Tournament format change pushes bookmakers to expand betting lines

The new tournament format sparked a bigger betting line

A format change to tournaments doesn’t seem like it’s a big deal, but the sportsbooks view this as if they have an entirely new product. When there are changes to the schedule, stages, or scoring of a tournament, the previous market list becomes unusable. Therefore, after several sportsbooks adjusted their betting products. They restructured the event and made this adjustment quickly. As a result, bettors who log in through their 1x bet login noticed the expansion to betting options in the pre-match menus the first time they entered on match day, where the menus were suddenly longer than normal.

This is not about having more bets and options simply for the sake of it. The changes created an abundance of meaningful moments within the new format, which is what the betting markets revolve around.

The format change that triggered the move

The primary distinction lies within the structure itself. Many of the changes we have seen in tournament format now allow for more stages with very clear incentives. They also provide many opportunities for teams to work towards a defined goal in a variety of ways: reshuffling of groups; additional playoff rounds; new tie-breaker scenarios; and changing two-leg matchups to a one-game playoff format. Each one of these scenarios introduces new pressure points on teams, and pressure points create markets.

As a result, operators will see an influx of new users due to the novelty of the new tournament format. This leads operators to devote additional resources to the amount they promote the registration funnel and onboarding process, as well as utilizing alternative quick ways to register, such as 1x registration. New users generally equate to increased demand for simple markets, as well as greater curiosity for potential props that have not been offered in the past.

What got added to the betting board

The most visible change so far is the volume of sportsbooks. With more pre-match lines, more live markets based on objectives, and a new way to define an event, sportsbooks are now able to provide additional lines.

An example of this change in the volume of available betting lines includes “situation” betting. We can now find the following types of situation betting:

As these types of betting lines have grown rapidly, these developments and changes in volume have helped sportsbooks leverage their existing templates to take advantage of expanding markets. Once the format is confirmed, markets can be “cloned” or created in other games with minimal adjustments.

Odds moved, but so did limits and timing

Many additional betting markets do not always provideincreased value, as the odds on new betting lines willgenerally be set cautiously until the bookmaker’s risk team has collected adequate data. Therefore, in the beginning, sometimes when a new betting line is available, the odds willbe very close together, and wagering limits will be smallerthan if a greater amount of data were already available on similar historical events. Bettors may notice substantialchanges in the timing of new line opportunities and how longthose lines remain available to wager than they would if the market were created around the event.

In the table below, you will see the typical shape of a bettingline before and after the introduction of a new format is published.

Why this matters for bettors right now

Betting strategies can incorporate larger lines as they will influence types of betters who are present within a tournament. This includes creating a betting strategy across the whole tournament, and not just per game. Cautious bettors might use staged markets to minimize the guessing involved with regard to predicting the final score of a match. Aggressive bettors would place multiple staged related bets against other staged related bets because the format will put all teams into a more vulnerable state through their game states.

New markets have wider spreads when compared with older markets. Live markets that pertain to a qualification process can change rapidly, such that during that time period, the “true” line may only be available for a few seconds at a time.

What to check before placing bets on the new line

The best way to enter a new market is to treat each market as a unique product. Pay special attention to rules and settlement configurations. Because many bets now rely on that stage’s results. It is critical to ensure you quickly review this information to avoid the most common missteps.

You want to look at how the bookmaker defines the completion of a stage, what circumstances are considered to be qualification for purposes of making an edge case bet, and whether wagers settle to include all time points or are only wagered to the end of regulation time. If the format remains unchanged, you can expect that lines in that market will continue to expand as the bookmaker accumulates more data.