Local bookmakers are offering sharper betting lines.
Key Points
– Sharper betting lines allow local bookies to compete with the biggest in the industry.
– There will always be a place for the local bookie in the sports betting industry.
Local Bookmakers Offering Sharper Betting Lines
You have to love capitalism. It works well in the sports betting industry which has grown exponentially over the past several years.
Betting on sports for years had a sort of taboo associated with it. It was just something you didn’t do, kind of like smoking in public nowadays.
With the U.S. Supreme Court’s repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, the door opened for legal sports betting in the United States. That’s when the industry really took off.
Hundreds of thousands of new bettors entered the market. New bookies entered the market as well with the rise in the number of potential customers. PPH software has changed the industry as now over 30 U.S. states now have some form of legal sports betting.
For years prior to the current growth of sports betting, American gamblers (and those in countries where sports betting was illegal) flocked to offshore sportsbooks to take care of their business.
The local bookmaker, now offering sharper lines, is fighting back. That’s the beauty of capitalism. Competition makes for a better industry for buyers and sellers.
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The Growth Factor
Yes, legal sports betting companies in the U.S. like DraftKings and FanDuel are eating up market share, but there is still room for the local bookmaker.
In 2021, over 20 million sports bettors placed at least one bet online. Roughly 11 million bettors placed a bet at a physical sportsbook and 7 million placed a bet with a bookie.
That’s a lot of bets and enough to make the local bookie a player in the sports betting industry. The number of bettors continues to grow as more states legalize gambling on sports. That means the local sportsbook isn’t going anywhere.
Competition Pushes Sharper Betting Lines
One of the greatest benefits from capitalistic markets is that it forces competition. Businesses competing against one another produces a number of positive results.
One is better products. Another is lower costs to produce the goods or services over time. Those lower costs can then be shared with customers.
Think about the original computer that was first produced. It cost roughly $400,000 to make the first computer and that was in the 1940s. It’s equivalent today in dollars is roughly $6 million. It doesn’t cost that much to make one today and the machine is far superior to the one built years ago.
It’s the same in the sports betting industry. For years, bettors have gone offshore and have enjoyed better lines and odds, better bonuses, and more.
With more competition in the industry now, the local bookie has to adjust. One of the adjustments is offering sharper betting lines.
Smart bettors that shop for the best prices on all their bets don’t have to discount the local bookie anymore. The local shop can offer sharper betting lines just like larger offshore betting sites.
Local Bookies Have an Edge
The local bookmaker will continue to have an edge over larger operations for a couple reasons. One is simply the relationships. Local shops that have been around for years have developed relationships with their customers.
It’s like the local bookstore. People buy books online. They read books on their mobile devices, yet local bookstores still exist. The stores have relationships with customers who are loyal and continue to provide them with enough business to make money.
Because of those relationships, bettors also have the ability to bet with money they don’t have. It’s not recommended that bettors do that, but you know it happens.
A guy wants to wager on next week’s big NFL game, but he’s low on cash. The local bookie, who has built a relationship with the customer, will take the bet on credit. That can’t happen at the big online betting sites. If you don’t have the funds to place a bet, you’re out of luck.
The Rise of Pay Per Head
What has fueled the rise of the local bookie is the pay per head industry. Bookies pay a small fee per active bettor and, in return, receive a sportsbook software package that essentially runs their entire business.
The bookie can set lines and odds, create betting limits, change his betting board, etc. The bookie is in complete control, but his entire operation is automated. It makes things so much easier and it allows a bookie to maintain his current player sheet while actively recruiting new bettors.
By pushing sharper betting lines, the local bookie now has the opportunity to compete right alongside the biggest names in the industry. At the same time, the local bookmaker can make a great living.
