If you have ever been to a casino and walked by the table games, you have probably noticed that each of the tables displays a minimum and maximum wager sign. While setting a minimum wager limit is designed to ascertain a predetermined amount of revenue from each table over the course of the day, the maximum wager limit is designed to protect the player and the house from over exposure.
A successful bookmaker needs to do the same with their players by setting a minimum wager limit to ensure a steady weekly income that keeps the business afloat. They must also set a maximum limit that reflects a player’s financial wherewithal. This is sometimes referred to as bankroll management. Too many times a bookmaker will assume that their customers are apt at the concept of properly managing their money, but sometimes the sad truth is that a player lets the emotion of wagering on sports get the best of them, and end-up getting in way over their head.
While it is not your moral obligation to set wager limits for your players, it just makes sound business sense. Unlike the casinos who deal with the betting public as a whole, the limits that you set as a bookmaker should be tailored to each individual player’s specific bankroll. Limits should not be set on an absolute money value, rather as a percentage of a player’s total available funds. There are two basic formulas you can employ to properly set a limit that keeps your clients both satisfied and safe.
The first formula is a percentage limit based on a single wager in relation to a player’s entire bankroll. For example, if they have $1000 of disposable income to bet on sports, than any individual wager should never be more than two percent of the available balance, which in this case would be $40.
The above scenario will work, but a more manageable wager limit system employs a weekly budget that is based on the player’s entire bankroll. This helps to break the numbers down even further, thus ensuring that both of you can keep better track of the real-time balance. A common formula for this system is an individual wager should be no higher than 10 to 20 percent of a player’s weekly budget.
Under this system, if a player has a weekly budget of $500, then the maximum limit on any one wager would be $100. This percentage can be tweaked according to an individual’s betting activity. The more wagers they place in a given week, the lower the percentage should be. This ensures the overall weekly bankroll is not completely depleted if they experience an extended losing streak.
