Disclaimer: Becoming a bookie may not be legal in your location. Anyone interested in being a bookie should first check with their attorney.
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we can’t rely on the old-school way of running a business. Going to a bank, getting a loan, and then opening up shop at a brick-and-mortar location no longer applies.
Home businesses grew at a fantastic rate in 2020. The rate of home business startups should go up in 2021. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consider opening an actual location in a business-friendly state.
It does mean that unless your business plan requires an actual location where you need foot traffic or a place to make your product, you should consider starting a business that you can run from your home. In most cases, home-based businesses are more cost-effective than any other type of business.
Cost is a significant concern. So is time and the ability to lean on yourself in situations like almost all of 2020. If you’re homebound, why not do something, on the side even, that adds more money to your bottom line, and that can exist as a stop-gap when times get tough?
Not all home businesses are created equal, though. Most home businesses aren’t as easy to get off the ground as some might expect.
Dropshipping, as an example, involves partnering with suppliers. Although it sounds great, suppliers may have multiple drop-shippers. Also, it’s not a new business model. The same goes for catering and translation businesses.
Many restaurants turned to catering during the pandemic shutdowns. Catering requires a significant investment on your part. To beat the competition, you must lower your prices, which means you take a margin hit.
Running a translation business requires you to battle other translating business owners for customers. Often, you must fight for customers on sites like Upwork and Flexjobs, which brings us to this article’s point.
Almost no one thinks about a sportsbook business, mainly because they don’t like sports or have mixed feelings about starting a gambling business, or to run a PPH sportsbook. Pay per head agents can make a lot of money for a minimal investment.
Pay per head agents are bookies that make money by using bookie software. A per head agent can run their business exclusively online. Bookie businesses require almost no startup cost, minimal upkeep, and pays the owner right away.
How to become a bookie
Before getting into the specifics of how to become a bookie, know that bookmaking in some circles continues to have a bad reputation. However, companies like DraftKings, MGM, Caesar’s Palace, Fubo TV, and FanDuel have started to change perceptions about what bookies do and how they make money.
Bookmakers provide wagering services. If someone wishes to bet on a sports team to win straight up or cover what’s called a spread, the bookie offers a way for the person to make a bet.
Whenever we consider a home business, we want to start one in a growing industry. The latest forecast says the online gambling market should grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7% from 2020 through 2027.
Individual business owners don’t have to spend loads of money to start a bookmaking business, as it can be done for a small cost by signing up with one of the many pay per head providers.
Gambling software companies provide everything a home business bookie entrepreneur requires
When a bookmaker signs up with a sportsbook software provider, they become a pay per head agent. Agents use the company’s software to run their businesses. They pay a per head fee, a fee for each of their clients, and the right to use the software.
The bookie then creates accounts for their sports wagering customers. Those customers have access to free betting software that lists various available bets. Players log onto their specific betting accounts, choose the wager they wish to make, and then make a bet.
The very best sports betting software companies offer players a way to fund their accounts online via cryptocurrencies, credit cards, and other various banking methods.
Check out a list of the top 5 reasons anybody considering a home business should think about becoming a pay per head agent.
1. Growing industry – Sports betting alone is expected to be a $155.49 billion global market by 2024.
2. Low-cost – For the best software, bookmakers pay $13 per head at the most. The cost kicks in only when the player makes a wager.
3. High-margins – The per head industry leaders offer a layoff account. A layoff account allows bookies to mitigate high-risk wagers. For example, if a bookie accepts a $1,000 bet, the bookie could make the same bet in their layoff account. If the player wins, the bookie pays the $900 from the layoff account winnings. If the player loses, the bookie pays back the layoff account from the player losses.
Notice we wrote $900? The $100 is the fee bookies charge for a $1,000 against the spread bet. Bookmakers pocket the $100. If players lose, and the agent hasn’t used their layoff account, the agent pockets the entire amount.
4. Flexibility – Bookies can turn on digital casino platforms, live betting, or racebook platforms. They can also set max payout and max betting limits to control how much players can win and how much they can bet.
5. All-mobile home business – Advancements have allowed some companies to make valid mobile, online businesses. Players can wager no matter where they are. As long as they have a Wi-Fi connection, they can make bets.
The five things we list above are the best reasons for home business entrepreneurs to consider starting a per head sportsbook. Sports betting is a rising industry that can become a lucrative home business for anyone because of sportsbook software companies.
