29 June 2012
Gambling is a favorite pastime of people the world around. Becoming a bookie has always been a great way to make extra money and actually keep you from experiencing gambling losses. Yes, there are weeks when the players get the best of us all, but we all know the bookie wins in the end. If you want to start a bookie business, we have some tips to help you get started.
1. Find a reliable price per head sportsbook (bookie service) like www.RealPricePerHead.com to host your online site. We recommend this because the days of bookies operating their own phones and having limited hours are long since gone. If you are going to be successful, you need to have a 24/7 call center and Internet access for your players.
2. Decide what type of bonuses or promotions you want to run to lure players to your business. A bookie business is just like any other and since you are competing with the major online sportsbooks, you will have to have some type of bonus program to offer new and existing players.
3. Start talking to the people you know that bet the games. Get the word out about your site and the bonuses you have available. If your site is competitive, it will not take long for the players to start lining up. At worst, you will have another line to offer them for their games.
4. Be sure to set limits with all players. If you can, get a stake up front from the players and set that as their loss limit. At the end of the season, you can return their stake. One of the biggest challenges for any bookie is in collecting owed money, especially towards the end of the season. If they are putting down credit card deposits with their current online sportsbook, there is no reason they should not have some type of deposit with you.
5. You will also need to set up a regular payday and payment schedule. Make sure you have enough money to cover losses and do not count on players payments to make your payouts. If your bookie operation is going to be successful, your reputation for pay must be stellar. If it is not, current players may start to drift and it will be very difficult to lure in new players if they are unsure that they will be able to be paid.