Overview

A bookie, or bookmaker, is someone who accepts wagers on sporting events. The bookie sets the limits and sets the spreads and then collects money from the losers and pays money to the winners. A bookmaker also charges a percentage of the win to the winner. This is known as the juice and may be around 10%. This charge for the bookmaking service is often the profit for the bookmaker. This seems like a simple outline for paying and collecting, however it can become complicated with multiple bettors and it is important to keep track of all bets.

Being a Successful Bookie

To become a successful bookie you must offer a reliable and trustworthy business. This, in part, means that you need to make sure to pay out all winnings in full and on time. In order to be able to pay out all your winnings in a timely manner, you also need to collect money from the losers. In addition, you need to be able to work out the juice and collect this fee from the winners.

Using a Pay per Head Service

A pay per head service can come in very useful when you are working out what to collect from the losers and what to pay out the winners. Ideally, a bookie wants the loser’s to pay for the winners. In other words, in an ideal scenario, the money collected from the losers will cover the amount that is owed to the winners. In order for this to work out you would need the same amount of money on either side of the bet. This does not always work out in a way that will result in clear profits for you as the bookie. Because of this you will need to move lines around in order to balance the odds and to promote bets on the weaker side of things. Moving lines around and balancing odds involves a lot of complicated mathematical calculations and this can become tricky. This is a scenario that using sportsbook software can be very beneficial in. The pay per head service and the software that it employs can automate most of these calculations and provide you with the information that you need in order to move lines and balance odds, without you having to become involved in the complicated mathematics of it all.

Pay and Collect Online

As many bookies move online, they have to collect money from the losers and make payments to the winners over the Internet. Being able to operate online can make pay and collect issues far simpler and more straightforward. With safe and secure payment options, plus multiple banking methods, customers recognize the convenience and ease with which transfers can be made. This can save you time and money and prevent you having to sit for hours on the telephone trying to pay and collect. The more options you have, the more customers you will attract and the more your business will be able to thrive.