Thanks to legal reforms, sports betting has been on the rise in recent years. During the coronavirus pandemic, many people assumed that the sports betting world would take a major blow.
However, the opposite seemed to be true. The sports betting market is now predicted to reach $8 billion by 2025.
While the gambling industry has been around for centuries, it’s constantly evolving. And that means that new and independent gambling bookies keep finding new ways to enter it.
If you’re someone who enjoys gambling and you want to get in on the action, then you may be interested in becoming an independent gambling bookie.
Not sure how to do that? Luckily for you, you’ve come to the right place. So keep on reading and we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about becoming a bookie.
1. Figure Out Which Route to Take
There isn’t just one kind of bookie. So you’re going to have to decide which bookie route you’re going to want to take.
You can be an on-course bookie, an online bookie, or open your own betting shop. Online betting is becoming increasingly popular but also extremely crowded.
In order to compete with the establishment players, you’d need to utilize incentives like promotions and sign up offers.
You should become an on-course bookie if you love to check out the horse races at your local track. However, this kind of bookmaking is not as lucrative.
To open a betting shop, you just need to get yourself a license. However, any employees you hire will also need to be licensed.
2. Decide How You Want to Set Up
A lot of independent bookies are family businesses. You should think over if you want to do this on your own or become a partner of an established company.
When you’re an independent bookie, you’ll have to worry about wages and rent. If you’re an on-course bookie, you’ll need to renew your trackside pitch each year. And having an online business means that you need to pay license fees and server costs.
When you join an established firm, you’ll be representing them. You won’t be your own boss and you only get a percentage of the profits. You also might be paid on salary instead.
A partnership offers more security but your shop might also be closed if it costs the company too much money.
You also might want to utilize a pay per head (PPH) service. This is a service that will provide you with a website that provides thousands of sports betting options each day. It can be extremely helpful for anyone who is trying to run an independent bookie service.
3. Work Out Your Budget
There are a lot of costs to becoming a bookie. When you start your venture, you’ll need to pay for:
- Licenses
- Rent
- Utilities
- Staff Wages
- Hardware
- Server hosting
- Software
It’s very important that you budget carefully. You’ll need a solid financial plan before you start investing money into anything.
The Skills You Need to Become a Bookie
Depending on the kind of bookie you choose to be, you’re going to need certain skills.
First, you need to be good at math and you’ll want to have a firm understanding of finance and odds. You also need to be able to negotiate with potential betting partners, staff, and local authorities.
You’ll also want to exercise management and leadership skills.
Customer service is also extremely important. You won’t be able to make any money if nobody wants to bet with your service.
You should also be good at decision making and you need to be flexible. This is especially true with horse racing because you’ll need to decide if you have a strong view about a particular race. Is a favorite worth pushing out in the market you offer or do you just want to follow the betting exchanges?
Common Misconceptions About Being a Bookie
Before you become a bookie, it’s important that you understand that it takes a lot of work and perseverance. Dealing with people’s money is never easy and you need to stand strong when people try to take advantage of you.
The very first mistake that you can make is to assume that being a bookie will be an easy job. In reality, it isn’t. Especially if you run a physical betting shop, where you’ll be competing with online bookies.
And if you mess up your applications when trying to get your licenses, you won’t receive any refunds.
You need to be aware of all of the additional costs that are involved with being a bookie and understand that there’s a lot of risks involved.
You’ll also need to understand that this a business. If you don’t have a solid business plan and just try to wing it, you’ll likely end up failing fairly quickly.
The Importance of Knowing How to Become an Independent Gambling Bookie
As we can see, becoming an independent gambling bookie is no walk in the park. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. However, it can also be a very rewarding and fruitful endeavor, too.
The most important thing is to know what kind of bookie you want to be and then make sure that you plan ahead so that you’re never caught off guard.
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