It is on a Saturday night, and you are sitting in a bar having your favorite beer as you watch two National Football League teams battling it up. You are not the only sports fan in the crowd.
One guy shouts he would bet $50 for his team to win. Another agrees, and before you know it, everyone is placing a few dollars on the bartender’s desk. Suddenly, it occurs to you that you could become a bookie.
Unfortunately, you cannot help but wonder how to become a bookie and successfully run your operations. This guide will take you through the basics and in-depth details about becoming a successful bookie.
What Is a Bookie?
A bookie is a person, group, or firm that receives wagers from bettors and transfers the winnings to the winner depending on the odds agreed upon. For example, if Manchester United is playing against Liverpool, a bettor can bet that Liverpool will win with odds of 3.
If the better-placed $100 and Liverpool wins, they will win $100×3 plus the wagered amount. On the other hand, players who bet on Manchester United will lose their wagers.
A good bookie has to balance bets on both sides by adjusting odds to ensure a profit. Failure to balance the odds accordingly may lead to the bookie losing a lot of money.
Bookies existed before the internet era. With the spread of the internet, the bookie business is in a better position regarding growth.
Types of Bookies
There are two types of bookies:
1. Pen-and-Paper Bookie
This bookie uses a pen and paper to record everything regarding bets. They take players’ wagers, record them and note when they pay up winning.
This bookie was popular before online gaming became widespread. Some people might be running this type of bookie even today. These bookies are often associated with sending someone to pick your bets; otherwise, you get a beating of a lifetime when you fail to pay up.
2. Pay Per Head Bookie
This type of bookie uses sports betting pay per head software to run his business. He does not need a physical place to receive wagers or take them via a phone call.
Instead, he provides a platform where his clients can log in on their phones or other internet devices and place bets. This bookie uses software that helps set lines, monitor players, and everything about betting.
How to Become a Bookie
When you look at the online betting market, you will realize the industry is growing. With the legalization of sports betting in over 20 states and other countries across the globe, this growth is bound to continue. Thus, we will be looking at how to become a bookie online because that is where the money is.
To become a successful bookie, you need several things. These include:
1. Money
Any business requires you to have some start-up money. The good thing is, you do not need a lot of money to start a private bookie. There are several ways you can acquire your capital, including friends, family, savings, investors, or credit cards.
If you have your own money, you can start a bookie. However, avoid taking all your savings to start the business. Instead, use a fraction of it and welcome your friends or family to chip in.
If you would instead use an investor, remember they will want a share of the profits. Moreover, they might influence your decision-making. The other alternative is to take advantage of your credit history and use it to fund your business.
2. Time
Running a bookie requires you to put on some time depending on the year’s season. For example, starting your bookie during the National Football League season will require spending more time online than you would when off-season.
As most actions are automated, you do not have to spend hours on the bookie with pay per head bookie. You can give it a few hours each day to analyze the activities on the bookie.
3. Clients
You do not have a bookie business without clients. Fortunately, it is easy to get clients. The hard part is keeping them satisfied otherwise, they will leave for better platforms.
You can get customers first is the bar you usually drink at while watching games. Another way is through referral, whereby your friends and family spread the word on your behalf.
Since your business is online, marketing it on social media is vital for its growth. With time, you can adopt online advertising and affiliate marketing to reach an even bigger demographic.
4. Pay Per Head Platform
Being a bookie is not a simple task. It requires patience, skills, and marketing. With a pay-per-head platform, the work becomes much more manageable.
The best pay-per-head site should give you a turnkey solution to successfully run your bookie business. It takes care of your business by ensuring daily bet markets and options are available and the platform is neatly organized for players’ convenience.
This software also handles winning calculations and losses. Instead of dealing with numerous pieces of paperwork, pay-per-head software ensures your business is running smoothly. It also has a system that takes deposits and withdrawals for players.
While the software performs all significant tasks, you will remain with one mission of growing your business. You can focus on marketing, analyzing your bettors’ performance, suspending an account, limiting bets, and any other task that will see your bookie balanced.
Growing Your Bookie Business
Several things can propel your business to the top. Here are some tips:
- Getting referrals: getting referrals is a powerful thing. It could grow your business and keep it rolling for a long time. People refer your company to others when they feel it serves them as it should.
You could implement a referral system to reward people for referring your business to others. Over time, you will create a good list of high rollers.
- Giving Credit: You can also grow your bookie business by giving credit. This has been known to work for many top bookies today. However, you need to know to who you are giving credit and be assertive when getting paid.
Some of the tips to remember when crediting include:
- Do not credit new customers. Instead, ensure the person you are giving credits to is a regular customer with a good history of betting on your bookie.
- Be strict when asking for payments. Do not extend the deadline; otherwise, the customer will adopt the trend, affecting your business in the long run.
- Analyze your customers’ betting trends. Look at how much they spend on gambling and how much they have won or lost to determine whether they qualify for the credit.
- Pay Winnings in Time: People will trust you if you keep paying winnings in time. Ensure you are paying your winners on time and consistently to create trust.
That way, they can trust that you can make payments even after betting large sums of money. You do not have to worry about pay-per-player software as the system processes all payments in time.
How Much Does a Bookie Make?
The simple answer to this question is that a bookie can earn as much as he wants and as little. But, there is an in-depth way of looking at this. First, you need to understand that several things contribute to how much you make as a bookie.
For example, if you market your business while another stays put, you will see results by the different amounts the two bookies will make. Apart from that, the products you are offering play a huge role in creating profits for you.
Suppose you are offering betting markets for three uncommon sports while another is offering bet markets for NFL in the American market. The second bookie is likely to make more money because the NFL is the most popular sport in America.
Ideally, you can increase the amount you make as a bookie by offering products your target is looking for. Apart from pre-match betting, you can add live betting to attract a considerable fanbase. You can also add a casino and racebook, adding to the number of your revenue sources.
Become A Bookie in Less Than an Hour
At this point, you know how to become a bookie. The question is, will you push through with your dream?
Guess what? In under an hour, you could become a bookie with a pay per head software. The good thing about it is that there are many betting platform templates to choose from.
Once you identify the one you like, you can go ahead and start accepting bets. Go to the Power Pay Per Head homepage and begin the process of becoming a bookie.
You will start by filling in your contact information, watching a demo, and choosing your template. We can even design a customized betting platform for you. However, this might take more than one hour because we have to create the best platform to meet your preferences.
