How Much Do Pro Bettors Usually Earn from Sports Betting?
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It’s rumoured that professional sports bettors may earn over $25,000 a year. However, it is difficult to verify this figure as most data sources are non-existent and inaccurate. Also, it doesn’t account for the fact that many pro bettors run livescores secretive operations outside the public and become part of a “syndicate” where they split the profit.
Therefore, the issue of “how much do professional sports bettors make from betting” cannot be answered simply. The advantage, the amount of the stake, and the turnover are the three factors that affect profitability. In this post, we’ll focus on these three ideas.
How Much Do Pro Bettors Earn? – We Don’t Know Much About It
Sports betting is a very clandestine industry. The first thing to remember is that professional bettors avoid discussing their jobs. This is due to the fact that they will be unjustly assessed since gambling is frowned upon in many cultures. Second, those gamblers who have discovered the advantage in their wagers will not discuss it publicly since they don’t want to divulge their strategies or draw attention from bookmakers.
However, despite the pro bettors’ secretiveness, there are plenty of examples of betting sites and their affiliates that label individuals as “professionals,” which refer to the sums they’ve won with a particular bookmaker. But we’re highly skeptical as bookies don’t want profitable bettors. These “professionals” that bookies claim is likely to be high-rollers who win and lose large amounts equally. Or, dare we say it, work for the bookie in some capacity.
Last but not least, gambling winnings are tax-free in the UK and other nations. This is the reason why many profitable gamblers choose not to report their income and submit tax returns. Many of them participate in “syndicate” teams where they pool funds and resources and divide wins. This makes figuring out how much professional sports bettors earn considerably harder.
The final conclusion is that we don’t think anybody is aware of the identities of the richest sports bettors in existence today.
Variables that Impact Profitability
Even though it’s challenging to know how much professional bettors earn, some variables determine their overall winnings in sports betting. Three variables determine the total estimated profit over any given period:
Edge – Positive or Negative % Return of Investment (ROI)
If you have a positive edge (EV+) betting strategy, the more you bet, the more money you’re expected to make. In contrast, a negative edge (EV-) strategy is when the more you bet, the more likely you’ll lose your bets.
Turnover – Total Stake
The turnover is equal to the whole stake. The turnover calculates your potential win or loss for any given time period. You may easily compute the Expected Value by multiplying the turnover by the edge (EV).
Stake Size – Average Bet
How great the fluctuations in your betting outcomes will be over time will depend on the average stake amount. The variance is the amount by which the PnL deviates from the mean. For instance:
With a $1,000 turnover and a +5% edge, a series of bets has the expected value of 5% x $1,000, which results in $50.
Small fluctuations in the outcome are more common when the stakes are low (more bets). More volatility occurs with larger stakes (fewer bets), but larger swings in the outcomes are more probable. Keep in mind that regardless of the stake amount, the $50 projected value remains.
What Happens in Reality
When it comes to winning, nothing about sports betting is as it seems. This is why it’s crucial to keep the three factors in mind.
If you search on YouTube right now and look for videos of how much pro bettors make, you’ll find impressive videos showing how a bettor turns $50 into $500 in a matter of minutes. As incredible as it may seem, it’s nothing to get excited about as the EV of the $50 world reasonably be around -10 to +10%. Let’s just say it’s 10%. In the long run, if the same amount of bets were placed over a large sample, it would even out with a $5 profit per bet.
Don’t be easily blinded by large profits from individual bets. Any bettor can make a massive single win. As in a roulette spin, you can put $1,000 on ‘Black’ and double your money in no time. Do this plenty of times and you’ll eventually even out in a massive loss because of the house edge.
This reasoning also applies to gamblers who make significant gains by being very picky. It’s a good idea since betting often serves solely to increase turnover. Keep in mind that there is only room for one choice. Even if the EV is positive, you’ll need to wager a lot on each bet in order to profit much from them. And this will cause you problems since high variation and large swings always result in significant losses.
This brings us back to the point: It doesn’t matter how much you’re making now; what matters is what you’re making in the long run.
You need a sufficient sample size to back up your results. The important thing is to measure your performance on an ROI basis and consider the variables we’ve mentioned earlier. Your outlook will then become clearer.
