As sports betting becomes increasingly popular, people are always looking for new ways to make money off their favorite teams. In this article, we will explore which leagues offer the best profit opportunities and why it is important to do your research before placing any bets. We will also provide some helpful tips on maximizing your chances of winning.
So whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, read on for all the information you need to get started in the exciting world of sports betting.
The Importance of Research
Some of the best online sports betting sites in the US offer a wide variety of leagues to bet on, and it can be tempting just to pick your favorite team and start placing bets. However, this is not the most innovative way to approach sports betting.
Instead, it is essential to do your research and find out which leagues are most profitable. This may seem like a lot of work, but it is well worth the effort as it can make a big difference to your bottom line.
NFL: America’s Favorite Betting League
The National Football League is America’s favorite betting league. Each year, Americans bet billions of dollars on NFL games, and the league’s popularity shows no signs of waning. There are several reasons for the NFL’s popularity among bettors.
First, the league is extremely competitive, with a parity that ensures close games and exciting finishes.
Second, the NFL offers a wide range of betting options, from simple moneyline bets to complex prop bets.
Finally, the league’s popularity means abundant information and analysis are available to help bettors make informed decisions.
Prop betting is probably the easiest area to find some value or perhaps exploit some slower moving bookmakers with a value betting strategy.
NBA: A Global Betting Sensation
While the NBA may be most popular in the United States, it has also become a global betting sensation.
In China, for example, the NBA is the most popular sport to bet on, with millions of dollars wagered each year. It’s not just professional gamblers who are getting in on the action; many ordinary people are also placing bets on NBA games. With the help of online bookmakers, anyone with an internet connection can log on and place a bet.
The popularity of online betting has also made it easier for people to place bets on games they might not otherwise have access to. As a result, the NBA has become a truly global phenomenon, with fans betting on games from all over the world.
MLB: The Money Maker for American Bettors
While the average American bettor may not be overly familiar with MLB, that hasn’t stopped it from becoming one of the most popular sports to bet on in the US. In fact, MLB is now the third most popular sport to bet on in America, behind only the NFL and NBA. There are several reasons for this, but the biggest is probably the sheer amount of money that can be made by betting on baseball.
For starters, there are more games in an MLB season than any other major sport, which means more opportunities to make money. But beyond that, baseball is also a relatively low-scoring sport, which means that even a small wager can have a big payout if you pick the right team. And finally, there’s the fact that baseball is a very strategic sport, which means that even casual bettors can make smart picks if they do their homework.
All of this adds up to big money for those who know how to bet on baseball.
Final Thoughts
Making a profit from your sports betting isn’t easy but it is possible if you put the work. A solid starting approach would be to specialize in one sport and learn as much as you can about the betting markets!
Do you want to learn how to make a living from sports betting?
In this article we are going to take a look at the crucial things you need to know, in order to be able to make big profits.
Starting with the basics, moving through to lesser known bits of information that can really improve your betting and take you to the next level.
Let’s get started!
How To Make A Living From Sports Betting – 8 Crucial Factors
Always take the best odds possible
Number one and it might seem very obvious however there are still a lot of people that want to be successful betting that don’t do this.
Make sure you are always taking the best odds possible. Don’t be lazy and only bet with one bookmaker because you have funds in the account. If you want to take this seriously you have to treat sports betting like a business.
Great businessmen are always looking for a way to cut costs and increases profits. In the same way a professional sports bettor always bets at the best odds they possibly can.
There are numerous odds comparison websites you can use to help you find the best odds.
Over the long term ensuring you always get the best odds you possibly can, is a habit that enables you to make the highest amount of money from your betting as possible.
2. Take advantage of promotions
Next on the list is taking advantage of bookmaker promotions and bonuses.
There is a lot of money to be made from this.
Free bets, cashback offers, in-play promotions, 2 goals up promotion on football, numerous horse racing promotions, extra places. Bookmakers are always trying to attract new customers and hang on to existing ones.
You can learn to take advantage of this fact and make good money solely from exploiting these offers.
This is called matched betting and there are already thousands of people taking advantage of this. If you are looking to bet on sports for a living. Taking advantage of this low hanging fruit is recommended.
It is an easy strategy and a very valuable one to have in your arsenal.
Not using proper bankroll management is one of the key reasons most people fail to make money long term from sports betting.
If you are aiming to make a living from sports betting and don’t have a plan for how are going to approach your staking. It is very likely you will fail.
Any well run business starts off with a plan.
As a professional bettor you should know exactly how much you are going to stake on a bet before you click that “Place bet” button.
Use proper bankroll management
There are several different staking plans you can look.
Kelly staking – this staking plan adjusts the size of your bet based on the perceived edge of your bet and odds on offer.
Flat staking – Staking the same amount on every selections. Trouble with this staking plan is when you are betting at a wide range of odds 1.2 – 20.00. Doesn’t make sense to bet the same amount of money at odds of 1.2 and then odds of 20.00.
Stake to win set amount – Perhaps the easiest staking plan to have when starting off. You stake to win the same amount for every bet. For example if you to win £100 per bet.
You would stake £100 at odds of 2.0, £50 at odds of 3.0, £33.33 at odds of 4.0 etc.
No matter which staking plan you choose. Having some kind of staking plan in place will put you ahead of 95% of bettors already.
4. Have as many accounts as possible
This next point relates heavily to number one but also is important for other reasons.
You need to utilize as many places to bet as possible.
1. You want to get the best odds on every single selection (which we covered already)
2. As you scale your business your bets become larger. Some bookmakers will be unwilling to take your full bet. Which means you may need to spread it round several bookmakers.
3. Profitable sports bettors can accounts closed or limited. Unfortunately bookmakers have the ability to refuse your business and close accounts. This means that successful bettors constantly have to find new places to bet.
4. Different bookmakers offer different opportunities. Some bookmakers will offer different market or promotions that others don’t.
If you are doing this for a living, finding new angles and edges is vital to sustaining or increasing your profit levels.
5. Use proven strategies
Making a living from sports betting isn’t easy however having said that. There are multiple proven strategies outlined on this very site, that work long term.
That you should really know!
Arbitrage betting – This involves covering all outcomes of an event in order to guarantee. We have a guide which covers this in great detail here.
Value betting – Another solid method which uses sharp bookmakers (That don’t ban winning bettors) along with the betting exchanges. To identify value bets in the market. This is one of the easiest ways to consistently place bets that a positive expectation.
Exploiting casino offers – Using casino promotions we can the flip the edge from the casino to player. If you only play casino games when that edge is flipped over to you. A profit will be made over the long term.
Eventually you will run out of bookmakers to use if you are betting successfully. This is because the majority of bookmakers ban or heavily limit winning bettors.
Many professional bettors end up working alongside other people in order to get bets down. Most start off working alongside family members and friends. This is known as multi accounting as it involves using multiple accounts rather then just your own.
If you are unable to work with other people. The other option is to look at making a profit from the betting exchanges or Asian bookmakers via a broker.
7. Specialize
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got. Was to find an area of betting to specialize in.
The majority (Not all) of very successful bettors specialize in one sports. Think Paulo Rebelo and Psychoff who are both extremely good football traders. Patrick Veitch has made a lot of money betting on horses, Tony Bloom excelled at betting in the Asian handicap markets.
Psychoff Profits
There are several different way to make money from the sports betting markets, find the one that suits you.
Pre match betting
Arbitrage
Exploiting promotions
In-play betting
Pre match trading
In-play trading
8. Keep learning
The sports betting markets are constantly changing and evolving. Edges come and go, what makes money one year may not be profitable the next.
If you are looking to make a living from sports betting. Then it is likely you are going to need more then one way to make money. Having multiple different edges in the markets is likely going to give you more longevity in the game.
Learning new approaches is going to be key.
Make A Living From Sports Betting
There we have it 8 keys factors you should know if you want make a living from sports betting.
Let me tell you something, every f***ing jabroni that’s ever said. “I think that guy is going to win” and then gets it right. Think he’s the f***ing Nostradamus of UFC betting!
Making money betting UFC is a tough gig, I’ve seen grown men cry and s*** in their pants when a big losing bet goes down. You wanna be the guy crying on the floor with s*** in his pants because you didn’t f***ing read this article?”
Dana White
(Just to be clear this is a parody and Dana White didn’t really say this. At no point has Dana White endorsed this article or even seen it.)
Please don’t sue me Dana
Make Money Betting On UFC – 5 Key Strategies
Alright so after those inspiring words that didn’t really come from Dana White, let’s dig into actually how to make money from UFC betting.
For the past 5 years I have been taking betting pretty seriously, in that time managing to make over six figures in profits. The single sport that I have had the most success betting in, using only my own knowledge happens to be mixed martial arts.
Betting on UFC fights is something I am very familiar with.
In this article I am going to reveal FIVE different angles that you can consistently use to find value when betting on UFC.
Fade The Marketing Machine
The UFC much like boxing relies on engaging fans through story telling and character!
Because of this it is often in the interest of the UFC to put more promotion behind fighters that have more character. Fighters that sell more tickets and have a wider appeal. This can often influence the betting market and as a result create value.
Brock Lesnar for example was a fighter that the UFC was fully behind. He transcended the sport of mixed martial arts and became the heavyweight champion beating 45 year old Randy Couture. Subsequent wins over Frank Mir and a comeback victory after being destroyed in the first round by Shane Carwin.
Had Brock Lesnar calling himself the “baddest man on the planet.”
His next fight came against the undefeated at time Cain Velasquez. A heavyweight that had shown a great gas tank, sharp striking and the wrestling pedigree to contend with Brock Lesnar. If you removed all the hype it was pretty obvious who the better fighter was.
Cain Velasquez closed as a 2.55 underdog in that fight. He handily beat Brock Lesnar inside the first round via TKO.
Every sharp UFC bettor I knew at that time was on Cain Velasquez.
Amanda Nunes as 2.6 underdog against Ronda Rousey is a similar example of the UFC marketing machine skewing the odds.
Recently Francis Ngannou’s odds against Cyril Gane went from 2.0 out to 2.3. Mainly based on the promotion of the UFC heavily favouring Gane. This was due to Ngannou butting heads with the UFC over contract issues
Whenever the UFC marketing machine is heavily behind one fighter it is always worth taking a look at the opposing side. Removing the hype and looking at the skill sets and how fighters match up.
Look To Oppose Fighters That Finish Fights
Every UFC fan loves a fighter that puts an exclamation mark on a win. Whether that’s with a knockout or a submission victory, definitive wins are something that really elevate a fighters stock.
Sometimes a fighter will get consecutive finishes in a row which can really inflate their odds. This links pretty well with the first point. The hype machine starts to generate with these types of fighters, sometimes it will be warranted but often it isn’t.
For every Francis Ngannou there are probably ten Todd Duffee’s.
What level was their opposition?
How was the fight playing out before they got the finish?
What did their gas tank look like?
Have they ever been past the first or second round?
Sometimes you may spot major holes in the overall game of these fighters, which may be exposed in the next fight. There is a lot of variance in the sport of mixed martial arts, sometimes fighters benefit from this and their record may look better then their true skill set.
Unbeaten Fighters/Impressive Win Records Tend To Be Overrated
Bro you ever heard of Khabib Nurmagamedov!!!, undefeated GOAT, this article sucks.
Granted not every unbeaten fighter is going to be overrated but as a general rule. Looking to go against undefeated fighters in the UFC is usually a good idea.
Why?
Because undefeated records/impressive win records don’t mean much without the context of their opposition. let’s take a recent example Joseph Holmes (record 7-1) came up against Jamie Pickett (record 12-6).
Looking at the skill sets of the two there didn’t seem to much difference however Holmes was favoured and Pickett was 2.35 underdog. The odds seemed largely based on the records of the two fighters.
UFC experience was with Pickett, he had also fought the better competition in his career. He had been to multiple decisions. Holmes on the other hand had been winning most fights in the first round and had only two 3 round fights under his belt.
Fighter records very rarely give a good estimation of how a fight is likely to play out.
Boring Fighters Are Underrated
One fighter that UFC fans never really got behind was Jake Shields.
Shields wasn’t particularly flashy, didn’t have an ounce of charisma and his striking was pretty basic. However he was an effective grappler, very tough and could grind out victories against high level fighters.
He rose the ranks defeating Dan Henderson as a big underdog in Strikeforce. Before coming to the UFC to compete against GSP for the championship. He lost convincingly.
Backing Shields in his last 6 UFC fights after losing to GSP would have seen a profit of £340 staking £100 each fight. Defeating Demain Maia and Tyrone Woodley as a decent sized underdog.
Shields is the perfect example of a boring fighter that especially as an underdog usually offered a lot of value.
Give me a boring fighter that wins minutes with grappling control or a solid jab over a wild man every time. Especially if the UFC fan base isn’t particularly high on them, as that’s usually reflected in the odds also.
Method Of Victory Markets Are Gold
The majority of professional sports bettors will tell you that prop markets or secondary markets, are usually more profitable then the higher volume match odds market.
Reason being, that markets with less volume (less money bet on them) tend to be less efficient. They are not looked at with as much scrutiny.
This means that bookmakers don’t put as much effort into pricing them up. In comparison to the match odds (fight odds) market where the majority of money is bet.
One other solid reason to look at method of victory markets or over under props etc, is that bookmakers can be slow to adjust them. A local shop bookmaker in my area doesn’t even bother to adjust them despite the money line (fight odds) changing.
Which can be big if a fight has been incorrectly priced early on or some new information is released. Could be injury news, a terrible weight cut etc.
This can increase the likely hood of a finish occurring in the fight. Thus offering value in the prop market when perhaps there isn’t any in the fight odds market. Which has been adjusted.
Looking to make money betting on the UFC?
Don’t ignore the prop markets!
Make Money Betting On UFC – Conclusion
Those are 5 angles that are really worth considering when betting on the UFC.
Combining them, watching tape on fighters and keeping up with the latest UFC news. Is going to give you a very solid footing when it comes to making money betting on the UFC.
Other ways to profit from betting on the UFC are –
Which are strategies that work on all sports. But have a limited shelf life due to relying on bookmaker promotions or slow bookmakers that limit accounts.
Mixed martial arts is a great sport to watch. Making money from the sport of mixed martial arts is also very possible with a disciplined strategy.
Hopefully this article has given you some ideas on where to find the value, when betting on the UFC.
(This article features affiliate links. This means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.
I use or have used any product I review. If I recommend them it is because I believe they are helpful, useful and offer value to their customers.
Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel they will give you value or that they will help you achieve your goals.)
Currently William are offering £30 in free bets after staking £10. They also offer recurring bonus’s most weeks with bet £10 get £5 in free bets.
If you are looking for a low risk way to make some money online. Then taking advantage of free bet offers is an easy way to do this.
This is by far the easiest method of making money from a William Hill account. If you want to learn matched betting click here for our simple guide.
However if you want to scale things up and make more from your William Hill account, let’s take a look at a few more profitable strategies.
Basketball Betting
European Basketball is an area where William Hill seem to offer the best odds on a regular basis. They are slow to move their odds in comparison to most other bookmakers.
Which means they are often the best value bookmaker when it comes to betting specifically on European basketball.
For example the “Slam Dunk Wizard” a profitable basketball tipster from the Betting Gods network. Often tips selections at William Hill as they have the best odds available on many selections.
The smaller European basketball markets seem to offer a lot of value. If you have good knowledge in this area or just want to follow a tipster such as Slam Dunk Wizard. Then William Hill often offers the best value.
Horse racing betting can be very profitable when done correctly. There are various promotions applied to horse racing betting. Along with multiple profitable tipsters that are able to make a profit betting in these markets.
As one of the biggest bookmakers in the UK and Europe. William Hill offer a lot of opportunities to make money from horse racing.
One promotion that is worth taking advantage of is bets odds guaranteed. This means that if a horse drifts in a price and goes off at a higher starting price then you backed. Your bet will be paid at the starting price should it win.
The way to take advantage of this promotion is to place bets that are close to an exchange lay price.
For example if a horse is priced 2.00 with William Hill and is 2.02 to lay on an exchange such as Smarkets. You can back and lay it for for a small loss.
Let’s say we back it for £100 at odds of 2.00, we also lay it for £100 at 2.02.
If the price drifts and the horse wins, you make a profit a on additional bonus of being paid at the best odds guaranteed price.
For example if the horse drifts to a starting price of 2.5.
The back bet would pay back £150, whilst the lay bet would lose £101.
This would equal a profit of £49 would be made from very little risk.
Similar to European basketball, the horse racing markets are an area where there is money to be made from a William Hill account. This can be done using a betting tipster with a proven winning record.
Quentin Franks horse racing service for example will often tip bets with William Hill.
From the statistics in the above image, you can see that since 2014. He has been very successful betting in the horse racing markets that William Hill offer.
Last on the list is taking advantage of casino offers.
This can be a very lucrative way of making money online and William Hill regularly have casino offers that are worth taking advantage of.
There are times when bookmakers or casino’s offer their customers a bonus. When they do this they often flip the edge that the casino usually has over to the customers. If you only play casino games when you are being offered an advantage. It is possible to make a profit over the long term.
To highlight this here is my P/L graph for casino offers.
A profit of over £20,000 was made after over 4285 casino offers.
If you want learn how to take advantage of casino offers, we have an detailed step by step guide on how you can so.
There you have it 5 different ways to make money from a William Hill account.
Covering multiple different strategies depending on your risk tolerance and how you would like to approach your betting.
Using all of the strategies above across multiple bookmakers has enabled me to make a six figure profit from sports betting.
Finding area’s where bookmaker’s offer the most opportunity and exploiting them to the fullest. Is a great way to make money from the sports betting markets.
The 2021-22 Championship season is quickly drawing to a close, there is still plenty that needs to be ironed out in the final few weeks of the campaign. It seems only a matter of time before Fulham are crowned champions and Barnsley, Derby Country and Peterborough United fate is sealed as three relegated sides.
However, there is still plenty to play for elsewhere — with the second automatic promotion spot and the four play-off places proving hard to call in the Championship betting with Betfair. So, with plenty of headlines left to written, let’s take a look at three candidates for the Player of the Season award.
Aleksandar Mitrović – Fulham
On the basis of the award more often than not going to a forward, who better is there to kick things off with than the prolific Aleksandar Mitrović.
The Serbian has sent records tumbling for Fulham so far this season, with his 38 goals in as many Championship games blowing the previous record for most strikes in a season (31), set by Ivan Toney just last year, out of the water.
Mitrović has been an influential factor in Marco Silva’s swashbuckling side, who have scored a huge 94 goals this campaign. However he is starting to garner a reputation as somewhat of a ‘Championship striker’ due to the massive gulf in his performances between the second and first tiers. With Fulham all but crowned champions, that’s a title he’ll be hoping to shake when back in the Premier League next season.
Ben Brereton Díaz – Blackburn Rovers
If the classic Sunday League ‘Most Improved Player’ award existed in the Championship, we have no doubt Ben Brereton Díaz would be this year’s recipient.
The Stoke-on-Trent-turned-Chilean forward has been unrecognisable for Blackburn Rovers since returning from the Copa América last summer. Scoring a whopping 20 goals in the second tier by late December, more than he’d managed in five previous seasons combined.
Unfortunately, the 22-year-old hasn’t found the back of the net since hitting the 20-mark in December — a feat that was 1000/1. International commitments and a lengthy spell on the side-lines with an ankle ligament injury have played its part in that. Back to full fitness now though, Tony Mowbray will be hoping that the forward begins to fire on all cylinders again so that Blackburn can secure a play-off place.
Dominic Solanke
With Brereton Díaz slowing up on the goalscoring front. Dominic Solanke has been able to make up ground on the Chile international and put a bit of a gap between him and the Blackburn man in the top scorer charts. Netting his 24th goal of the season for Bournemouth in 3-2 win over Bristol City at the beginning of April.
Having moved to south coast from Liverpool for £19-odd million in January 2019, Solanke was yet to really live up to his relatively high price tag at the Vitality Stadium.
So he’ll be happy that he’s finally beginning to repay the club and its fans for their belief. If he can manage the find the net a few more times in Bournemouth’s remaining seven games. Which they’ll likely be tipped to win in the Championship score predictions, he might just guide the Cherries back to the Premier League!
Are you looking to expand or take your sports betting platform to the next level?
The key is to find creative ways to retain the existing users while attracting new users to the sportsbook. The reason is simple – these users are the ones to use the sports betting services you offer on the platform. So, it makes sense to have as many of them as possible glued to your sportsbook.
Finding the best ways to go about this doesn’t have to be difficult, because we have figured it out for you.
Read this article to discover some of the steps you need to take to expand your existing sportsbook platform.
1. Get the Sportsbook Provider to Offer Post-Launch Services
This is the most logical thing to do. Even before the sportsbook platform is launched, you want to confirm from the provider if post-launch services are available. This can go a long way to help you save costs while making it easier to make the needed improvements on the sportsbook at the right time.
The post-launch services include but are not limited to:
Maintaining the sportsbook software.
Marketing support for promoting the sportsbook platform.
Regularly updating the games and introducing new titles.
2. Integrate Live Odds Software
The live odds softwareenables the live updates of the odds used across the different sportsbook betting types. This also offers the users/players the opportunity to follow their odds and see if they could be adjusted to increase their chances of winning the bet.
3. Be Intentional About Promoting Your Sportsbook Brand
You are the chief promoter of your sportsbook platform and even if you have hired others to do the work, your inputs are needed once in a while. Marketing the platform does two things for the brand:
It creates awareness, thereby, attracting more sportsbook lovers to check it out.
You will be able to come up with creative ways to promote the brand while integrating more services that your competitors have not thought about.
Here are a couple of ideas on how to promote your sportsbook platform:
Hire Influencers in the Sports Niche
Some sports pundits would help promote your sportsbook. Note that you should prioritize working with those with a large following on social media because they tend to record more conversions than those with lower followers.
The Money is on the List: Use Email Marketing
Ever heard that “the money is on the list?” You can make more conversions from those leads who had exchanged their email addresses and names for a freebie you offered.
Run Paid Adverts
Organic adverts might bring some leads your way but using paid adverts can scale things up faster for your sportsbook brand. Therefore, consider running targeted adverts on the following platforms:
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Use Content Marketers
The right content is the one that “speaks the right message to the right audience.” Content marketing can be used to promote your sportsbook platform, whereby you will be using more storytelling to tell related stories that encourage the readers to check out your sportsbook platform.
Create YouTube Videos
You can create a niche YouTube channel, where you publish videos related to sportsbooks. These videos can be in the form of:
Tips on how to use a sportsbook.
Information about the latest content added to your sportsbook platform.
Guide on how to bet on games available on sportsbooks.
Take Advantage of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a business model that allows someone to earn a commission for attracting a sale. In the case of a sportsbook, it is someone who successfully attracted users to sign up, play wager on the games on a sports betting platform.
You can either build a customized affiliate network for your sportsbook or use any of the popular sports betting affiliate networks.
Build a Mobile App for Your Sportsbook
Mobile gaming is becoming increasingly popular than playing games from a fixed spot. Thus, consider developing a dedicated mobile application for your sports betting platform.
Besides, you can also use the mobile app to increase your sportsbook’s conversion rate. This can be done by:
Sending timely notifications to the users, on the latest updates on the sportsbook platform.
Sending customized betting offers to the users. This can be done after using built-in tracking and analytical systems to monitor the preferences of the users.
Consider integrating Social Gaming – a form of interactive gaming that allows the users to play against one another, compare their results, and share ideas on how to improve their gambling skills.
Make an Inroad to Offline Publicity
Now that you have solidified your sportsbook’s base online, it is time to make an inroad to the offline ecosystem. You can easily do this by finding a way of collaborating with retail outlets. The collaboration could be in the form of:
Placing your sportsbook’s QR codes at retail betting outlets, sports clothing stores, and sports arenas.
Offering coupons to fans of your sportsbook so they can shop at specific shopping outlets.
Final Thoughts: Start Making Plans to Expand Your Sportsbook Platform
Now is the right time to make plans on how to expand your sportsbook platform. Always make sure that the interest of the users is also considered in every step you take.
The integration of live odd software is the right move, as it would increase user engagement. By collaborating with others who are committed to the growth of your sportsbook platform, you can achieve all these in the shortest time.
You have received an email from your bookmaker, which goes something like this.
After reviewing your account we can no longer offer you promotions and your stakes may be subject to limitation.
On further inspection you log into your account, try to place a bet and…………………
Find that you are only allowed to bet a very small of money.
Have You Done Something Wrong!
Whereas before a bookmaker like Skybet/Bet365/William Hill would allow you to stake several hundred even thousands. Now they are saying that you are only allowed a paltry £4.55.
Bookmaker account closures and limitations are becoming more and more common!
Why Bookmakers Limit Or Close Accounts
Sometimes bookmakers do have legitimate reasons to close accounts. Perhaps you already have an account and are using trying to open multiple accounts in your own name. This is against most bookmakers terms and conditions which will result in them closing them down.
However very often a bookmaker closes accounts to protect their business. In the case of bookmakers limiting accounts this is always the case.
Basically they are saying no more “no mas” we don’t want to lose any more money to you.
It’s an admission by them that you are beating them at their own game or that at least they think you will beat them at their own game in the long term.
So they either close your account completely or limit you to such small amounts that you can’t really hurt their bottom line.
Here are the main reasons bookmakers close or limit accounts.
Matched Betting ✔
Arbitrage ✔
Making Bets That Consistently Beat The Closing Odds ✔
Betting Like A Professional Gambler (Clear Profitable Pattern Of Bets) ✔
Your Account Is In Decent Profit ✔
Basically if you are in able to make consistent profits then they don’t want your business.
Are Bookmakers Allowed To Limit And Close Your Account?
Unfortunately in the majority of countries there is nothing you can do about a bookmaker closing your account.
(This happened in 2019, but unfortunately hasn’t effected bookmaker behaviour.)
£4.55 limits seem to be a common theme?
However here in the UK this is certainly not the case and bookmakers are given free rule over who they can provide betting accounts for and who they cannot.
There is no law in place can that stop a bookmaker from closing your account and refusing to take a bet.
This means that bookmakers will continue to milk losing customers whilst turning away profitable ones.
How Can I Stop Bookmakers Limiting Or Closing My Account?
There is one clear way to stop bookmakers from limiting or closing your account.
Are you ready for it…………..
Don’t try to make a profit your betting and lose to the bookmakers over the long term.
Honestly with bookmakers such as Bet365, William Hill, Ladbrokes etc that is the only way to keep your accounts healthy.
Another option is to use betting shops. Although eventually you will also get limited if you don’t bet too frequently and move around shops. Then you can usually get your bets on for a longer period of time in comparison to online bookmakers.
They won’t accept any winning bettors long term. It is not in their business interest and with no law to stop them, they are going to remove the biggest expenses from their business. Which is winning sports bettors
Obviously I wouldn’t expect anyone to actively try to lose but that’s the truth. If you are winning long term then there is no chance of keeping soft bookmaker accounts.
Want to learn how to extend the life of your betting accounts?
Betting exchanges are websites that don’t limit or ban winning players. They use a different betting model to make a profit.
Instead of making money off losing bettors betting exchanges use a commission model where you are charged on winnings. This is generally 2% across the majority of betting exchanges.
It should be noted if you are very successful on the betting exchanges you may need to pay a higher percentage in commission.
The major betting exchanges are –
Betfair
Smarkets
Matchbook
Betdaq
There are a lot of similarities between the three with Betfair being the oldest and most popular. However in recent times it has had a lot of negativity for its frequent maintenance issues. Whilst liquidity is still good on the platform its unreliability is an issue.
Smarkets is next on the list. Used by the majority of matched bettors and arbitrage bettors. The platform itself is very stable with very little unplanned downtime.
Next up is Matchbook. Similar to Smarkets it is used in the UK by a lot of matched bettors/arbitrage bettors.
The amount of money to be matched seems to be lower then Smarkets on the majority of markets. Smarkets also tends to offering better market spreads with less gaps compared to Matchbook.
Betdaq doesn’t really seem to have much going for it. It is the least popular of the betting exchanges. Has changed ownership a few times and introduced a sportsbook. Occassionally they offer 0% commission for certain events which is worth keeping an eye out for.
Out of the four Betting Exchanges listed my personal preference would be Smarkets.
It is the betting exchange I use the most, have had very little issues with and currently seems to be much more stable then Betfair.
Conclusion
We have covered why bookmakers close or limit accounts throughout this article.
Overall unless there is a law that comes into place which forces bookmakers to take bets from everyone.
Then the winning sports bettor is always going to end up being closed or limited very small amounts by bookmakers. Ultimately if a business can remove its biggest expense and breaks no law doing it. Then they are going to exercise their right to do so.
The best option if you don’t want your account closing or being limited. Is to open an account with a betting exchange where being a successful bettor isn’t a reason to close your account.
(This article features affiliate links. This means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.
I use or have used any product I review. If I recommend them it is because I believe they are helpful, useful and offer value to their customers.
Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel they will give you value or that they will help you achieve your goals.)
Recently I was speaking to a friend about sports betting. He asked me who is the “Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo” of the sports betting world.
It was an interesting question as who are the biggest sports bettors in the world?
The Biggest Sports Bettors In The World
Successful sports bettors don’t tend to glamour for the limelight.
They have their edges in the sports betting markets and make money from it. If they were to reveal their methods and how they make money from sports betting, the markets would react and they would no longer be profitable.
So there is “no world series of sports betting” or “sports betting champions league.”
There are however a few high profile sports bettors that are known among the media.
Billy Walters
Billy Walters is a big name in American sports betting. It is estimated that Walters has made tens of millions of dollars perhaps even hundreds of millions of dollars.
Walters was originally for Kentucky. He moved to Las Vegas in the early 1980’s and formed his own betting syndicate.
Walters betting operation was first described in the book “The Smart Money” by Micheal Konik.
Within the book the author goes into detail about Walters (although a pseudonym is used) betting operation. How he used multiple people to get his bets on using multiple accounts.
Difficulties he faced in getting sports books to accept his bets. Alongside the lengths and planning he had to go through to be so successful.
Although he has been largely secretive about his betting operations. He has been covered on ESPN and had a small television segment made about him.
Billy Walters has long been known as one of the biggest sports bettors in Las Vegas. However has most recently been making headlines after being convicted of insider trading.
Tony Bloom And Starlizard
Tony Bloom is the owner of UK based betting syndicate “Starlizard.”
He is well known name among sharp sports bettors. It is estimated that Starlizard can have as much as £1 million staked on a single outcome of a football match.
Starlizard are known to run their betting operation with same devotion and analytics of a major hedge fund.
Officially Stalizard describe itself as a betting consultancy. Which uses complex statistical models to generate football odds that are sharper than those offered by the Asian bookmakers and betting exchanges.
Alongside profiting from their own bets Starlizard are also known to provide winning football bets to other high rollers.
Bloom isn’t just involved with sports betting and has many other business ventures.
In 2009 he became the chairman of his hometown club after purchasing 75% stake in the club. Also investing £93 million into developing a new ground.
According to Business Insider UK the bulk of the money used in Stalizard’s operation comes from Tony Bloom. Described as a maths whiz.
He is a veteran gambler and has competed in some of the highest stake poker tournaments around. In the early 2000’s he was estimated to have made millions from setting up online bookmaker and poker websites.
Much like Billy Walters, Tony Bloom is not one for the public limelight. With most articles containing second hand information about his betting activities.
Bloom only chooses to talk with the media about his involvement in Brighton And Hove Albion.
Zeljko Ranogajec
Zeljko Ranogajec is rumoured to be one of the biggest gamblers in the world. It is estimated that his global annual turnover is more then $1 billion.
Born in Australia in a family of Croatian immigrants. Zeljko first success in gambling came from the game of blackjack.
Allegedly Zeljko Ranogajec turned a bankroll of a few hundred dollars into millions through advantage play.
He has also had notable wins in the game of Keno winning $7.5 million and in 2011 was inducted into the blackjack hall of fame.
When it comes to sports betting Zeljko Ranogajec is rumoured to bet significant amounts of money on horse racing. It is reported that his turnover accounts for nearly a third of the total for Betfair in Australia.
Ranogajec does not give any interviews.
A lot of the speculation that surrounds him comes from second hand information. As with most large scale sports bettors there is not much for him to gain from revealing information about his betting activities.
The three sports bettors above are thought to turnover hundreds of millions perhaps billions annually.
In truth though it is hard to know who the biggest sports bettors in the world are. As if you are profiting from sports betting on such a large scale it is in your interest to keep that knowledge to yourself.
Some of the biggest sports bettor in the world may also not even be winning ones!
I am sure there will a few rich oil merchants or Chinese businessman. Who bet huge amounts of money for thrills without the detailed analysis needed to be successful.
So whist little is known about the biggest sports bettors in the world.
There are at least a few individuals that rumoured to be beating the sports betting markets on a massive scale.
Interested in sports betting, matched betting, advantage play or trading?
Read my attempt at making £1,000,000 from sports betting.
Limitations, bans, being asked to supply the last 5 years of your bank statements. Along with a selfie ID in front of today’s newspaper.
In order to withdraw money that they let you deposit with no questions asked.
There are many shady and unethical practices that bookmakers employ to make life difficult for the regular sports bettor.
Which bookmaker stands out as the worst in the UK?
Who are the bookmakers that you want to avoid in 2022?
In today’s article we are going to take a look at the worst bookmaker currently on offer in the UK.
Highlighting the warning signs you should look out for when trusting your money with a bookmaker!
Worst Bookmaker In The UK
High up on the worst bookmakers in the UK list is Betway.
AsCaan Berryhighlights in the video above. Betway have drawn a lot of negative attention for their unethical practices over the last few years.
My experience with Betway was opening an account. Placing one initial bet and then finding my account restricted from promotions, along with stake limitations the next day.
Recent Trustpilot reviews suggest that Betway haven’t improved as a bookmaker, since I last used them.
With several reports of Betway doing all they can to stop punters withdrawing their winnings. Blocking accounts, delaying withdrawals, settling winning bets as lost etc.
Their average review on Trust Pilot is 2 out of 5.
This is despite them running a free bet promotion, where Betway gave members who wrote a positive review free bets.
As the Times report, despite adding over 6000 positive reviews on Trustpilot through unethical measures. The average rating for Betway is still very low. Remove those 6000 five star reviews and its pretty obvious what a fair rating would be.
Unable To Withdraw Winnings
One of the most frustrating things a bookmaker can do is withhold your money!
A common theme among many shady bookmakers is they will let you deposit large amounts into an account with zero checks. However when it comes to withdrawal time woah woah woah!!!
Sir/madam can you explain where this money came from? Provide source of funds, multiple forms of ID, go through a phone interview etc
It’s a terrible practice that is unfortunately all too common with the worst bookmakers in the UK.
Betway are notorious for doing this. I know multiple people that have had no problem depositing with Betway but once it came to withdrawing that money. Were met with all the resistance that Betway legally can get away with.
That even after a high spending losing bettor had “self excluded” himself via gamstop. Betway offered him a £300 bonus bet to reel him back in.
The article really highlights the predatory nature of Betway.
There are multiple reports showing how they abuse verification and source of funds measures put in place to identify problem gamblers. Which were all used as a way to deter winning players and delay withdrawls.
However in this story we see a problem gambler of the highest order. Someone that ends up stealing to fund their betting addiction.
Being plowed with free bets and incentives. Having “VIP Managers” chatting to him regularly under the guise of being a friend. All done with the intention squeezing a father with a gambling addiction for all of the money they could get.
Where were these source of funds and affordability checks in this case?
Unfair Bonus Terms
The term bonus is usually defined in a positive way. It is something that is given as reward for good work or an additional incentive.
However something that has become more and more common practice with the worst bookmakers around is the worthless or -EV bonus.
This is something that appears at first to be appealing perhaps a £20 bonus for signing up. But when looking at the terms of conditions is actually worthless or of much smaller value.
It probably comes as no surprise that Betway use this tactic for their casino sign up.
On the face of it a £50 bonus sounds great.
You deposit £50 and then you get an additional £50.
The issue comes with the terms and conditions.
There is a 50x wagering on the deposit (£2500 wagering on £50.) With weighting requirements, which means some games won’t contribute fully to the wagering. There is also a term that states irregular game play may invalidate your bonus (Pretty much a get of jail card if they don’t want to pay out.)
If we dig into the maths of this offer. A regular bettor is probably going to try and wager through this offer on a slot.
A good slot would have a 97% return to player, meaning that for every £100 wagered on average £3 would be lost. Given that you have to wager £2500 to withdraw the bonus.
We can do the sum as -£3 (average lost wagering £100) x 25 (complete £2500 wagering) = -£75.
Showing that this £50 “bonus” offers no value at all.
Other Bookmakers To Avoid In The UK
High up on my personal list is Fansbet.
When I tried to withdraw £20 from the company. Suddenly a flurry of requests were made for ID, source of wealth etc. They would not accept my bank statements as I had blurred out personal transactions and demanded to see a full month’s worth of unedited statements.
Overall just a huge pain to deal with and a shoddy bookmaker with generally very poor odds.
Tonybet are another bookmaker with a pretty poor reputation.
Personally I have had very little to do with them. However they are are multiple reports of them using similar tactics to Betway in order to keep hold of money.
Is Betway The Worst Bookmaker In The UK?
Betway is in my opinion the worst bookmaker in the UK. Especially given its advertising presence online and the fact that its sponsors popular football teams such as West Ham.
Of the most well known bookmakers it is definitely the one to avoid.
From my experience with online betting for last ten years and running my betting as a business. I would advise caution when dealing with Betway. It is not a bookmaker I would want much money in my account with.
Given its history of holding on to withdrawals for as long as possible and making life hard for anyone that isn’t handing them over their wage slips every month.
Do you agree, who is your worst bookmaker in the UK?
Is sports betting a viable way of investing money?
Let’s take a detailed look in this article.
It’s impossible to make money sports betting!
The bookmaker always win!
Sports betting is for mugs!
These are statements that you have probably heard time after time. Whether it’s from family members, a guy in the pub or even a close friend.
The majority of people hold the belief that it isn’t possible to make money from sports betting. However if you switched the term “sports betting” to “stock market” the majority of people would do a u turn.
Sports Betting As An Investment
Starting this blog my intention was to see if I could find multiple ways of making money from the sports betting markets.
When I started there was one strategy in my pocket that worked really well. Over the last few years I have added a few more and overall managed to make over six figures in profit from sports betting.
Starting with £10,000 investment, 57 months later that investment now stands at 138,487.
Equaling a 128,487 profit.
You can make money from sports betting it is very possible this is a fact!
Will everyone make money from sports betting?
Will everyone make money in the stock market?
If you handed 100 people £1,000,000 and came back a year later. Would they all still be millionaires?
The answer to all these questions is no.
Obviously there are a lot of variables in life and differing outcomes depending on lots of different factors.
Whilst reading this article won’t guarantee that you will make money from sports betting as an investment. What it will do is give you a solid idea of how to approach it.
(Below is a video discussing how to treat sports betting like a business)
Why Sports Betting Can Be A Good Investment
First off why can sports betting be a good investment?
It’s Tax Free ✔
High Turnover ✔
Simple Low Risk Strategies To Get Started ✔
Here in the UK winning from sports betting are tax free.
Which is a huge bonus for anyone that wants to look at treating sports betting as a serious investment. Not having to give back any money in taxes at the end of financial year is a plus.
Secondly, there are sporting events every singles day. Whether its horse racing, football, boxing, mixed martial arts, tennis. There is always a sporting event going on which means with a proven strategy (which we will get onto soon) you turnover you money with ease.
Lastly, to get yourself started there are some very low risk proven methods that allow you to make profits with very little risk. Which allows you to get familiar with sports betting and also profit at the same time.
A Sports Betting Bankroll
The first thing you should really do if you want to treat sports betting properly is have a bankroll. This is money that is entirely separate from everything else in your life.
It exists purely for betting. It’s not to cover your mortgage payments, food bills or anything else. Like an investment it’s purpose is to be left to grow into something more.
Doesn’t have to be a lot, with the low risk strategies outlined in this article it could be as low as £100.
Low Risk Sports Betting Strategy
Let’s start off with the lowest risk strategy you can use.
Which is matched betting. Matched betting uses bookmaker bonuses to lock in a profit before the start of a sporting event.
In the above picture you can see Bet365 offer £50 in free bets if you bet £10.
By exploiting this offer you can guarantee around a £40 profit. This is done by covering all the outcomes of an event and is a very simple process.
The second low risk strategy that you can use is called arbitrage betting. This doesn’t involve bonuses however it is similar in that it allows us to cover all outcomes of an event to guarantee a profit is made. Arbitrage bets occur do the movement in bookmaker odds.
As indicated in the picture above. There times when backing all outcomes of an event can generate a profit. This is known as an arbitrage bet.
Matched betting and arbitrage betting are great. However they are generally shorter term strategies that enable you to make some money and your feet in the betting markets.
Bookmaker’s will eventually realize what you are doing (exploiting promotions) and recognize that you are making arbitrage bets. When this happens they remove your promotions and limit your accounts.
Which means that unless you have an unlimited number of friends and family members that let you bet on their behalf. Your going to have to find a few more strategies to keep making money long term.
Once you have built up your bankroll from the low risk strategies, let’s take a look at what you can move onto.
Exploiting Casino Offers
The next step for me was exploiting casino offers. It is a proven way of making money, based on solid maths. When casino’s offer promotions/bonuses they often flip the mathematical edge they usually have over to player.
Whilst you are not guaranteed to make money on every singles offer. If you do these offers often enough then you will profit long term over a large sample size.
Value betting involves exploiting the slower moving bookmakers, who don’t move their betting odds in line with the rest of the betting world.
This means when the sharper professional sports bettors start moving the odds with their money. We can take advantage of that by backing following these sharp moves and betting with slower bookmakers.
Using Tipsters
Next up is using betting tipsters that have shown to be profitable over a large sample size of bets. Finding good tipsters can be difficult but there are some that exist.
One of the best resources to find proven betting tipsters is the Smart Betting Clubwho provide in depth analysis to research the very best tipsters around.
Sports Betting Compared To Other Forms Of Investment?
Lets take a look sports betting compared to other forms of investment that are available.
Currently£1000 put in the best performing ISA according to money saving expert. Would return 1.3%. Giving a profit of £13 would be estimated.
Vanguard’s 60% medium risk bonds and stocks life strategy has returned around 8% annually over the last ten years. Meaning a £1000 invested over a year would be estimated to make around £80.
Taking a starting bankroll for sports betting of £1000. You can easily beat these returns just using matched betting and arbitrage.
For instance the total value of sign up offers on the matched betting service Oddsmonkey is over £500
Sports Betting Investment Risk?
It is true that sports betting is a higher risk investment then some of the lower yielding standard investments like ISA’s or savings accounts.
However this risk can be mitigated by using matched betting and arbitrage which enable you build a your initial capital.
This is the exact method used myself in order build up a starting bankroll. Before eventually adding casino offer and then focusing on value betting along with tipsters..
Sports betting has now become an extra source of income that has been slowly growing as time goes on. There are losing periods but over the long term my initial investment is growing at a rate that just isn’t possible with standard methods of savings.
If you approach it correctly sports betting is a very viable way of investing your money.
