Who is a Bookmaker and what do they do for you?
Bookmakers are one of the essential aspects of betting, for starters, they are the ones who give you which odds to predict for every game, accept your bets, pay you your prize money, and generally ensure that your betting experience is safe and fulfilling. You need to know who your bookmaker is very well.
You see, knowing who a bookmaker is, and understanding how they operate is a people skill you should pick as an active bettor, especially if you want to get the best betting deals and payouts from your predictions. Bookmakers who truly want their clients to succeed, have at their disposal a lot of promos, bonuses, games, high-paying odds and betting tips which they are eager to use to entice and retain bettors like you, and that is something you should be taking advantage of.
With so many bookmakers out there, it might be difficult for you to know who you can trust enough to bet with. That is why we have created this article to explain some things you need to know about these officials, including a list of who the top bookmakers in Nigeria are.
Article Guide:
- What is a bookmaker?
- Types of bookmakers
- How does a bookmaker work?
- Why should you use a bookmaker?
- How to choose a bookmaker
- Top bookmakers in Nigeria
What Is A Bookmaker?
A bookmaker or ‘bookie’ is someone who eases betting on sporting events. A bookie sets odds, takes and places bets, calculates odds, and pays out winnings to successful bettors on behalf of other people.
Bookies are basically the ones who manage betting shops, acting as an accountant for organizations that accept and pay off bets on games, races, and matches.
Types Of Bookmakers
In betting, there are four different types of bookmakers which are available to you as a bettor.
Each bookmaker serves the same purpose of accepting your bets, placing them, and paying you your winnings, but they use different mediums to cater to their clients.
Below are the types of bookmakers you should know about, in case you didn’t already.
1. Retail Booths
Retail Booths were the first type of bookmakers, who came into the scene when sports betting was just beginning. Each booth had a bookie that offered customers their markets and odds on upcoming events.
Considered as the most convenient way of placing sports bets, Retail Booths are still popular in the UK and Ireland, when compared to other countries.
2. Racecourse Booths
Racecourse Booths have also been around since sports betting began, it involves multiple bookmakers who can be found in races involving horses or greyhounds.
Racecourse bookies work independently, and are not based in a single location. Instead they move around from event to event, offering odds and bets at bettors convenience.
3. Telephone Betting
While Telephone Betting seems to have decreased in popularity, it is still offered by all the major bookmakers on this list, and is the second most commonly used one of all of them.
This type of bookmakers are preferred because their process is simple and straightforward. All you need to do is call the bookmaker you want to place your bets with, give the details of your bet, the operator will get back to you with a confirmation, then you give them details of your credit or debit card to place your bet.
4. Online Bookmakers
Online Bookmakers have become the most popular type of bookmaker, especially since it reinvented the way bettors across the world place their bets.
Made popular by the introduction of the internet, which made the sports betting industry accessible, customers now enjoy an endless range of options from their mobile devices. Additionally, online bookmakers offer more markets, promotions, and better odds than all the other bookmakers combined.
How Does A Bookmaker Work?
How does a bookmaker work? What does a bookie actually do?
In case you wondering the answer to those questions, we have explained below, how a bookmaker works:
1. A bookmaker can either be an individual or an organization. In addition to placing bets, they might also lend money to punters.
2. Bookmakers do not make their money by accepting and placing bets, they do so by charging you a transactional fee known as vigorish or vig for your own bets.
3. Bookies introduce you to different betting markets. Betting markets are markets where trading takes place for odds on bets on sporting events, games, tournaments, and competitions. If it is a football betting market, you could see things like odds on match results, total goals or scores, first goalscorer, and victory margin, etc. Bookies make betting available online or offline.
4. Before the start of a game, a bookmaker will explain the odds against each team. During the game they remain in their betting boxes, recording bettors’ identities and the team they are supporting. At the end of the game, the winner will collect their winnings.
5. Most times a bettor may not be satisfied with the outcome of a bet, due to this the bookie might be endangered. To prevent this, bookmakers conduct background research on each bettor before they place their bets. They also calculate odds with the help of statisticians and developing complex models.
Furthermore, they adjust predictions for a two-sided bet on an event to ensure bettors for a win or loss get an equal amount. They charge a specific percentage of wagers as their pay, regardless of the event outcome.
6. Online bookmakers do not often face the same issues as traditional bookmakers, and often attract more clients due to convenience, and them being transparent and trustworthy. These types of bookmakers use inbuilt tools to calculate the odds and estimate the winnings and losses of each game. They also use software that sets betting limits and monitors bets.
Why Should You Use A Bookmaker?
Bookmakers often get a bad rap in the betting industry, especially due to untrustworthy activities by some bookies like cheating bettors out of their money, setting fake betting sites, offering false odds, and other betting frauds perpetrated by these bad bookmakers.
However, not all bookies are bad, and if you happen to bet with the ones that are genuine, there is a lot they can do for you in terms of making your betting experience smooth and profitable.
Below, we have sampled all the reasons why you should use a bookmaker.
1. Bookmakers Help Place Your Bets
Bookmakers are the ones who help you place your bets for various sporting events. Without a bookie acting as a liaison, you would not have easy access to these events or know how to place your bets correctly. They also set odds and pay you your winnings.
2. Bookies Maintain The Books
A bookie’s aim is to man the sports books and ensure the balances are well maintained by adjusting the odds as much as they can, so that there is an even amount of people betting on a win or loss of a game.
3. They Set Accurate Odds For You
Before you can predict a game’s outcome, a bookmaker would have already set accurate odds for you, which are guaranteed to get you your winnings.
4. They Monitor Games
Bookies work tirelessly to ensure that you enjoy your betting experience without any hitches. They continuously adjust odds on their computers for guaranteed profitable bets, no matter the team that wins or the outcome of the game.They also monitor winning chances in events.
5. They Act As Accountants
Bookmakers are the ones who keep the money placed on a bet, before the event begins and they stay available throughout its duration. They also record bets and handle payout winnings to winners after a game has ended.
6. They Oversee General Maintenance
Bookies ensure that the betting counters are clean and betting slips are available for when you need to bet. They make sure that the satellite and video games are working well and digital displays are showing updated odds for each event.
7. Bookmakers Facilitate Safe Betting Experience
Genuine bookmakers help you look out for any suspicious betting patterns which may disrupt your bets. Similarly, they bar underaged bettors, ensure that the rules are maintained by every gambler, and check for other illegal activities which people perform to win a bet.
They also train and manage other bookmakers so that company policies are well maintained.
How To Choose A Bookmaker
In today’s betting, there are lots of bookmakers joining the industry, with new betting websites showing up all over the internet.
Due to this influx of bookies, bettors, especially beginners, can find it difficult to choose the best bookmakers from the crowd.
We have left some notes for you below, on how to choose a bookmaker.
1. Reliability
To know if a bookmaker is reliable or trustworthy, ignore what they put out in the promotional messages, fliers, or emails, and look for unmissable patterns in how they do business.
Do they pay their clients what is due to them on time? Do they block user’s accounts without addressing grievances? Another thing to do is analyze their sportsbook ratings on the internet. You could also go to betting forums or any real users you know for accurate information.
2. Are They Legal?
If the bookmaker has a website or only operates offline, be sure to check that they are operating legally.
Do not blindly choose a company just because it offers good odds and welcome bonuses, because you could lose all your profits if the company does not have a proper license, as they can shut-down easily.
You can talk to real users or go to forums to find this out.
3. Check Which Sports And Markets Are Available
Before you sign on to join a bookmaker’s clientele, ensure that they offer enough betting on the sports you are interested in, and that they have a sizable number of other types of sports you can bet on, displayed on their website.
Also ensure that they have the type of markets that you like to bet on.
4. Bookmaker Margins
Margins are what bookmakers use to make profit off of your bets, and it is often difficult to find information regarding what their margin is, on their websites, and they might have different margins running on different sports.
It could do you some good to understand how bookmakers make their profits, so that with that you could calculate the margins by yourself.
To spot a good bookmaker, they usually have the lowest bookmaker margins, meaning that they are taking less profit from the market. If one bookie has 110% as their margin, while another has 102%, go with the second one.
5. Provided Payment Methods
Before you start placing your bets with a bookmaker, find out the payment methods they made available for bettors to deposit or withdraw money. This is because most bookmakers struggle with processing debit or credit cards, and while one may accept Visa, they might not accept Mastercard and vice versa.
Find out which cards are acceptable and if there are any deposit fees you are being charged. Also, know if the currency you use is being accepted by the bookmaker or if you need to pay some money to have it converted first.
6. Good Customer Care
In case you face certain issues while betting or in terms of payment, how efficient will the bookmaker’s customer service be at resolving it?
Ensure that any bookmaker you choose has a quick response customer service team that can readily answer your questions in detail and offer immediate solutions.
If you are not sure about their capacity to serve customers, you can always visit several betting forums and groups to discover which bookmakers have the best customer service team.
7. Usability Of Their Website
Another important thing to check when choosing a bookmaker, especially if it is online, is how easy and efficient their website is to use, without needing to contact support every time.
Check how well it works on your mobile phone, how easy the pages of the website are to navigate, and how fast it loads.
Top Bookmakers In Nigeria
If you are someone who has struggled with finding a bookie you can trust, we have made a list of the top bookmakers in Nigeria, which are known as the surest and best places to place bets and earn winnings, without you ever worrying about being scammed.
See if the bookmaker you have been using, made it to our list:
1. Bet9ja
Founded in 10 September 2013, Bet9Ja has rapidly grown to become reputed as one of the top bookmakers in Nigeria. This site offers all major sporting events within Europe and around the world.
For bettors that like variety, and whose passion for games are boundless, Bet9ja offers a variety of sports like American Football, Volleyball, Snooker, 9ja Martial Arts, Baseball, Badminton, Handball, Darts, MMA, Motorsports, etc.
2. Betensured
Betensured was established in March 2015, and has since then become one of the top and most accurate bookmakers in Nigeria. Betting with them, ensures success, and the assurance that your money is in safe hands, a fact that their more than 1,320,038 punters can attest to.
They offer soccer predictions in over 30 popular leagues, including English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1, Champions League, and Europa League.
3. BetKing
BetKing earns its throne as one of the top bookmakers in Nigeria, because they deliver to bettors unmatched betting experience, odds, and exclusive special markets on football, basketball, tennis, ice hockey, cricket, and customized state-of-the-art virtual games like Kings’ League and Colour-Colour, which are exclusive to their site.
This Bookmaker has a strong online bookmaking presence in Nigeria, and in other African countries like Kenya and Ethiopia.
4. Tips180
Tips180 prides itself as a bookmaker that offers stellar predictions on fixed matches, which are often hard for punters to win.
This bookmaker sets a benchmark for providing safe and accurate football tips bettors can trust. Their tips and analysis are given based on algorithms, detailed analysis, betting tips, forms and statistics. They also have a team of dedicated experts who are passionate in ensuring that bettors always make profits.
5. Betway
BetWay Nigeria is a reliable bookmaker that offers bettors like you incredible welcome bonuses, betting opportunities, a variety of choice sports to bet on like Snookers, dart, basketball, virtual games, Rugby, baseball, handball, etc. and coverage of all the major football leagues, fans of this sports enjoy betting on.
Looking for more info, we complied a list of the top bookmaker with the highest odds here.
This bookmaker is safe and secure to use, and ensures that bettors are well protected while wagering on games. BetWay is licensed, so you can make your predictions without fear of getting scammed. They support responsible gambling, and provide a variety of safe payment methods for you. Transactions with this bookie are secured, and use the same digital encryption technology used by major financial organizations.