In these volatile times, all traders must remain aware of the financial status of the bookmakers and market makers that one chooses to trade with.
Bookmakers that are excluded from the select global power bases are under pressure on a range of fronts.
Firstly, the US legislation undermining online gambling for American citizens is not only hammering profits (and share prices) but is also leaving management open to arrest. Some operators are even having trouble repatriating their profits that they chose to park in supposedly safe offshore territories only to later find out otherwise.
Secondly, the global cartels are involved in a double whammy - they not only control outcome in many events but they utilise this competitive (and corrupt) advantage to target lower tier bookmakers.
The cumulative impact of these inputs is clearly shown by the following example. One year ago, Premierbet (a lower tier British layer) traded at a premium of 29% over the FTSE AIM All-Share Index. Now Premierbet's share price lags that average by 44%. This corresponds to it's share price falling 6875 to 2750 (a year earlier, the price hovered around 13000).
Additionally, global fragmented cartelisation is resulting in entrenched regional territorial warfare over the control of football betting markets. Some layers in Asia will resort to underground professional trader only status as a direct consequence of this power struggle (see: http://footballisfixed.blogspot.com/2007/03/sun-tzu-versus-kray-twins.html).
Punters, both amateur and professional, must protect themselves in this environment. Gambling winnings are not enforceable under law (aside from specially contracted business arrangements or layers regulated by Britain's Financial Services Authority) and bettors obviously receive nil return from companies that go belly-up or that disappear from both their physical locations and cyberspace.
Below we provide some practices that can insure your trading against the criminality of the gambling sector:
a) Before opening an account, check the status of the company. This can be achieved in several ways. Googling the firm can reveal valuable info as can checking FuckedCompany.com (www.fuckedcompany.com). But the prime source of information has to be Sportsbook Review (http://www.sportsbookreview.com). Sportsbook Review serves the sports bettor by offering ratings and recommendations based on the evaluations of hundreds of online sportsbooks. The website also publishes reports on sportsbook features such as customer service, incentives and wager pricing. Currently only 9 bookies worldwide achieve the A+ ranking (including Pinnacle and Betfair for professionals and Ladbrokes for leisure punters who do not desire to win overall).
b) Always try to establish credit accounts with a high maximum. If deposit accounts are the only option then only transfer monies when placing a trade and withdraw winnings at speed.
c) The most awkward accounts to manage are non-contracted informational accounts with brokers and market makers. All professionals use these accounts to get volume trades on the Asian markets while bookmakers utilise such arrangements as a source of valuable market information. With such structures, one should build into financial projections that non-payment of winnings is often the result when such business interactions break down. One needs to ensure that one achieves value throughout the business process to off-set this potential loss - tactics like gaining preferential prices, closing out positions without penalty, no price scalping, access to privileged market information and creative reconciliation in accounting. You would be astonished at how many major global operators have accounting and IT deficiencies due to the criminal nature of their status. The Asian street markets are illegal and the whole purpose of professionals using brokers on a private level is to by-pass this illegality. Similarly, this illegality forces brokers to keep their Asian trading activities "off the book" away from prying eyes. Take advantage of this fact.
d) If a bookmaker is publicly listed then monitor the share prices and press releases as sources of information (although creative lateral thinking and realistic reading between the lines becomes a necessary talent here).
e) Never trade with any company that refuses to exhibit a physical address.
f) Always record all phone conversations related to placing trades and use a dictaphone for face-to-face interactions.
As government and the institutions do nothing to protect gamblers (professional or leisure), it is an imperative for you to protect yourself. This market free-for-all that represents the foundation of shareholder capitalism is particularly marked in all areas of the gambling sector. The bookmakers and their accomplices aim to take the piss out of you on a whole range of levels.
No bookmaker respects you and, similarly, you should treat them with disdain. Bet wisely, trust none of them and respect yourself.
