20 Years Experience
Ever since sports have existed, people have gambled on them. Mass media and the Internet have just maximized the exposure turning bookmaking into a very profitable business. Gamblers make money, but the real profit is not in the betting action itself, but in taking the bets and booking. Today, given the laws about booking in some countries, including the United States, bookies have two choices: either to take bets in person operating outside of the law, or to go legitimate by hiring a price per head bookmaking service that will help you carry out your operations over the Internet and toll-free telephone number lines.
Start by outlining a plan. If you want your sports betting business to be successful, you have to think ahead and be prepared. Think about how you will develop your business and make it grow. You can get a business plan template online and fill it in to get a glimpse on how profitable your business will be. Next, outsource your bookmaking operations. In the United States, Nevada is the only state where sports booking is legal, and horseracing off-track betting is permitted in a couple of other states, but if you really want a profitable sports betting business, you should have access to as many sporting events as you can, and this means you will have to take your bookmaking operations offshore to a country where sportsbook companies are legally certified. And out of them all, Costa Rica is the preferred destination. It is sound and solid, and has skilled professionals devoted to the business at hand. 
Select a price per head provider. Selecting a provider is very important because you want to make sure they will have software able to manage multiple betting accounts and allow you to get reports on the betting actions. You want to use the loser’s money to pay the winner so ideally, you would have equal amounts on both sides of the bet. Your profit is what’s called the juice, a percentage (usually around 10%) charged to the winners for your booking services. However, this scenario is not always so, and you will need to move the lines around to balance the odds and encourage bets on the weak side of the scale. This is where sportsbook software jumps in, because you will need to do a lot of math and good software can automate most of the work.
Choose a payment method for your players. Choose the method that your customers will use to deposit money into your bookmaking business account when they are placing a bet. You may want also have bank drafts, money orders and credit card billing available. The more payment options you have for your players, the more customers you will be able to have, the more profit you will make. Then build your website. If your price per head provider offers you the choice to design the website for you, work with them to get a website you and your players feel comfortable with. Sportsbook Software can usually be used to process wagers online and so it is important to have an online base for your bookie business. Using the Internet to collect bets and deal with customers is a great benefit since it means less staff you need to hire and less spending on telephone bills.
The website should be compelling to potential customers, reassuring, safe and effective.
Finally, advertise your business.If you are short on players, you want to let people know you are out there and encourage them to place bets with you.
Michael Hill is an avid sports fan and a sports writer who has been in the betting and price per head industry for years. Michael writes about his experience and offers tips for other aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to make a living with sports bookmaking.
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