Sports Betting As An Investment

Many will dismiss outright the ability to make good returns on your investment through sports betting. It is not really surprising as betting is hard work, solitary, and you have to grind out thousands of bets at online bookmakers to get your returns.

Of course to many members of society - betting also carries a great big "loser" tag. This is not without justification since the vast majority of sports bettors do lose.

I would, however, estimate that the percentage of "losers" would be equally high in the world of stock trading and investment markets if you considered those individuals who entered that environment without the necessary experience.

Most people trust their savings and investment income to experts and no doubt if the betting public trusted their income to the 1% or 2% of betting experts who made a profit - the loser label might become less sticky.

What Returns Can Sports Betting Generate?

So what kind of returns can you expect? Anywhere between 18% and 22% on betting turnover (money that's actually put through the online bookmakers) annually.

Of course this could vary greatly - years of 30% and 13% would also be possible. The laws of probability defy accurate annual estimates.

You will notice that I have not stated losing years - this is because they are rare - I have experienced one in my life time, my first. I am always aware of the possibility but I am confident I will never experience one again - partly because of the numerous hedging methods now available when betting at online betting exchanges.

I wonder how many young people on Wall Street today can confidently say they will only have one losing year? There may be a handful, those engaging in arbitrage and those experienced in 'selling' as well as 'buying' the market - but there won't be many.

Sports Betting at Online Bookmakers

So do online bookmakers close accounts if you are a winning player? Well curiously the answer is 'yes'. I say curiously because if the book is doing its job properly, it is taking the action from both sides of the line (odds on the event) and simply taking the commission in the middle.

The online bookmaker makes its money whatever the result - even with free football bets - they are merely commission-takers. Winning bettors do not win money from a sportsbook, they win money from other losing players.

I guess some online bookmakers simply do not like their members to win regularly - but many manage the action well and allow big bets. Big bets means big turnover, big turnover means big profits for the best bookmakers operating in the United Kingdom.

Sports Betting Value

The key to success in any trading or betting environment is value. If you are not getting value at your online bookmaker, then you will find it hard to make a profit. You need to identify the "product" e.g. a stock or a team - it doesn't matter.

If your expectation of that product doing well is higher than the price on display - in relative terms. You "buy" it. Still, if you are not profitable after 350 bets - it may be time to say "ok this is not for me" or "ok let me re-think my football or horse race betting strategy".

You simply cannot tell if you are a good or bad bettor after 10, 20 or 50 bets - with those low numbers you are still falling victim to standard deviation and probability.

Generally I have found that utilising sports betting tips produces bettor average returns at online bookmakers year on year. It is tougher psychologically as you generally act in a lone capacity. No corporate social or support structure, no lunches, no team environment.

But then no bosses, politics...you know the score. Betting at online bookmakers is also virtually recession proof, lets face it only a huge war might disrupt the national sports schedule. Sports markets are not influenced by the economy.