself at Bet24?
A: We are a team of 10 full-time bookmakers and we have 30-40 freelancers working with us at various times during the year. It's hard to describe a typical day since two days are never the same and the variety is what I love about this business.
Q: And what kind of attributes do you feel you need to be good at your job?
A: A flair for mathematics and statistics is going to get you a long way but you also require the skills to look ahead and keep your head calm in stressful situations. I often describe the work environment as like playing a football match – it can often get hectic and the tone can go up and down but, after the day, we are still good friends/colleagues.
Q: Can you give examples of when pricing markets is more statistics based and when it is more about intuition or ‘insights’?
A: Of course, the stat part does take a role in the pricing but common sense is also very important. Just because X have won the last 3 matches against Y doesn’t make them win game 4 if Y have a promotion spot to play for while the season of X is over. On more special markets such as X Factor, American Idol, etc, then it is very much about trying to get a feeling of who the viewers will vote for and what you feel yourself.
Q: What is the process of evaluation that you go through when a player contacts Bet24 wishing to bet on something you had no plan of offering a market for?
A: We really enjoy getting special requests from customers as long as they are funny or useful for other customers as well. However, we will never offer odds on natural disasters, terror or war. A real example of a funny bet request thatwe received in the past was an uncle wishing for odds on their nephew to one day play for the England national football team.
Q: If a player is unprofitable to a bookmaker and it appears they consistently take prices above the closing price or it appears they have some knowledge, do you think it is better to limit their stakes but follow their plays (and adjustlines if necessary) or to close their account completely?
A: We don’t mind skilful players at Bet24 – we sometimes use their information to balance our book and to get a heads up if our odds are going away from the market line. I would be lying if I said we didn’t keep an eye on our customers and if you keep on betting on a typing mistake from our end or you otherwise try to cheat us in then we will look into a limit. Also, we don’t accept punters from other betting companies that use us to balance their own sportsbook.
Q: In an instance where prices are put online incorrectly – for example, if a market should be priced as Over 2.5: 2.1 and Under 2.5: 1.65 but they’ve been listed the wrong way round as Over 2.5: 1.65 and Under 2.5: 2.1 – what is the process you have of informing players if they have taken the palpable line? And are there situations where you will still honour bets if the line was put upincorrectly – perhaps if the odds weren’t so obviously wrong or the stake was quite small?
A: We are generally fine if the error is minor but the rule of cancelling bets applies to both us and our customers. So even if we could actually earn money from our mistakes, we are still obliged to cancel the bets.
Q: And finally, I assume in your line of work that it’s important to keep one eye on sports news reports in case of injuries and so on but beyond sports news television channels, do you also have your own sources such as localised journalists who contact you directly or even contacts within the clubs themselves?
A: We have a good and healthy communication with various journalists and the media. And we are happy to get requests from journalists and customers with special request on odds.
Morten, we really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us and wish youand all your colleagues at Bet24 a very good summer. Bet24 offers a good range of sports and markets to bet on (including livebetting) as well as some fantastic specials on Abba and Aliens amongst others which will bring a smile to your face! For any readers who are not yet signed upto Bet24, we can thoroughly recommend you get involved there. Bet24 currently offers new players a 50% sports betting bonus up to £30 and they also have poker and casinos offerings too. See here to for the full TGT Review : Bet24
Finally, you can discuss the interview on the forum here: Interview discussion
Until next time!Team TGT
