Are you looking to start your own sports betting service and become a professional online bookie but don’t have any idea how to go about it? Then keep on reading as our guide on how to become a professional online bookie!
A lot of people who want to get into the sports betting business are intimidated by the perceived high cost of investment needed. After all, with such a lucrative industry, it would be impossible to gain a foothold without substantive capital and operating expenses. Its not uncommon for us to be asked: “How much money do I need to be a bookie?”. They often worry about the astronomical cost of creating a sportsbook business. But this is further from the truth, especially with all the technology available today. If you truly want to know more about being a bookie, throw away all your notions about the industry, and discover how easy it actually is.
Reasons for Becoming a Bookie
There are a lot of reasons for becoming a bookie, and it highly depends on who you are asking. In our experience, there are two main drivers that bookies use as their motivation to succeed as a bookie: Control, and Profit. As a bookie, you have total control of your time and resources. You can work whenever you want, wherever you want. Imagine, you could be enjoying the warm heat of the sun while managing lines by the beach. You could be touring cross-country and still have the time to manage your sportsbook. You could have a primary job and be a bookie as an additional source of income.
Profit, of course, requires no explanation. Everyone wants to earn more. Whether you do it to pay off student loans, save up for a house, or a car, or to build your retirement fund, you want to secure your future. And being a bookie, if done correctly, can make this happen. If you can manage your own sportsbook successfully, and you can dedicate the time and resources needed, you will earn more. And since its your business, you also have total control over where the money goes- if you want to expand your business, or keep them as profits.
Do you have what it takes to be a bookie?
Over the last few years, several movies have come out about people becoming bookies and living the high life that comes with owning your own sportsbook. Owning a sports betting operation definitively has its perks but it also comes with many pitfalls and sacrifices.
Like any other business, being a bookie entails a lot of hard work, dedication, and long hours in order to make a successful career out of it. If you don’t think this is for you then you might as well stop reading right now.
If the answer is yes and you are willing to work 12-hour days, live with the stress of thousands of dollars you could lose on a game and very little sleep then keep on reading!
Understanding How to Be a Bookie and How Bookies Make Money
First off, one of the most common mistakes people make when they think of a bookie is that they make money from people losing their bets.
This could be far from the truth as bookies actually make money from the “Vig” or the “Juice” which is the commission that they take from each bet that is placed with them.
In most cases, the bookie takes a 10% commission from every bet so the more people that bet with them the more money they make.
However, keep in mind that the bookie’s job is to create betting odds or lines so that the bets will be even on both sides. This means that if you have a game between two football teams, in theory, you want 50% to bet on team A and 50% to bet on team B.
That way, the bookie does not have to pay the winners any money from his own pocket. Instead, they will use the loss of the other players to play the winning players.
For example, the Eagles, a strong team in the NFL are playing the worst team in the NFL, the Patriots. Or at least, they were at the time of this tutorial. Everyone would bet on the Eagles to win. Thus, it will make it difficult for the bookies to make a profit from it since the Eagles will probably win.
This is where the bookie sets a different type of odds that will either even the teams out by using point spread or making it more expensive to bet on the Eagles where they would have to bet $100 to win $20 or making it more lucrative to bet on the Patriots where they could bet $20 to win $100.
So now that you know the basics of how a bookie makes money, let’s take a look at what you will need to open your own bookie operation.
What You Need to Become an Online Bookie
Available Funds – Everything revolves around money in the world of gambling and that is the first thing that you will need. The amount you will need will depend on what type of sports bettors you have, the type of betting limits you have, and the number of clients you have.
If you just want a small operation with $10 betting limits and 10 customers that bet around $5,000 per month then you can get away with a bankroll of $10,000.
Sports Betting Software – Today, almost anyone can become a bookie thanks to the many sports betting software available on the market. The most popular software are probably DGS and ASI and are available for purchase for several hundred thousand dollars. You can also hire a company that makes sports betting platform to make one for you.
In addition, you will have to get your own server, a lines manager or sign up for and lines service, and many more other things if you decide to buy and run your own software.
The easiest and most cost-efficient way to get a sports betting software is probably the sportsbook pay per head solution. A bookie pay per head service allows you to have your own website complete with a fully functional sports betting software. The cost of using a pay per head service will range from $7 to $35 per week per active sports bettor that you have.
In short, you get everything you could want in a sportsbook like normal sports betting, customer login and management, even live odds and casino games for a small weekly fee.

How to Become a Bookie in Three Easy Steps
With the technology available today, becoming a bookie no longer requires months of waiting and spending to develop your own sportsbook software. Today, you can become a bookie in three easy steps:
- Sign Up with our Bookie Pay Per Head Service. We offer a two-week free trial, with no commitment, no deposit, and no long forms to fill out. Simply create an account and set up your password, and you will receive an email with all of the information you will need to start your sportsbook.
- Create a Sportsbook Account for All of Your Players. Once you have access to our software, you can start creating betting accounts for your players. Aside from creating their account and password, you can also configure their accounts, such as setting credit limits, setting minimum and maximum wager limits, and selecting what type of gambling products your players can access.
- Manage Your Players and Lines. Once your players can access your sportsbook, they can start placing wagers as soon as you credit their deposits. Your bookie dashboard will have shortcuts to all of the features and tools that you will need to manage your sportsbook. You can also generate reports to gather data on everything about your sportsbook- how much is wagered, what sport, your players’ betting habits, and more.
And there you have it, how to become a bookie in three easy steps. Just keep in mind that this is the simplified version of how to become a bookie. As you get more years of experience, you will start to see trends and ways to tighten your own lines to maximize your profit margin. You will likely pick up as many more tricks and tips that only come with experience.
Use the Best Bookie Pay Per Head to Become a Bookie
The best bookie pay per head service is offered by PricePerPlayer.com starting at only $7 or less per player while giving them full sports and casino gambling options. In addition, you get a 2-week free trial with no strings attached, no deposit required and no personal information needed to open an account.
As we are fully supportive of our bookies as you grow and scale your business, we aim to make it easier for you to become even more successful. This is why we introduced a price tier system that rewards you for having more players in your sportsbook. Once you reach a certain number of players, say 100, your pay per head fee drops from $7 to $6.00. This system goes on, with the lowest possible price at $2 per player.
Not only do you get a great deal with our prices, but you get this without any change in the services that you use. Even with the prices slashed, you will still be able to access the complete set of premium pay per head features and tools included in our service. While we do want to show our appreciation to our bookies, we will never compromise on quality. Regardless if you are a bookie with a small operation or a bookie with a large sportsbook covering hundreds of players, you will only get the best in the industry. Here are some of the features you can enjoy with our service:
- Easy-to-use player management system
- Set player caps, such as access and limits
- Create and modify player profiles
- Control player settings
- Automated reports
- Risk management tools
- Customer service
Tips on How to Become a Bookie
If you are ready to let us help you become a bookie- a successful bookie at that, here are some tips to get you started:
Stay Updated About Your Events- As a bookie, you will offer a large selection of sports events your players can bet on. That means you need to stay on top of the latest sports news. From football to basketball, golf and table tennis, and more. This will help you with managing betting lines as needed.
Get Clients for Your Sportsbook – Yes, you will need bettors to use your service. The more clients you have, the more money you can make. Sportsbooks use several methods to get clients which include the bonus method. The bonus method is basically giving your client bonus money that they can use to place bets with you when they make a deposit in their account. Here is an example, a client deposits $1,000 and they get a 10% cash bonus. This means that they end up with $1,100 to bet on sports. Just be careful if you plan on offering bonuses to your clients as many sportsbooks have gone bankrupt because they gave out too many bonuses.
Understand Your Operations– Our bookie includes report generation for good reason. Like with any business, you will need to know everything about your sportsbook. This means learning about the betting patterns of players, preferences, and more. This will help you adjust your operations to suit your players’ needs. This will help keep them happy and will inspire them to stay actively loyal to your sportsbook. It also doubles as a risk management feature. Unscrupulous players are looking for weak lines to take advantage of. If you suspect a player of arbitrage betting, you can limit their access. And if you find sharp players, you can keep an eye out for them, too.
As long as you work hard to manage your sportsbook, you will find it easier to succeed. With our software making it easier for you, you will have more time to focus on business growth and expansion. Or, you can now finally have the time and money to enjoy the fruits of your labor- buy that house, go on that vacation, or even retire early!


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