Will Bookies Lose Their Shirts Again With Super Bowl 50?
Super Bowl 50 will either be a gold mine for bookies or a complete disaster.
The offshore sportsbooks will survive thanks to the vast number of prop bets and live wagering being offered on the big game.
But local bookies…especially those who cater to the Carolinas and much of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Coastal region….they could be in for a rough ride should the public be correct and Carolina covers the current 6-point line. Some 85 percent of the spread action has gone the Panthers way. Some Vegas oddsmakers have even quipped that “none of the money is coming in on the Broncos”.
Pay Per Head businesses, most of which are located in Costa Rica, offer bookies an excellent alternative for Super Bowl 50.
Like the online sportsbooks, these Pay Per Head ventures also offer the live wagering and dozens of Super Bowl props. Charging a small weekly fee per customer (or per head), these companies will fully manage a stateside bookie’s business from monitoring of players to providing a custom website to customer service, 24/7 in most cases.
So if the books get clobbered with a Panthers cover, the pain will be eased by offering impulse loss leaders that favor the house such as the live in-play wagering and the props.
Last year Wynn, Westgate Las Vegas and William Hill sports book operators said the New England Patriots' 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks represented the worst case scenario for their businesses based on the bets placed.
But it was the side bets that helped make Super Bowl 49 a winner.
William Hill won $1,000 on the coin flip that turned up tails.
"That was a good start for us," said Michael Grodsky, spokesman for William Hill, in an interview with Business Insider last year. "Could have used a little better finish."
Locals will rack their brains trying to offer hundreds of Super Bowl side bets.
Premier Per Head is just one of several Pay Per Head firms recommended by Gambling911.com. Check them out here.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
