Investing in Your Sports Betting Picks
The NFL sports betting industry is a major investment market for a limited number of successful traders. Alternative investment markets are a popular destination for investors with excess cash waiting for a decent return on investment. Most stocks are tied into the economic news with no parameters and direction. It is becoming more difficult for even savvy investors to time the bottom. They have to become much more selective. Your sports betting picks are an investment in betting the NFL, NBA, MLB and NCAA. Most people consider it gambling but a small percentage of bettors rely on their sharp intuition, betting knowledge and experience. They are wise to the numbers (wiseguys) like any investment and will profit accordingly. Selecting your own NFL picks or NBA picks or other sports you know is a numbers games for pros who have access to a good database of information.
The sports betting market has been around a long time with some controversy in the earlier years. However, there is a vibrant market in today’s highly competitive sports arena. The regulated Nevada sports books had the monopoly on legalized sports betting but other states are allowed to offer their own legal sports betting platform. Can the amateur recreational bettors make money at these books — sometimes, but not in the long run.
Percentages are the measuring stick for your investment feedback
The professionals know how to look for the edge and only need to hit a minimum of 54% to make a modest return on investment. Making a 15% to 25% return for the year is very possible. The good ones are few but the results are quick and opportunities exist everyday when soft betting lines are found and exploited. The betting lines are made to evenly divide which side the betting public is putting their money. They ideally want to balance the betting on both sides. Their number does come close about 70% of the time when the game is over. Computer software is very sophisticated and is the backbone of the sportsbook numbers. This happens a lot in all sports. They do provide a good service but their stats and computer models can only go so far. Investments in this area have a limited scale and cannot handle the millions or billions that pour into those other markets.
Online betting is a good venue for investors
The biggest competitor to these legalized sports books is the internet. The reputable online sports books were growing very fast until the Port Security Bill was passed with the Illegal Internet Gambling Act attached. One had nothing to do with the other. It was a disaster for many publicly traded gaming companies overseas and the US betting public. Hopefully, it will be repealed and a regulated online gambling bill will pass some day. States can legally offer their own sports betting platform at race tracks or casinos but the online off-shore venues will remain under the legal radar.
The betting investment options on the internet – if it becomes legal – are numerous and sophisticated. The newest formats are the betting exchanges and spread betting in the UK where internet gambling is legal. These new betting formats have many angles to invest in and do provide an edge if you know what to look for.
Newest investments for sports bettors
When the regulatory cloud over this industry is removed, you will see investment vehicles similar to the hedge funds and derivatives that are available in the other investment markets. The tax revenues could be in the millions if this market becomes regulated and legal. The demand and growth of the sports betting industry is a real trend. The legal Nevada sports books accept a small fraction of the worldwide betting handle. If other states can follow the Nevada model, revenues will explode in the US but the online network will be the largest investment for sports bettors worldwide. More time is needed to process legislation and most states need the tax revenue. The one major problem could be over regulation and stupid government rules and red tape that usually hinder any new legislation.
The passage of Nevada Senate Bill 443 in 2015 has made it legal for individual investors to deposit money in a sports betting mutual fund investment entity group for the purpose of betting on sporting events. What are the requirements of sports betting mutual funds and what legal business is needed. This sports betting mutual fund entity group is usually a Nevada corporation or LLC formed by a group of gaming executives and sports bettors that manage the fund as an in-state Nevada fiduciary agent. They can solicit funds from investors anywhere in the world. However, major restrictions do apply but is open to anyone that can go through the difficult approval process.
The entity or fund manager can take investors from anywhere in the United States and can charge fees or commissions for managing the fund. This includes placing the bets and where to allocate the funds for future investments. No investor can make a bet through the fund. It’s a private hedge fund for sports betting with a different format than the current sports advisory business of selling picks to subscribers. Your sports betting picks can probably do just as good than these regulated investment groups without the extra fees and red tape to get involved.
Sports betting mutual funds are looking for clients to promote this new concept in sports betting but …
The application process is far from just providing standard information. Many applications have been rejected with about 10% being approved. The application process is an attempt to secure very personal and private information about the applicant and any investor willing to endure such scrutiny and invasion of privacy. This would include a background check, source of funds invested and other customer data which is given to a sports book willing to accept the entity betting group. If any prospective investors are not dismayed by the application process, there are other alarming issues to confront.
CG Technologies is the only option for entity group formation and execution. They are at the center of the application process to get things moving through the state and for their managed sports books to accept and review investment groups detailed information. Other sports books could eventually join in the experiment but most are weary of the red tape and short-sighted regulations that make things difficult.
The biggest issue for the actual betting decision selection is the absence of shopping for a better line. There are over a dozen different sets of lines in Nevada. Entity groups and their investors get access to only one line from CG Technology managed sports books. This restriction is the main problem of trying to find an edge when placing a bet. Just ask any sports bettor about finding the best number. You need an edge for your own NFL picks, NCAA picks, MLB picks and other sports to search for profits. If you feel more comfortable with a hedge fund managing your money bankroll, you are standing on the sidelines and not a player. The entity group is incapable of finding a better line to fit their investment strategy. Their hands are tied behind their backs and the investor is just an innocent bystander. Good luck with that approach.
Some other negative facets of investing in this format are the fees and commissions. Yes, there are non-refundable fees of 1 or 2 percent of your investment like a standard stock exchange mutual fund. The commissions are usually 30 percent of the winning profits, if any at all. Can you imagine collecting 70 percent of your winning NFL picks on your own. Who needs this layer of management appropriations when you are at their mercy or lack of expertise. This is not Wall Street. Why gamble on something with no track record for success and a hyped-up sports betting bill with too much exposure for the investor. Most experienced veterans in the sports betting industry have joked about the bill and even dismissed it as a “bad beat” bill without a redeeming quality or a simple format like mobile betting from your smart phone.
Mobile apps are available from many Las Vegas sportsbooks and should be part of any state betting platform. You cannot bet across state lines as your app will be blocked by IP address location software. Las Vegas books are very pleased with their betting apps which increases their betting handle up to forty percent. Bettors like the convenience of betting anywhere in the state with easy access to their money being held by the sportsbook they applied to for security reasons.
As more states pass their sports betting legislation, a mobile app will probably be an add on to reach people around the state. You can invest in your NFL picks, MLB games, NCAA picks on your favorite college team and a variety of betting opportunities in the comfort of your home. You only have to visit a sports betting outlet in your state once to apply and open an account. It will be legal and your best way to invest in your hobby or your knowledge of this investment market. Hopefully, those states who legalize a sports betting platform will use the technology of sports betting apps to increase revenue. It took Nevada time to realize this and most Vegas sportsbooks jumped in with their own app which was a big success for them and their betting customers.
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