New York Times: The Neighborhood Bookie Gets High Tech and Goes Pay Per Head

This weekend, the New York Times featured a good article on the local bookies and how they have reinvented themselves by going online.

From The Times: 

The basic setup is simple: Instead of taking a phone call from every hopeful bettor, the bookie directs his clients to a Web site, where bets can be recorded, tracked and totaled. The bookie can then log on and see who owes — or is owed — money in the coming week.

It is organized. It is civilized. It is user-friendly, for both the bookie and the bettor, even though it remains illegal. It is also a drastic departure from the entrenched notion of bookies operating out of basements or back offices, with jumbles of phone-line wires, drop safes and handwritten ledgers.

International call centers like PayPerHead.com, with its spokesperson none other than Johnny Sack (Vince Curatola) from “The Sopranos”, handle much of the hard work including line management, data and record keeping, mobile agent reports, live in-game wagering options, customized websites, 24 hour customer service, and a whole lot more.  PayPerHead.com even offers its clients the opportunity to play poker online. 

Companies like PayPerHead charge a small fee per head or per client.  Unlike the typical post-up online sportsbook, the “pay per head” business model does not handle any of the cash associated with a bookmaker operation. 

“There is always going to be a huge market for local bookmakers because they are the ones who let players bet with credit, with money they don’t have to produce,” Steve Budin, a gambling expert who formerly operated an online sports book, said. “People don’t want to give out their credit cards or send money offshore someplace. They like dealing with real people and real cash. These sites just make it a whole lot easier for the bookies serving them.”

The Times spoke to one local New York bookie who pointed out the ease of using such services and how it has boosted the bottom line:

Thomas, a longtime bookie in the New York metropolitan area who asked that only his first name be used because of the illegal nature of his work, said using a pay-per-head site had revolutionized his business. His customers can place bets at any time. It is a big change from the old days, when many bookies took bets only until 8 or 9 p.m. even though games on the West Coast began later. Those who want to place a complex parlay, or multiple-team wager, can call one of the Web site’s clerks, instead of him, to get an immediate reply on how much that bet will pay out if it wins.

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher