All in all, sports betting can be considered as a social experience provided by a local or online bookie to his players, and that is made
possible thanks to price per head services.
The bookie himself can be a person that is involved in underground organized gambling or one that has a legitimate profession and sees sports betting as an extra source of income.
Here we offer you a glimpse into the life of a bookie, whose main job is to make the most cash as possible, prevent sharps and degenerates bankrupt his bookmaking operation and make opponents look impotent.
What is a Price per Head Bookie?
Let’s define what is price per head, and how a bookie takes advantage of these solutions:
Price per Head are a series of services which are provided to the bookie by an offshore data processing company, which allows the agent to offer his clients internet, call center and mobile betting.
A PPH shop also grants the bookie free usage of their in-house sportsbook software, which contains a variety of reports related to the agent’s bookmaking operation.
Also, a bookie uses price per head because he knows that the lines management service provided by the PPH shop allows him to avoid mistakes when setting adjusted lines, which otherwise can lead to unnecessary house losses.
Players
The customers of an independent bookie come from all walks of life. From construction workers, to frat boys, to doctors and lawyers, most people have a craving for sports betting.
There are 3 main groups within players:
Sharps: These are also known as wiseguys, and are the ones who always do their research before they place a wager, which is usually a large one.
They are also known for waiting until the very last minute in order to get their action and are basically immune by sentimentalism over games.
Working with a price per head shop offer the advantage that this offshore sports betting company provides accurate data to the bookie about each of his players, including warnings about possible wiseguys.
Degenerates: On the other hand we have the “degenerates” group, which are bettors whom are very sentimental, bet without doing any research about the sporting event, struggle to pay when they have to, and are quite compulsive.
Schnooks: These are the group of the unsavvy players, whom usually place early wagers and almost never come out ahead of their agents.
How Bookmaking Works
The lines service provided to the bookie by the pay per head company is based on calculations made by professional Vegas actuaries called money lines and point spreads. These are a handicapping which tells which team has the more chances to win a game.
These wagering lines are adjusted regularly, but specially during the hours leading to a given sporting event.
This is because the bookie must adjust such lines to go according to fluctuations in Vegas stats, current betting action, and other unexpected events (such as an important player getting injured at the last minute) as these can affect the outcome of the game.
The vigorish or juice is a simple fee that the bookie charges his customers for his sports betting solutions.
Legalization
Each state can take the decision of legalizing sports betting in their casinos, which can lead to massive profits for the government in the form of collected taxes, but so far only four allows it: Oregon, Delaware, Nevada and Montana.
However, it is clear that the social ritual of betting with an independent bookie can never be duplicated by a government-regulated casino or racetrack, where the experience of placing a bet is joyless and sterile.
The same cannot be told of price per head because even though the player doesn’t have to reach out for the bookie every time he wants to place a bet, the experience is still more personal than making the bet with a casino employee who’s sitting behind a bulletproof glass.
All in all, business will continue to be good for independent agents as long as the widespread underground gambling markets of the country continue to operate as usual.
