Fraudsters con thousands of punters online daily. This has made some people skeptical about signing up at new bookmakers.
Yet, most bookies are legal and have valid operating licenses. Here are five mistakes you need to avoid as a sportsbook.
1. Assigning One Event Different Odds
Many brick-and-mortar and online bookmakers make this mistake. You might expect the error to be by less than five percent. It is better if a bookie’s mistake will increase a punter’s payout instead of its profit as the punter can sue it.
Sometimes, you will find several sportsbooks providing different odds for similar sporting events, and you can take advantage of such a scenario. For instance, a betting company can offer 1.75 odds for an Away Team to win in a football match and 1.78 Asian Handicaps (-0.5) for the same event.
The same can happen when European handicaps Over 9 have 1.85 odds and Asian handicaps 1.82 odds. Such a difference might be small to some gamblers and huge to others. Some experienced tipsters earn €100,000 per month from sports bets.
2. Creating Inaccurate Odds
Many bookies specialize in particular sports. Yet, some of them make mistakes while providing odds for a specific event. At times, oddsmakers have an uphill task monitoring odds for many sporting events during peak hours as they often change in minutes.
Professional punters normally look for such opportunities to take advantage of them. It is the tipsters’ role, as the law doesn’t prohibit it.
A sportsbook can make two types of errors when creating odds. The “soft value” error occurs when an event’s fair odds are 1.65, and 99 percent of sportsbooks offer them.
Yet, one bookie’s oddsmakers display 1.75 odds on their site. Punters are legally allowed to take advantage of such an error.
At times, a betting company can make a costly mistake and offer a sporting event 6.95 odds while other bookies are providing 1.66 odds for the same event. It might be a system or human error, and it won’t be right to take advantage of it.
The bookmaker can void your bet once they discover the mistake. It could cost you more if you added the bet in an accumulator whose other predictions are accurate, as the bookie will void the whole bet slip.
3. Erroneous Betting Slips Calculations
Today, hundreds of new bookies are set up each year. Some operators are eager to start raking in huge profits soon, and they don’t take time to vet job applicants when hiring new workers.
Bookie’s customer agents need to be professional and knowledgeable about sports betting. They should respond to punters’ queries on time.
An operator who hires an incompetent support team is likely to hire louse accountants who might pay a punter a payout for lost wagers and fails to settle won bets. Such a mistake can catch a gambling authority’s attention if the gambler files a complaint and gets the bookie arrested.
4. Canceling Bonuses Randomly
While offering bonuses, most bookies state on their websites that they can cancel or change the terms and conditions anytime. Gamblers need to agree to these terms to get such bonuses.
Still, some fraudulent operators offer many bonuses. Thus, it is advisable to check a bookie’s online reviews before signing up and making your first deposit.
5. Accepting Late Bets
Some sportsbooks allow pundits to wager shortly after a sports event has begun. Many gamblers rush to place late bets, which the bookie avoids after a while. For example, the United Kingdom Gambling Committee is aware of this trend, and it cannot prosecute a sportsbook because of accepting late wagers.
So, it is advisable to offer pre-game bets and live bets. Your bookie software shouldn’t process any other pregame bet once a match starts.
Punters and bookies often make various mistakes. Some sportsbooks create incorrect odds, while others have various odds for the same sporting event. Such mistakes can make gamblers lose trust in a bookmaker and join another betting firm.