Methods may change, but the players stay the same
Don't get your hopes up fellas.
The local bookmaker is alive and well, he may have had to adapt, but even the many still operating with a stale line, set @ 5:00pm central, for 9:00pm basketball are still rakin it in...
Every response in this post, although mostly true, is missing the single biggest component that is directly responsible for the profits of bookmakers of all breeds. It is the level of idiocy in your average player out there. Listen folks, they are NOT reading the RX, sitting in front of their DB, shopping for lines.... They ARE calling the toll free line # with the local, writing the pre-recorded lines down on the back of their checkbook while sitting in a bar watching sportscenter..., they think for about 2.54 minutes, then call in a couple dimes worth of action...and then ROOT, ROOT, ROOT. These types FAAAAAR outnumber your average RX,Majorwager, Madjacks, donbest, degenerate...to the tune of about 99 to 1.
So with that component of the market alive and well, it won't be soon that bookies are operating with negative margins, or even vastly reduced margins. They are and will be... fine, simply because of the laziness of your average GAMBLER.
You could given em all the info in the world, but no-one can give em a work ethic, hell...half of em, don't really (deep inside) do it to win money anyway, its simply entertainment.
Just my opinion.