• Why touts deserve their less-than-stellar reputation
• The essential elements for a successful sports handicapping service

Nobody Likes Sports Betting Touts

The word ‘tout’ has an exceptionally negative connotation. That’s because many unscrupulous characters use aggressive marketing techniques and offer irresponsible bankroll management advice. These touts lack transparency because they’re not able to pick winners at a profitable rate.

There are many touts who deserve to be named and shamed for falsely promising untold riches. So let’s all agree right from the start that touts do in fact suck. No argument here, whatsoever. 

But what about legitimate winning sports bettors who also happen to sell picks? Should every single pick seller be tarred with the same brush as a tout?

For a truly professional and profitable sports advisory service to exist there are three essential elements:

1. Bettors who beat the market and win long-term 
2. Subscribers willing to pay for picks from these bettors
3. A website to process payments, provide access to the picks and publish results

(1) Bettors with an edge

Ask any Vegas sportsbook and they will tell you that there are a number of bettors who win consistently. Often they are professionals who (by definition) do this for a living. That’s why the sportsbooks limit the action from these advantage players and often adjust their lines after booking their bets. 

Let’s run some numbers – say that there are currently 10 million American sports bettors. More than likely this is dramatically under-estimating the true sports betting population, but we’ll stick with 10 million as a nice round number. Based on bookmaker’s earnings reports we’ll guess that 98% of these bettors lose. That means we’re talking about 200,000 winning bettors in total throughout the USA. But let’s reduce that number again and say just 5% of these winners have been able to beat their bookie consistently for many years. This tiny subset has a real proven, long-term edge. We’re now down to 10,000 very successful bettors throughout the country. That estimate does seem low, but that’s OK as we’re trying to underplay things. Clearly there are enough real-life examples to prove that winning bettors do in fact exist.

So why would such a rare species agree to sell their picks?

There are a multitude of reasons, but what can’t be disputed is that being a long-term winning sports bettor and agreeing to sell picks are not mutually exclusive – one does not preclude the other. 

These expert analysts are already buying, scraping and assessing data. Developing and fine-tuning algorithms. Watching games. Getting injury reports and other team news. Finding lines that are positive EV. They’ll be doing all of that work regardless of whether they’re operating on their own, or also have a subscriber base. A solo professional bettor might spend 60 hours per work on his craft, so a few minutes each day sending an update to members is a very small amount of extra work but one that has the potential to pay off very well. Being able to earn another source of income for work they are already doing is enticing to many. For some it is a reliable secondary income and for others it’s a great way of fast-tracking their bankroll growth so they can bet bigger, sooner.

There are other reasons why very successful sports bettors are willing to partner up with a sports handicapping service. Ego is one. And so is the group atmosphere of a client base because professional betting can be a very isolated lifestyle. Another important factor for many public handicappers is the real sense of enjoyment they feel in helping other bettors win. For example, professional sports bettor Kris Dawson genuinely wants to help his Sports Predictor clients win rather than go through the tough lessons he learned early in his betting career.

“I went through many down seasons in my early years as a sports bettor and it was an exceptionally difficult learning curve to get to where I am today. But I don’t think everyone has to go through that. I can honestly say that I’m very interested in helping everyday bettors win and to also teach them about a disciplined approach and consistent mindset.” 

We’ve got other bettors on our team who spend five and six figures annually on data, software and staff. Reducing their overhead by having a subscriber base makes a lot of sense for them. Especially when some are operating in markets where they struggle to get as much money down as they’d like. Selling picks is just another way of monetizing their edge.

So we’ve established that winning bettors definitely exist and a small percentage of them are willing to share their plays for legitimate reasons.

(2) Willing subscribers

On to the second essential element for a picks service to succeed and that is a subscriber base. So what type of person is willing to buy picks? Their are many different ‘client personas’ but let’s list just a few examples –

• the casual sports fan who wants the extra sweat of having action on a game
• the losing sports bettor who has realized they don’t have an edge on the market
• the time-poor bettor who is willing to pay a fee rather than do the work required to handicap a game
• the serious bettor who wants to diversify into other sports
• the DFS player who is transitioning to sports betting
• the trader who is primarily interested in sports betting as a money-making opportunity 
• the keen learner who wants to see how professional bettors operate
• the bettor who enjoys being part of something and belonging to a group

There are other types of typical clients, but there’s no doubt that the list above comprises a percentage of the sports betting population.

So no-one would argue that both (1) winning bettors and (2) willing subscribers do exist. 

(3) A website for payments and access to information

The final essential element is a website and business to process payments, deliver the information and handle the customer service. 

It’s stating the obvious to say that’s where Sports Predictor enters the conversation. By building a business where winning bettors share their plays with subscribers, it becomes a win-win for all parties. 

Sports Predictor is simply a (digital) subscription site. Maybe you haven’t given it much thought, but subscriptions is one of the fastest growing business models right around the world. Think of Amazon Prime, Spotify, Netflix, Dollar Shave Club and Microsoft to name a few.

Our roster of handicappers is made up entirely of long-term successful bettors.

Winning is exceptionally hard, but we have hand-picked a group who have the skills and put in the work required to gain an edge on the sportsbooks year-in and year-out. Guys who have proven that it really is possible to make consistent profits as a sports bettor. Not every day, every week or even every month. But they maintain a true edge and use sound bankroll management to reap long-term profits.

We’re Different To Sports Betting Touts

At Sports Predictor we:

1. Win – not all the time, but our roster consists of professional bettors with a proven edge.
2. Bet – our professional bettors are betting real money on every pick they release.
3. Are transparent – we publish updated (and fair) results for every handicapper.
4. Educate bettors – via blog posts, podcasts and webinars that educate bettors of all types.
5. Are responsible – there are no Games Of The Year or any loss-chasing systems.
6. Abide by a code of conduct – every handicapper abides by our industry-leading guidelines.
7. Provide excellent customer service – via online chat, email and the phone.
8. Are aligned with our members – we’re in the business of helping our clients win and that sole goals is unlike other handicappers who profit via bookmaker incentives for referring losing bettors.
9. Have stood the test of time – the Sports Predictor group has operated internationally for more than 13 years.

We are very proud of what we have on offer, but we’re definitely not done. Anyone who believes they have ‘made it’ in this game are due a reality check very soon. Like any athlete or successful person in any industry we are always seeking to learn, refine and get better at what we do. We welcome any feedback on where were can improve any aspect of our service.

Some people use stockbrokers or financial advisors rather than do everything for themselves. Same for interior designers, personal trainers, life coaches and recruitment consultants just to name a few. A percentage of the public are prepared to pay a fee to get what they consider to be expert advice. Sports betting picks are just another example of this and we’re on a mission to make Sports Predictor the handicapping service of choice.