Making business from betting: how to earn money with sports betting

22.05.2019

Sports betting is a type of gambling, so making a business on this activity is a risky idea. Trying to grow your capital in such a way, you can either earn good money or lose a significant amount. How can you avoid going into the red when you turn to betting shops and which strategies to use in sports betting? Read further in the article.

Principle of making money in betting

The business in betting is all about bargains. A betting company assesses the probability of a particular outcome of the sport event (a match or a game) and defines odds. Bettors place cash bets on the outcome of the event: loss, win, tie, etc. If the forecast of the player comes true, he makes a profit.

One can compare the principle of making money in the betting field with the collaboration with the bank. A customer makes a deposit at the financial institution with 10% annual interest rate. In 12 months, the customer withdraws his deposit from the account plus 10% of the deposited sum. In case of betting companies, the player returns the invested money in case of the win after the match or game ends and additionally receives some extra percentage.

How to make money on betting and avoid mistakes

One has to take sports betting as a means of making money very responsible. To minimize the risk of a loss, one should consider the following points:
Use your free money and do not try to retrieve losses. Do not spend money of your family budget or borrowed money on betting. If you gamble away a large amount, do not try to win it back instantly. By willing to recoup, you can lose the rest of your savings and even go into red;
Study the sports world and conduct analysis. To make a more accurate forecast of the outcome of the competition, one has to be well-versed in sports and the theory of betting. It is important to know strong and weak teams, understand what positions in the tournament bracket they take, what emotional disposition players have (how important the victory is for them), what players have traumas, etc. For example, some betting companies accept bets on yellow cards in football matches. In this situation, it is possible to make a correct forecast only in case you learn the composition of teams and their manner of play;
Control emotions and forget about favorites. Take decisions prudently, thoughtfully, and hardheaded. Do not place bets on your favorite team as such a step may be biased. For example, if the player supports FC Arsenal Kyiv, he needs to weigh all pros and contras before betting on the victory of this team in the match with FC Shakhtar Donetsk, the favorite of the Premier League;
Study the main terminology. To make a business on betting successful, you need to know all terms used in the betting field.

How do bookmakers work?

Today there is a wide range of betting houses you can choose from, both online and land-based. Major market participants have websites and mobile apps. They often provide services in several countries.

Being business representatives, betting companies want to make a profit and not to go into red. Therefore, they take a percentage for their services – margin.

For example, a bookmaker defines odds for the match between FC Dynamo Kyiv and FC Shakhtar Donetsk. Analysts forecast that the probability of Shakhtar’s victory is 60% and Dynamo’s – 15%, a tie – 25%. If bets are distributed in analogous proportions, the betting operator will not make any profit. Therefore, the operator adds a 10–20% margin to these figures. As a result, the distribution looks as follows 67.5–17.5–30%. In the format of odds it will look like 1,48–5,571–3,33.

How to choose a trusted betting house

The choice of the betting house defines whether the player will be able to place bets and withdraw winnings seamlessly. When giving preference to a certain company, one should pay attention to:

Availability of license. Give preference to licensed bookmakers. Such companies are more reliable and credit worthy. Besides, in case some disagreements arise, the player can turn to corresponding regulatory agencies with a complaint about illegal actions of the company.
Payment systems. They should be secure, easy to use, and process payments fast.
Amount of minimum deposit. Choose betting companies with the minimum deposit and withdrawal amount that matches your financial possibilities.
List of available sports events. Every betting company offers bets on different sports and leagues. Before you register with the platform, see whether it offers the number of options that is sufficient for you.

Financial and game strategies

Seasoned players usually develop their own sports betting strategies. However, today there are several classic strategies. Beginning bettors can also use them to increase the chances of winning.

Game strategies

Value betting. Betting on an event that was underestimated by the bookmaker. Most of players place bets on favorites supposing that the leader cannot go wrong. Bettors that choose this strategy always prefer their opponents. Such bets have high odds, so the leader’s loss can result in huge cash prizes. For example, by placing a bet on the weak opponent of FC Barcelona, you can win a big sum.

Betting forks. This strategy implies that the player makes several bets on one event, but on different outcomes and at several betting companies. This is a win-win scenario for any result of the sports competition. This is possible because bookmakers differently assess probabilities of a particular outcome of the same event.

Chase betting. The point of the strategy is that the player increases the size of every subsequent bet. The main goal is winning back the previously lost amount and making a profit. The strategy cannot be called win-win, as the player can run out of funds before the event he bet on takes place.

Middle bets. Players look for middles (intermediary results) in totals (bets on the number of goals, points, etc.) and handicaps (bets on a win or a loss). In case the outcome of the sport event lies in the chosen interval, both bets win. If this does not happen, the player loses some part of money.

Financial strategies

Flat. In this strategy, the player makes similar bets during a long time.

Martingale strategy. The tactics arrived to betting from the casino world. The main idea is that the player doubles the size of every bet until he wins. Afterwards, he returns to the initial amount.

Kelly criterion. The player calculates the reasonable size of a bet on a sport event using the formula: C = (K x V – 1) / (K – 1), where К – odds, V – probability of a particular outcome, С – bet size.

Fixed income. In this betting tactics, the player defines the bet size using the formula: B = W / (K – 1), where В – bet size, W – expected amount of winnings, and К – odds.

Conclusion

Sports betting can become an additional source of income if the player takes the process responsibly and cool-headed. The most important thing is to remember that betting is primarily a kind of gambling, the irrational interest in which can lead to the loss of big cash amounts.