Getting involved in the sports betting industry requires you to know how to set wagers in your favor plus you also need to present the
image of a trustful source for players in order to get their wagering action.
The Numbers Part
In order for bookies to keep their sports betting operation profitable, they need to come up with wagers that make them cash each and every single time they present them to their players. In other words, they need to know how to balance their books.
If you want to get some substantial earnings right away, sports betting is probably not the best option for you, but if you are willing to sacrifice some time to develop your operation, in the long term you will surely see the benefits and rewards to your efforts.
The Coin Toss Example
We are now going to tell you how you, as a bookmaker, can make your regular cash using a coin toss example:
When a coin is tossed, there are only two options available, heads or tails, which gives this wager 50/50 odds.
If one player makes a $10 wager on tails and another do so on heads, it really doesn’t matter who the winner is as the agent will have to pay a total of $20, leaving him without any winnings.
This is certainly not a good deal, and that is the reason why bookies charge what is called the Juice or the Vig.
This means that instead of paying even odds, the bookmaker is going to keep $1 to himself (the juice) and pay a total of $9 to the winner, allowing the agent to always turn a profit.
The Margin
When it comes to betting on sports, for a bookie to be successful, he needs to pick his winners, and do so at a rate of return that is bigger than the agent margin.
When bettors talk about beating the bookie, what they are really saying is that in order to have success in long-term wagering, they have to beat the bookmaker margin.
Setting the Odds
For bookies, to price up a sporting event well is the factor that can provide them with longevity in the business.
Although it is rare for agents to come up with the perfect book (securing profits no matter what the outcome is), they know that if they have an in-build margin, they will be in a favored position versus their players, long-term.
Another thing an agent can do in order to be successful is to set betting limits in order to avoid sudden massive cash blows to their pockets.
The Ethical Part
Knowing the numbers part is one side of the story; in order to be successful, you also need to be an ethical bookmaker.
This means that you always need to pay your players on time and keep your word when you make a promise. When you fail to accomplish either of those two things, it is likely that bettors are not going to trust you enough to give you their money, and that can lead to negative word of mouth, which at the end can affect the welfare of your business.
Being ethical also allows you to keep clients longer, and as stated above, long-term is how bookies make their cash in the end, which means that keeping big-time players for the long run in your ledger will guarantee you substantial profits when you have reached a certain point in your career.
Remember, you don’t have to own a large sportsbook; you just need to do things the right way continuously in order to secure the trust of current players and prospective clients.
