How to Become a Professional Oddsmaker. A professional oddsmaker uses his knowledge of sports to calculate odds, choose favorites and set the point spread so that betting action is balanced on both sides. Casinos hire oddsmakers for their experience and success in predicting how the betting public will place their money for any given event.
Think seriously about moving to Nevada if you live elsewhere in the U.S. or in a country where gambling is illegal. Since there's no true professional training for book- and oddsmakers, it's best to live where the majority of them congregate for networking purposes and on-the-job training.
Refresh your knowledge of statistics. If you, like most people, asked, "When am I ever going to use this?" during math class, here's your answer. Oddsmakers are master statisticians; their profession is the sports equivalent of being an insurance actuary.
Love to watch and analyze sports. An oddsmaker must know the minutiae of every event he covers. He must account for prior records, current injuries and even weather forecasts when he makes predictions. Similarly, a morning-line oddsmaker at a racetrack must know what horses perform well under what track conditions, the records of all horses, jockeys and trainers, and predict what the betting public is likely to do.
Gamble whenever possible and wherever legal. Gambling and bookmaking are the only real ways to gain the experience required for success in this field. To many a potential oddsmaker's dismay, betting on most sports is illegal in most places. If you're in this position, refer to Step 1.
