Americans bet well over $20 billion since the US Supreme Court’s 2018 decision allowing legalized sportsbook gambling. That’s an incredible number that shocks many legislators and pundits.
For experienced sportsbook betting enthusiasts, the number isn’t so shocking. Sports gambling has been a part of the American sports landscape for decades.
CBS featured a famous bookmaker, Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, on its NFL Today broadcasts 40 years ago. On the show, he’d give his score predictions reflecting Las Vegas point spreads.
We didn’t know how much Americans loved to gamble on sports because there was never any official data. Now that it’s legitimate, the data shows Americans are in love with laying action.
Why should all that money go to the big guys? Why not get a slice of that gambling handle for yourself with your own sports betting platform?
Read on to learn how to get a piece of the action.
Table of Contents
The Life of a Bookmaker
Building and operating a sports gambling platform means you are a bookmaker. Making money as a bookmaker isn’t as easy as you think.
Before you decide to build and operate a platform, you need to ask yourself a few important questions.
Do You Love Sports?
Sure you do. You wouldn’t consider the sports gambling business as a viable income if you didn’t love sports.
Do you really love sports? Are you willing to eat, sleep, and breathe sports 24/7? To make money with a betting platform, you have to dedicate all of your professional time to sports and sports research.
This means reading reports from beat writers across the country and watching countless games.
Are You Good at Math?
At its heart, sports betting is a numbers game rather than a prediction game.
Your aim as a platform owner and operator is not to be “right” about the final score of a game. It’s about determining a betting line that encourages play on both sides.
You determine your lines through careful statistical analysis and probability.
What’s Your Risk Threshold?
The system is set up for sportsbooks to win. How do you know? There wouldn’t be so many if they lost money.
That being said, there is still plenty of risk for the bookmaker.
The retail sportsbooks have enough capital to withstand a bad week (there aren’t many). As a cottage business, you have far less money to cover the weeks or days where you lose money.
Sports Gambling Basics
Are you familiar with the rules of sports gambling? You better be before you jump into the sports gambling world.
You don’t just need a passing familiarity, you need to be an expert. Why? Your players are.
If you can’t match and exceed the sports betting knowledge of your prospective players, you’re operating at a huge disadvantage.
Your sharper clients will pound your lines and put your sportsbook app out of commission a week after you launch.
Why Build Your Own Online Platform?
Until 2018, the majority of bookmakers worked from a spreadsheet or a ledger. They took bets over the phone and dealt in cash because, outside of Las Vegas, sports betting was an illegitimate business.
You can operate like this if you want. Old-fashioned betting businesses work great if you’re not worried about limitations. Those who want to take bets from neighborhood friends and nobody else should continue as normal.
If you’re looking to make a living from your betting business, you have to get online. Here’s why.
Competition
States allowing sportsbook online betting feature a smorgasbord for hungry gamblers. Brick and mortar casinos operate online alongside national retail sportsbooks.
It’s never been easier to place a bet in these states, and gamblers have never had more options. If you expect to win players, you have to offer the same level of convenience as your competition.
Current Market Trends
The betting trends sportsbook operators need to know are more than a team’s win/loss record or goal differential. You need to know how the business market evolves.
Right now, brick-and-mortar casinos offering an online option see 52% of all sports bets placed online.
Thanks to Covid-19 restrictions, more gamblers than ever placed bets with an app
The Business Will Grow
The legal gambling business exceeded every prediction. It’s a profitable industry that experts expect to only grow.
Even 2020’s temporary shutdown of major North American sports leagues couldn’t stop its growth! Players turned to Ukrainian table tennis, obscure Soviet Satellite soccer leagues, and Korean baseball to scratch their itch.
Design Your Sportsbook Gambling App From Scratch
Our modern world moves at whiplash speed. Technological advances come every day.
It’s hard to keep up, but smartphone apps are now how we conduct a large part of our daily lives. Every major retail outlet and fast-food chain operates one.
When starting your online bookmaking business, you can build a sportsbook app from scratch. People design apps for businesses large and small, why should you be any different?
Design Pros
Designing a mobile app means increased exposure, clients, and business. An app built to your complete specifications will help your sportsbook take off.
Complete Control
You get the final say. Every detail of your app is designed to your specifications.
You control the architecture, structure, interface, and betting options. This also includes every minuscule design option like colors and fonts.
Stand Out
It’s the same dilemma no matter the business. How are you different than your competition?
Let’s be honest. Apps like William Hill and FanDuel have you beat in a number of ways.
They offer a full slate of sign-up bonuses, frequent player perks, and odds boosts. You’re a start-up business. You don’t have the money to give away free money.
You have to think of other ways to attract players, and designing your book helps you do that.
Custom Management
Since you control every aspect of app design, you control how you manage the app once it goes live.
You control the lines, the limits, and payment methods. You also control every aspect of your book’s risk management.
In-House Troubleshooting
Imagine it’s the Sunday of the Big Game. The bets fly in. All of a sudden, the app crashes and you’re no longer able to take bets.
Time is money when discussing technological failure in the online sports gambling business. The longer your app malfunctions, the less money you make.
Designing your app means you rely on your own team rather than a third party to resolve any issues.
Design Cons
The complete control of sportsbook app design sets you apart from your competition. Designing an app is a complicated process that has its drawbacks.
Expensive
You might be a sports gambling expert but you’re not a software designer. You’ll need the help of a software designer or design firm to assist your app’s construction.
Once constructed and launched, you’ll employ a team of software experts to update, maintain, and troubleshoot. Hiring multiple tech employees might not fit your budget.
Time Consuming
Proper gambling app design takes at least four months to complete. That’s assuming there are no hiccups during the process.
Give yourself ample time. You’ll need to make sure your app is bug-free before you launch. The last thing you need is for your app to crash during the first big gambling event.
App Platform
Extend your launch timeline. Google Play and the Apple App Store have an approval process for new apps. This approval process can take longer than advertised.
While Apple aims for 24 to 48 hour turnaround time, backlogs have seen the approval process take 10 to 12 days.
White-Label Price Per Head is an Easy Alternative
Is your head spinning yet? App design is so complicated and expensive. There is another way to get your sportsbook live in a matter of minutes.
White label price per head platforms gives bookmakers an easily customizable experience. You won’t need to hire staff for design and implementation.
Proven Platform
You enter into a platform used by thousands of bookmakers when you sign up with a white-label software solution.
These white-label bookie services feature a team of software engineers dedicated to your sportsbook’s success.
Inexpensive
You pay an initial enrollment fee. Then you pay a fixed price per every player who makes a bet with you each month. This is a subscription fee for software access.
If your price per head service charges $10 per head, and 20 players make bets, you’ll pay $200 that month. That’s much less expensive than hiring a team of software workers to maintain and update your app.
Line Service
You’ll have access to a giant variety of games. Let the line service do all the work for you, or let it assist your bookmaking ability.
The big books like William Hill offer lines on a diverse amount of sports. You want your book to do the same.
Customization
These services offer platform customization. It’s not as unique as a designed sportsbook app, but it saves time. Customization takes a matter of hours rather than months.
Are you interested in a white-label solution for your online sportsbook? Refer to this site for additional information on price per head.
Next Steps
Remember, your sportsbook is a business like any other. Whether you design your app or enroll in a price-per-head platform, you need a strategy. You need to win players.
Marketing Strategy
Before you launch, you need to let people know about your book. Decide what you’ll offer new players. Spread the word of mouth among your already existing players if you run an offline book.
Hit the socials like Facebook and Instagram. Start a website with a gambling blog. Contact a local sports blog for advertising possibilities.
Determine Your Budget
Every business needs a budget. Calculate your design budget along with your labor cost.
What are your overhead costs? Who do you need to pay? How much money do you need to start with to cover initial winning bets?
Answering these questions gives your book the best chance at success.
Explore Gaming Licenses
Google Play and Apple’s App Store will feature your app only if you have the proper state licensing. This licensing process can take up to a year or more.
Price per head services are legal thanks to a legal loophole. If you live in a state with legal online sports gambling, you can rent offshore sportsbook software and operate legally.
Launch!
Building your gambling app or starting a white-label sportsbook ends with the launch. That doesn’t mean your work is done.
You have to figure out the right time to launch. Some gamblers play year-round, and those are players you want. You also want casual players.
There are three American sporting events you should focus your launch around. The NFL’s Big Game, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and the start of the NCAA Football season.
The American Gaming Association estimates 23.2 million Americans bet on this year’s NFL Big Game. If you time your launch right, you can ride this wave to first month profits!
Online Sportsbooks Are the Future
The future is now!
As more states legalize sportsbook gambling, online apps and platforms increase in popularity. They’re easy, convenient, and profitable.
Sports betting isn’t going anywhere. Industry insiders and lifelong veterans expect this business to expand beyond reasonable predictions. As long as there are games, there are people who want to bet.
Creating your own betting platform or app is a great way to harness that action.
Do you need more financial advice? Check out the rest of our page.
