When you run a business, the cheapest solution isn’t typically the best. There’s a reason why that’s the case. Simply put, when a service doesn’t charge enough, the features/support will be lacking.
As a sportsbook owner, the last thing you want to do is cheap out on a pay-per-head (PPH) provider, since a PPH service provides the backbone to your entire business.
Why the Cheapest PPH Solutions Aren’t the Best Bet
►Reliability: I’ve heard horror stories of a bookies losing business for reliability issues. As an example, one bookie had his website servers go down the day of the Super Bowl.
►Support: A PPH provider can’t afford to hire a capable support team when they don’t charge enough. Ensure you and your players will have English-speaking support available.
►Betting Lines: Hiring oddsmakers isn’t inexpensive. Some PPH shops will throw out stale lines from other online shops. The best PPH services have sharp lines that are updated regularly.
►Software: Maintaining sports betting and casino software is costly. Fixing bugs and making updates to the software costs money. The cheaper PPH providers often struggle to fix bugs or make updates to the software, leaving your players with a poor betting experience.
Are you still interested in looking for the cheapest pay per head service? Well, you shouldn’t be. I’ve outlined the most important reasons above, but there are other reasons as well.
For example, I’ve seen numerous PPH services close shop out of nowhere. Imagine your players are sending you texts/emails saying they can no longer access their account. Not only will you need to fix the problem by finding a new PPH provider, but your players will likely lose trust in you as well.
You also should back-up your data regardless of the PPH service you choose. You never know when there could be data loss or when a company could go under. If you don’t have up-to-date reports detailing exposure, open bets and account balances, you’re going to run into a huge problem.
Saving a few bucks a month on each player isn’t worth the headaches you will end up encountering by using a cheap pay-per-head bookie business. You may find a PPH service that looks great and has a modern website offering low prices of $1-$3/head, but read the fine print first.
Even the best PPH shops only cost $5-$10/head. If you’re unaware, you pay the price per head every week for active players only. For example, if you have 10 active players in a week and you’re paying $5/head, then your weekly cost would be $50, which isn’t much of an investment into your business.
The most important thing as a bookie is to retain your players. If the PPH service you choose has a buggy software suite and poor support, you’re going to struggle to retain any players.
Apart from marketing, your only expense as a bookie when you’re small is a PPH service. Once you grow, you may need to hire some assistants to outsource tasks. However, as a new bookie, your big investment will be a PPH service, so don’t cheap out to save a few bucks.
More pay per head tips:
1. Boost your sports product
2. Tips for a Master Agent: Methods to Grow Your Network
3. Maximize Your Profits
4. Steps to Build a Business On a Budget
5. How Can Sportsbook Agents Make Money?
