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Today we will tell you about the criteria you need to follow when choosing a bookmaker. This article will be surely useful for newbies since the correct choice of a bookmaker is one of the important components of successful work of a bettor.
Criteria for choosing a bookmaker
To begin with, I would like to define the criteria by which we will choose bookmakers. I would include the following among them:
- Reliability
- Odds
- Attitude to successful players
- Verification process
- Deposit/withdrawal methods
So, we have decided on the list of main criteria, and now let’s go through each of these points in more detail.
Reliability. One of the most important criteria when choosing a bookmaker, which will allow you to be sure that your money is safe.
Eg., some bookies can start to delay the withdrawal of funds and look for any reason for not to pay you money. It is clearly not worth getting involved with such bookmakers. But how then to find a reliable bookmaker? – you ask.
Firstly, you can analyze ratings of bookmakers, which, although they will not form a complete picture of the ideal bookmaker for you, will set the right direction in the search.
Secondly, there are forums/communities of professional bettors, where experienced bettors share their opinions about this or that bookmaker. Read them, and you will surely find answers to many of your questions about a particular bookmaker.
Odds. Of course, the size of the odds is an extremely important element when choosing a bookmaker.
Since bookmaker odds depend on the margin, you need to analyze the average margin percentage set by a particular bookmaker. The lower this percentage is, the better it will be for you.
Roughly speaking, the margin is the gap between the real probability of a specific outcome of an event and the probability that the bookmaker sets for it to make a profit.
f you don’t want to worry about margin – the best solution is to create your own odds monitoring service. In this case, you’ll always be able to compare odds from hundreds of bookies and choose the best one. Of course, this variant is mostly suitable for those, who are familiar with programming, but you can use sports odds api from OddsMarket which will significantly simplify for you creation of such a product.
Attitude to successful players. As you understand, this criterion should be one of the first to consider when choosing a bookmaker. It is clear that most bookmakers zealously fight against succesful players, and the methods of this fight can be very sophisticated.
Thus, some offices are quite loyal to successful players and do not cut maximums (Pinnacle, Sbobet), or are simply tolerant of such players (Bet365, WilliamHill). It is quite logical that such bookmakers attract bettors, since no one is eager to get their account cut after one or several bets.
Verification process. Before you start working with a bookmaker, it would not hurt to clarify information about the terms and process of account verification in this bookmaker.
The fact is that the verification process can differ significantly between different bookmakers. So, some bookmakers may ask you for documents after the first request for payment or even later, and some will require verification immediately after registration. For example, the PaddyPower previously asked to send documents for verification immediately after registration.
Deposit/withdrawal methods. If it is quite difficult to judge the verification process until you encounter it yourself, then the list of all available payment methods is usually publicly available on the bookmaker’s website.
Big bookmakers usually make sure that their clients have a wide choice of payment systems for deposits/withdrawals. Usually, this list includes all popular PS: Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, Liqpay, as well as Visa/MasterCard cards and bank transfers.
In addition to choosing a payment method, it would not hurt to make sure that the bookmaker has the account currency that suits you.
In addition to the above-mentioned criteria for choosing a bookmaker, we would also advise paying attention to the convenience of working with the bookie. By the word “convenience”, we mean several factors:
Firstly, the bookmaker should have a not-too-confusing interface so that you can quickly access bets on a particular outcome. Secondly, it would not be superfluous for the bookie to have a version of the site and technical support in your native language.
By the way, the quality of the support is also an important point, because sooner or later you will still have to contact them. In this case, it is important that your issue is resolved efficiently and in a short time.
If you’ve finally chosen the list of bookies to operate with and decided to develop your own odds-monitoring product – the important thing will be to purchase a reliable xml feed from sports trading software like OddsMarket. You’ll need it to analyze the betting lines of dozens of bookies in a matter of seconds to find the best odds to place bets on.
Conclusion
Today we have looked at the main criteria for choosing bookmakers and hope that you’ve found some useful information here.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
