Mistakes to Avoid as a PayPerHead Bookie

Bookmaking isn’t a fast or easy business to learn, but we can help. Here’s a rundown of the biggest mistakes pay per head bookies make and how to avoid them.

Running a pay per head sportsbook is a tall task for many people.  While most of us try our best to succeed in our business ventures, sometimes we need a little help to avoid the pitfalls suffered by those who went before us.

In this article, we’ll break down five of the biggest bookie mistakes we’ve seen to date, helping to ensure that you dodge these same bullets.

Choosing the wrong Pay Per Head provider.

Just as you wouldn’t entrust your business’ banking to just any mom and pop credit union without FDIC protection, or rely on sub-par Internet service, you shouldn’t spend money on a per head service that has issues with reliability, customer service or payouts.

Having a second rate service provider not only affects your profits but also jeopardizes your client base.  If they are offered incorrect odds, a limited number of events, or are made to suffer regular outages, they will be looking for action elsewhere.  There is nothing worse than losing business because of something that can be easily avoided.

Looking for the wrong features in a provider

While you shouldn’t look for bargain basement prices in your per head operation, you should look for value. Don’t go for the cheapest option out there, because it’s true what they say about getting what you pay for.

Nevertheless, pricier shops should offer a great deal for that premium rate.

At PayPerHead, rates start as low as just $10.99 per active player per week and there are additional fees for premium software access, such as Live Dealer.

Today, given the COVID-19 situation, PayPerHead is doing its part to help bookies out by offering their services free of charge, at least until major U.S. sports start again, and then two weeks beyond that.

Choosing the wrong players for your sportsbook

Most new bookies are under the impression that just having more players will net you higher profits.  While this is not completely false, it’s not exactly true either.  You’ve likely heard the old adage, ‘quality over quantity;’ the same goes for running a sportsbook.

That means prioritizing the quality of your players over the quantity you can amass.

One of the biggest things to consider here is the reliability of payment.  It’s great if you can write $50,000 worth of winning tickets in a given week but your net profit really only matters if you can collect those winnings.

You can get a good feel for how reliable your player’s income is by inquiring about where they work, live or travel.  All can be indicators about their financial stability; in other words, when they make a bet, will they be good for it? This will help you in determining their risk to reward ratio.

Use your best judgment and don’t be afraid to let a potential player walk if you get a bad vibe.  Less is more in business when it comes to dealing with legitimate players who pay their debts versus welchers. Even if it takes a bit longer to build up your player package, it’s best to keep your roster full of people who are responsible and not problematic.

Not using the sportsbook tools you have available.

There are several reasons to get acquainted with your PayPerHead sportsbook features.  One of those reasons is the ability for bookmakers to set limits for their players with varying parameters.

If you don’t do this, it will likely cost you money, and you don’t even know it.

First, you need to protect yourself and your players from getting completely buried.  This means that you can, and should, set limits as to how deep in the hole you’ll allow someone to get.

If you have a player who loses $1,000 a month on average, they are presumably a stable source of income for you.  But take that same guy and give him a losing weekend that sets him back $10k; that player might feel overwhelmed at that point and simply ghost you.

Another use for this type of limiting is to avoid exposure from a specific event.  Say you have a bad feeling about an upcoming UFC card, and your players just happen to have a talent for capping MMA events.  You can set the limit to $100 per player for that event to limit your exposre.

This can be done individually or as a group; if you are getting killed regularly by a specific player, you can deny him action for that upcoming event and let everyone else bet normally.  Likewise, you could simply limit the amount he’s able to bet.

These are just a few of the more straightforward mistakes to avoid, but as a PayPerHead agent, you will always have to be on your toes.

If you’d like to learn more about best practices in the per head industry, check out the PayPerHead Bookie U Blog.  With everything from step by step guides to getting started to advanced bookmaking theory, PayPerHead has got you covered.

Additionally, if you have yet to pull the trigger on becoming an independent bookie, then now is a better time than ever.

We are running promotions year-round, so check out what our current offer is and get started today!