Betting Brokers are less known by the general public, for normal people that placing bets for fun. Personally my first contacts with them was about 10 years ago. when Pinnacle left the UK betting market, at the end of 2014.
Like all professional bettors I had to find s solution to keep using Pinnacle and their odds, so then I heard about Betting Agents for the first time, and I started to use them.
What is a Betting Broker ?
A Betting Broker is company that acts like a middleman between bettors and different bookmakers (sharp bookies and exchanges) . They are also known as Betting Agents that connect you, as a bettor, with bookmakers, but without create an account with each of them. When you use a betting agent, they will create accounts for you, or you can bet at multiple bookmakers, directly from your broker account.
Some brokerage companies will create for you accounts with other bookmakers like Pinnacle , where you cannot open account by yourself , from different reasons. Some of those reasons can be : those bookies don’t accept bettors from your country / territory, or you are banned in using those bookies. But using a betting broker as intermediary, you’ll be able to still use those bookies services.
Same can apply to exchanges . Majority of betting agents will give you the possibility to get acces the Betfair exchange markets. And it’s well known that Betfair it is not available in all countries, which may be an inconvenience for people of those countries. To access Betfair, they need to use a betting agent.
Agents offer some extra features
Another feature (important one) of the betting brokers is that in the past years they are created their own betting exchanges or sharp bookies sections .They are powered (backed) by huge operators like Betfair, Betdaq or even Pinnacle, providing betting agent with betting markets, odds and market liquidity (for exchanges). On of this betting broker that have 2 platforms in one website is PIWI247 . They have a section called Piwixchange powered by Betfair (but with lower tax than Betfair, 3%) , and Sport Section , with odds and markets provided by Pinnacle.
Betting brokerage services are mostly addressing to professional bettors, high rollers players . Those type of players want to place high stakes without too many problems, and they wants also the best odds available on the market. Those clients also wants to places their wagers without the typical limitations imposed by classic soft bookmakers.
How Betting Brokers set their odds?
Betting Brokers DO NOT set their own odds. They are not a bookmakers per-say , they act like an intermediary between the player who want to make a bet , and a bunch of bookmakers or exchanges.
Besides creating different sub-accounts for you to be able to access various bookies, Betting Agents have also created their own betting platforms . There you can see odds gathered from different bookmakers gathered in one big places. The odds prices are from sharp bookies with low margins, or odds found in various betting exchanges.
On following example, click on it, to see full picture :
As you can see, if I want to bet on West Ham to Win , my BetInAsia account will open a popup with directly odds from 12 sharp bookies and exchanges. I don’t need an account to open with all of them, I just use the BLACK platform offered to me by Betinasia Broker. Even more, if I choose to bet 200.000 euros, I can do that with one click, and their system will get me the best odds on the market and place the bet for me at those bookies.
What this means for bettors ?
When betting using a betting brokerage service, players take advantages of low margins betting lines offered by sharp books, and betting lines with no margin from exchanges. This means more profit for players. Also, this means the odds prices offered by betting agent’s platforms are more fair, more correct. Their odds are close to the true probabilities of that specific market’s outcome.
Odds differences between betting brokers and soft bookmakers
The fact that brokers are using odds from sharp bookies and exchanges, makes possible opportunities for different strategies. Strategies that are so hated by the soft bookmakers, like arbitrage betting strategies, or value betting. Betting brokers don’t care about bettors that use those betting strategies, so they do not limit their accounts.
Scanners will pick up those differences between betting agents and soft bookies, and bettors will place a bet involving two bookmakers (one sharp and another soft bookie) managing to cover both outcomes of a betting market, obtaining this way a sure bet.
Then, How Betting Agents make money ?
Well, sport betting brokers make their money in several ways:
1) They main revenue of betting brokers is : they are getting small percentage as commission from all those bookies they connect with bettors.
2) Some of them may charge a very small commision of member’s bets who won a bet, Usually, this commission is maximum 1%
3) Some of the brokers may take a commission when members will withdraw money from their accounts . Usually, this commission is also maximum 1%
They ask minimal commissions , because as sharp bookies do, they prefer to have their business focus on high volume of wagered stakes, and small commissions, rather than low volume, and big commissions .
Betting Brokers – are they licensed ?
When it comes about the regulatory aspect of their business, betting brokers are rarely licensed by reputable authorities, for example UK Gambling Authority. But nevertheless, they are licensed in asian countries or have licenses from Curacao eGaming Authority, Malta Gaming Authority, etc
Can this affect me ? Well, not really. Because of the complexity of a betting broker business model, they don’t appear so many overnight , like soft bookies do. Majority of Betting Agents are well established businesses 10-15 or even 20 years old. They are here to stay and make profits, not to run with your money. I’ve heard about only one betting that was closed in the last 3 years, this means their business is really profitable, if they treat their clients right.
We need to mention that you cannot register with some of the betting brokers if you live in some countries. You can see the excluded countries on each betting agent’s website. But, using a VPN service, you can created an account with them and use their service.
Betting Brokers – Pros
Now let’s talk about pro and cons. Honestly, as a professional bettor, I can see only pros , but they have also bad things.
1) Bet on markets with Lowest Margins.
Using betting agents will give you the possibility to bet on markets with lowest margins from sharp bookmakers and exchanges. This means better odds for their clients. This is the main advantage in my opinion, as this will help all professional bettors getting the best odds (including for arbitrage and value betting) . This can lead to only one thing : Better return profits for serious punters.
2) They welcome winners and don’t limit accounts.
Unlike soft bookies, your account will not be gubbed (limited) if you are using different strategies (like value betting or arbitrage betting) on their platform. Exclusions and bans are very rare and they are mostly related with money laundering or using fake data or ids when creating accounts with them.
3) Highest Betting Limits.
High Rollers have the chance to have the highest limits in betting industry. If sharp bookies have high limits, imagine that using a betting broker, you can bet on multiple sharp bookmakers, simultaneous, with one click.
4) Efficiency of the market.
Because they accept high stakes , based on supply and demand market reaction, their odds are more accurate and competitive. Bettors will benefit from this, by increasing their revenues from betting.
5) Simplicity.
Betting Agents prefer to develop and invest into other aspects of their business , rather than producing flashy websites. Their platforms are simple after you get used to them, without unnecessary casino ads or other things that can distract user’s attention.
6) Single Account.
Using a broker, you don’t need to create multiple accounts with different bookmakers in order to place bets at different online bookies. All you need to do is register a single account with your preferred betting agent, and you will be good to go. All money that you win will be added in your single wallet opened by your broker service.
7) Skype Betting.
Almost all sports betting brokers also provide you with Skype betting services. it is a nice feature, you can send betting requests via a dedicated Skype channel and be sorted right away.
8) Possibility to work with foreign / asian bookmakers
With the help of a broker, the bettor has the opportunity open accounts and use asian bookmakers. Some of those are sharp bookies, that only allow registration by using a betting agent !
9) Possibility to work with bookies that restricted / blocked you
All bets wagered through a broker can not in any way be linked to your name or account in any bookie. In other words, you will be able to continue working with the bookmaker with restrictions or blocking imposed on you.
10) Complete privacy
Brokerage services include anonymity – no one will ever know that you made the bet. This advantage is very relevant for professional bettor not liked by the bookmakers. Also , this is very appealing for high rollers that don’t want anyone to know about their bets.
11) Support and Withdrawal times
Betting Agent have VERY prompt customer services. No matter how you contact them , email , phone or live chat, your issue will be solved in a very short time. This is important for them, as they don’t want to lose their clients, professional bettors. Also, payments after withdrawal requests, are made quicker than any other betting services. Sometimes you’ll receive the requested money in several hours. Differ a lot from some soft bookies, that (sometimes) take days to approve a payment and to send the money into your account.
If you’d read about our opinions and explanations about different types of online bookmakers, you can see that betting brokers have more advantage than any others.
Betting Brokers – Cons
Now let’s see what we consider to be the sharp bookies disadvantages, when you betting with them.
1) Complex UI/UX .
Betting brokers have platforms with interfaces that differ a lot from classic european soft bookmakers. Require some experience or time to get used to it. To find a specific market to bet on , also can be challenging some time.
2) Fewer betting markets / options.
3) Fewer promotions.
Compared to soft bookies, betting agents may offer fewer promotions, bonuses, free bets or loyalty rewards. Some of them give bonuses for new customers, which can be up to 500 euros, but mostly are maximum 50% from your first deposit.
4) Fast odds adjustments.
When market shifts on trends, platforms of betting agents are quick in adjusting their odds. This require fast decisions from bettors. Value betting opportunities don’t stay too long in the market.
5) Lack of betting accumulators
Some of the betting agents don’t offer possibility for bettors to use this method to place bets. However, this is not something that can bother professional bettors, as they don’t bet on accumulators anyway.
7) Access to sharp bookies can be tricky sometimes
If you live in specific countries, accessing them and registering with such brokers can be harder. However, you can bypass different location restrictions by Using a VPN provider to get an IP different from your location.
Examples of Sharp Bookmakers
There are only few big betting brokers around . Their number is considerably smaller than number of sharp bookies. I will make an article about each betting broker agency , to explain the main features of each one :
- BetInAsia
- AsianOdds
- AsianConnect
- SportMarket
- Vodds
- BrokerStorm
- BetDex
- PremiumTradings
- BookieLink
Final saying about Betting Agents
If you read it all, I hope you understand what are the advantages and disadvantages when using a broker service for betting. They are targeting a specific kind of players professional bettors and high stakes punters.
For expert sports bettors making a living from their gambling, betting brokers can be a huge benefit, allowing them access to the best possible odds while reducing or eliminating the risk of account restrictions. Having an account with a betting agent is a MUST for every serious bettor. It is a MUST for any strategy exists. If we talk about arbitrage betting strategy or value betting strategy, than you need to have a betting boker account.
However, the more casual sports bettor isn’t likely to gain enough from using a betting broker to make up for the downsides.
To be able to choose the right category of bookmakers for you , it’s better to read our descriptions and recommendations for each one category :
Soft Bookmakers – Fully Explained
Betting Exchanges – Detailed Explanation
Sharp Bookmakers – No More Limited Accounts
Asian Bookmakers – Another side of betting
Crypto Bookmakers – The Future Of Betting
