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In today’s industry, it doesn’t take long to have a bookmaking company running within days or even less if you have everything prepared. We’ll teach you how to become a bookie by the end of this article.
Bookie Software (Pay-Per-Head Services)
You need the infrastructure prepared before anything else, which is where pay-per-head (PPH) services come into play. For as little as $5/head (Per Client), a PPH service will provide you with just about everything.
The software suite will create and update betting lines in real-time for dozens of sports around the world. This means you no longer need to spend time setting your own lines, as that’s taken care of.
You’ll be able to see exactly how your bookie is performing as well using the customized reports detailing how much your clients are betting, what your clients are betting on and plenty of other information.
Most PPH services will set everything up for you. All you have to do is get your clients to sign-up for an account once everything is set-up. You’ll even be able to use your own domain name and branding.
Finding Customers
In order to be a successful bookie, you need to have customers that bet regularly. Finding customers is easy in today’s industry in North America, as it’s becoming harder and harder to find reputable bookies.
Your #1 priority has to be ensuring your clients get paid in full and quickly. Word travels quick and you’ll often get most new sign-ups referred by existing customers because they recommend you to friends/family.
This is why you need to treat your clients with respect and care, ensuring every problem, regardless of how little, is dealt with fast. If you run a good business, it won’t be long before lots of clients start finding you.
With that being said, make sure you don’t get in over your head either. With the Internet, it’s fairly easy to build up a client base, but if you’re under funded and can’t payout your winners, you’ll fail quickly.
Offering bonuses is a great way to attract clients, but make sure you’re not hurting your bottom line too much with promotions. I’ve seen several bookies fail because they offered huge +EV bonuses.
Payment Processing
Make sure you can handle payment processing before accepting too many clients. If your clients are local and you’ll be dealing in cash, you won’t have any problems collecting and paying out.
However, if you start accepting clients that aren’t local, make sure you know how you’re going to collect and payout your players. Money transfer services like Western Union and MoneyGram work great typically.
Consider the fees connected with these services when creating your payout terms. These services aren’t free and you’ll likely want to share the cost of these services with your clients.
Bitcoins have really benefited the bookie industry as well. Bookies get the money upfront and there’s no way to reverse the payment. Plus. BTC is anonymous, so you and your clients remain safe from prying eyes.
