When you become a bookie, you become an expert in sports and gambling. You will learn to manage your cash flow, build relationships with your players, and dabble in marketing to build a successful sportsbook. And while customer service may take a backseat to other responsibilities, knowing your clientele will help you maintain a profitable sportsbook. Knowing the types of sports bettors will help you in the long run.
With the help of your bookie pay per head software, you’ll be able to track your players’ actions. This will help you determine if they need any adjustments with their credit or betting limits. You can also see which sports they bet on, and the frequency of their wagers.
Types of Sports Bettors
Sports bettors have different betting behaviors, and it should guide you with how you interact with them. For instance, you could come across a sharp, who is very good at finding odds that will help them win big. With sharps, you can prevent losing big by limiting their betting limits.
There are also smart bettors, who will look at the numbers and the history and the statistics. If they think the odds are too high, they won’t risk placing a bet. This means you will need to make sure that the odds are always competitive and fair. Again, your pay per head service can help you with your line management, but you will still need to master this skill.
You also have the recreational bettors, who are the most common type of bettors. Bookies would like to have a lot of recreational bettors since they tend to be emotional with their wagers. By emotional, we mean that these bettors will bet on their home state teams, or their favorite teams, by favorite players, or by the star power in a given roster. These bettors tend to bet a lot in popular teams, as well as popular events (usually postseasons).
There is another type of better you should keep track of: the addict. The addict will be all over the place, betting on anything they could. Instead of looking for good lines to bet on, they just settle for any new line they can bet on. In more extreme cases, these are bettors who are no longer capable of sticking to a bankroll, so they will sell their things, cars, and even properties, or borrow against their retirement funds to cover their bets. As much as you can get profit from them, its unethical and poor practice to encourage them. Most bookies will limit and/or cut off these players and help them get support. No bookie wants a problem gambler that gives short term profit. A steady, long-term profit from reliable players is the best outcome you would want for in your sportsbook.