When it comes to successfully running and managing your own private sports bookmaking operation, your main concern from a cash flow and profit perspective is you overall ‘hold percentage’. Very simply, this refers to the amount of money that needs to be paid out on winning bets against the amount that needs to be collected on losing bets.
Most private bookies charge a 10 percent commission on all losing bets which is more commonly known as the ‘juice’ a sports bettor has to pay. For example, if someone bets $100 on a football game and wins, you as the bookmaker have to payout the $100. If another sports bettor loses $100 bet on a football game, they would owe you $110. This is the original bet plus the 10 percent commission.
This is all simple enough with the use of basic math, but your main concern as an independent bookmaker is the big picture in real time profit and loss numbers. A new football season offers an excellent opportunity to build some serious bottom-line profit into your overall bookie operation, but if you suddenly find yourself in a negative situation as far as an accurate and up-to-date hold percentage, this could put a major strain on your day-to-day operation in the absence of additional cash reserves. Any bookmaking outlet relies heavily on bettors losing more than they win.
The ultimate goal of any action that comes in on a specific game is to have it balanced on both sides on the potential outcome. In a perfect world, if you have $1000 bet on either side, you would have a highly profitable hold percentage based on the 10 percent juice on those losing bets. What happens if everyone jumps on one side against the other and wins? You could quickly find yourself buried in negative exposure. Once things are way out of balance it becomes harder and harder to shift additional action from one side to the other. Some private bookies will rely on a layoff outlet where they can try and balance things out by betting against the heavy action on one side verse the other. Laying off action can definitely help you sleep better at night, but this tactic should only be used sparingly and never as a betting account for any personal bets you decide to place.
The best way to build a stable hold percentage is to actively manage all the day to day action that you take in. Perhaps certain betting limits need to be put in place either on an account by account basis or across your entire sports betting customer base. Control is the name of the game as a private bookie with your Pay Per Head service and you should never hesitate to use whatever means possible to keep a five percent hold percentage as a reasonable business goal. It may not add up to exactly five percent every week, but as long as it is higher than five more times than it is lower, your overall financials are headed in the right direction.
Now that the new football season is a couple of weeks old, it become imperative that you know and understand the current hold percentage of your bookie business. Even if you do not pay off winning bets or collect on losing one’s every single week, you still need to know what your overall financial situation is, especially during football season given the nature of the once a week bets. It is far easier to make any necessary adjustments ahead of a potential situation as opposed to having to scramble after the fact to try and resolve a problem.
