Making money in gambling might sound easy. Everyone is out for a quick buck. Yet 90% of gamblers fail in poker, sports betting, and casinos.
"How can I make money in gambling?"
That's the most common question for gamblers. Been there, done that. That's how I started my business career if we consider professional gambling a career. I've seen first-hand how professional gamblers make money, having been one of them!
Yet, 20 years later, I always recommend starting an online business instead of trying to make a living off gambling.
Why? Because the percentage of gamblers that win is less than 5%, while less than 1% make serious money.
Consider the main actors in the gambling industry:
- 85-90%: Losing players
- 5-10%: Casinos and gambling operators (rake, vig, commission, etc.)
- 1-5%: Winners
Below, I'll explain how to make money gambling online based on my experience as a professional card counter in blackjack, sports odds trader, and poker player.
Proof that you're listening to a professional gambler
Note, at this point, that I could show you hundreds of screenshots that prove I used to make money gambling. Like these:
Or my 3-month withdrawals.
These would make you assume that I never lost money. Much like many 'pro gamblers' out there. And you couldn't be further from the truth.
But you'll rarely see this kind of screenshots.
Why? Because these don't sell you a dream. The dream of making a living from gambling.
I can show these to you because I am not trying to sell you this dream. And in fact, as you'll see, my goal is to shatter your dream!
But if you're still going after it, I want to better prepare you for what lies ahead with this article.
Before we begin, we need to know exactly how much money there is in the gambling industry. If there isn't any, how can we make some, right?
The gambling sector is a lucrative industry, valued at $400 billion and expanding. This vast sum represents the stakes laid down by players and bettors across the globe, constituting what can be called the gambling pie.
So, if you're ready to learn how to carve out your own slice and make a living gambling, just as I managed to do over three years as a sports betting odds trader, then grab your spoon and dive into the insights I'm about to share. And we'll start with who is destined to make money gambling.
How do gambling operators and casinos make money in gambling
Let's kick things off by talking about the big players in the gambling world.
You've got your sports betting companies, casinos, and poker rooms leading the pack. Why?
Because the odds are always in their favor. Bookies rake in cash thanks to the vig, casinos always come out on top with their house edge, and poker rooms? Well, they're scooping up a bit of every pot with the rake.
An up-to-date overview of the gambling market in the 21st century:
- 2000-2005: Slow growth due to the developing stage of online gambling.
- 2006-2010: Moderate growth as online platforms become more popular and jurisdictions begin to regulate online gambling.
- 2011-2015: Significant growth due to the proliferation of online gambling and the opening of new markets in Asia and Europe.
- 2016-2019: Continued growth with the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and further growth in online gambling.
- 2020: A dip or stagnation might be observed due to the global impact of COVID-19 on physical casinos.
- 2021-2023: Recovery and strong growth as online gambling surges to new heights, partly due to increased digital adoption following the pandemic.
If you want to win big and constantly, you need to start a gambling business. No other way around. You cannot take a bigger cut of the gambling pie unless you are one of these companies.
Even the most successful poker players and sports bettors cannot compete with them in profitability.
Yet, these gambling businesses are not one-man shows.
Plenty of people work in the gambling venues, from dealers and odds compilers to marketers and public relations staff. They are real businesses with business plans that guarantee them a profit for offering a service to the public. That service is entertainment. Because that is what gambling is.
Entertainment.
For all those people to work and get paid their salaries, gambling companies need big cheques and margins. Otherwise, their business isnāt sustainable.
There are two ways to accomplish that:
- by either having bigger-than-average profit margins or
- by increasing their turnover.
Usually, brand-new gambling companies go for the former.
As they build up their customer base, they reduce their margins to attract more turnover and compete with the big guys. By the time a gambling operator generates sufficient revenue and net profit every year, their business is safe as long as they donāt fall behind the competition.
Then, itās a matter of how many more gamblers find their service attractive. The more they do, the bigger the cut for the company.
Either way, gambling companies are after puntersā money. Those 400 billion dollars.
Recreational gamblers are feeding the whole gambling industry each and every year.
Even in poker, where at first glance, whales (wealthy bad players) lose to better, regular players. Note āregularsā.
Eventually, those regulars will keep playing, paying rake on a daily basis, giving a portion of their winnings back to the poker room.
So, hereās the first step of how to make a living off gambling and stop feeding the gambling industry.
You want to make money gambling online? Stop gambling!
If you have been gambling, stop.
Seriously.
Unless you are a winner, you need to stop. And since you are reading these lines, you have been losing money. So, stop losing money!
So simple.
Now that your bankroll has stopped depleting, itās time to understand the ins and outs of the gambling industry. That is known as the iGaming industry if you are gambling online.
In gambling, someone has an edge. Itās either you or the man on the other side of the betting line. That usually is the house, standing for bookmakers and casinos. That edge is either predetermined (think of roulette, where you are paid 35-to-1 on a 37-number wheel) or fluctuating (think of betting odds that move up or down).
The best way to comprehend the edge is a coin toss.
Imagine you bet on a coin flip, at less than even odds. No matter your choice of heads or tails, you are going to lose money, in the long run. You are betting on a 50-50 chance but only get paid less than double your money on each coin flip! Depending on how much less you are getting paid, your bankroll will withstand a certain amount of bets.
So, if Iām offering you 1.90 (decimal odds) for each coin flip, your money will end up in my pockets after 200-300 coin flips. Thatās how you have been feeding the gambling industry. And thatās what the house edge is all about.
But how do I know you'll survive for that many coin flips? In other words, how do I know how big is your gambling bankroll?
Risk management is critical if you want to make gambling profitable
Before you even think of beating the casinos or the bookies, you must understand risk management. Also known as bankroll or capital management, risk management will be the decisive factor in your success. No matter how much edge you gain over the gambling companies, bad risk management will make your betting bankroll evaporate.
If you are going to remember one thing from this article, write down this:
Always risk a maximum of 1% of your gambling money.
Thatās easy to remember, right? Set aside a specific amount of money for your gambling habit and divide it into 100 parts. No matter your gambling game, you should risk no more than one part on each bet you place.
Thatās pretty much it!
That would also get you at a safe distance from disastrous staking plans, like martingale systems. When the time comes, youāll move up to more advanced staking strategies than flat betting, such as the Kelly staking plan.
Until then, though, stick to risking 1 percent of your bankroll, and youāll be fine.
Remember that this rule applies to small and big bankrolls alike! So, your bankrollās size doesnāt matter when it comes to risk. Size only determines how much gambling money you will make or lose in currency terms.
Find a gambling strategy to start making money
Now comes the really tedious task of creating a profitable gambling strategy.
Finding an edge in the gambling market isnāt easy, Iāll tell you that. If it were that easy, and given the simple risk management rule I explained, everyone would be a winner. But you already know that only about 5% of gamblers can make money gambling!
Best way to make money from casinos
The easiest gambling strategy to learn is the blackjack basic strategy. The strategy is based on math, obviously, but worry not; you don't need to learn differential equations! As long as you can do basic algebra, you only need to memorize a chart table.
There's a catch, though. š¤·
You can't make money from casinos by simply applying this basic strategy. But at least it will save you money if you can't resist playing.
To make money at a casino's blackjack tables, you need to learn and excel in another strategy: card counting. And then build a skill called shuffle tracking.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves here. I just wanted to demonstrate that each game has its own strategies, which may not always be the optimal one, until you move up a level or two.
Let's go back to the general mindset you have to adopt when it comes to gambling strategies. Oh, and here's a warning:
Every gambling strategy is unique
In order for you to make money, someone has to lose. Itās a zero-sum game, where gambling operators also get their cut. Thus, we need to exploit the market, looking for leaks and biases, like the favorite-longshot bias .
The average gambler follows specific betting patterns. You mustnāt do the same. Always do something different, always think differently.
Be the first toā¦ or be the best in exploiting a known fallacy.
Oh, and if you do, donāt tell the world unless you are after fame and reputation. Otherwise, your edge will diminish as more people imitate you, and the market will find its new balance.
Also, you don't need to ask me or any other gambling expert if your strategy works. Test it yourself. First with paper money, then with real money. If your strategy is profitable after 1,000 bets, you'll have your answer!
Finally, donāt worry if your first betting system fails! Or the next 10.
Gambling strategies can vary greatly, depending on the games and stakes. For those interested in online options, casino sites without Swedish licenses provide a range of choices for players seeking unrestricted gaming.
3 things to do so that you can make a living off gambling
So, by now, you should have a viable gambling strategy and know how much to bet on the next game. You are on your way to becoming one of the elite professional gamblers who make money gambling. What can go wrong?
Be Disciplined
First, you may not be disciplined enough to follow your own rules! Wouldnāt it be a pity to lose money after all that research and study? Yet, even reputable and notable sharp bettors may lose their discipline after a long losing streak.
Donāt be that guy.
Trust your proven strategy, stick to your risk management plan, and always be prepared for variance. Embrace the drawdown and never question yourself at challenging times, as long as you are doing everything by the book.
Stay on your toes
By the time you experience several months or years of profitable gambling, thereās a big chance you feelā¦ bored!
Yes, believe it or not, no matter how much money you are making in gambling, doing the same dull thing every single day will get you bored. At first, finding a fast way to make money from gambling seems like a dream. But like in every other business, routine will take the pleasure away.
Find the missed fun, by exploiting new gambling markets, trying something new or improve your gambling methods.
Don't burn out
Finally, burnout is a serious hazard in all kinds of profitable gambling. Take breaks, go on holidays, and enjoy your profits and hard work. Donāt let gambling consume you, no matter how big you are winning.
Enjoy life because, in the end, isnāt that the meaning of living?
Letās not hurry things up, though. Most probably, youāre having a difficult time breaking even in gambling, to say the least.
Winning in the long run seems too far away at the moment. Donāt despair. Stop gambling your money away, find an edge, forward-test your strategy on paper, and do not risk more than 1% of your bankroll when you feel ready.
I am sure weāll be hearing from you soon!
By now, though, you should have understood that the life of an advantage gambler isn't that easy.
Sports Trading
I found betting exchanges in 2004.
I used to bet the regular way in online bookmakers till then, and like most, I initially found it challenging to understand what was going on in a betting exchange. Odds were moving up or down; money was waiting to be āmatched,ā and we could act as bookmakers ourselves! Chaos drove me away in the beginning.
Little did I know I would return two weeks later and become a full-time sports betting odds trader!
Jim Makos
Poker
I have been playing online poker since 2006 with moderate success. I may not have made it to the high-stakes games as a regular player, and you wonāt see me on TV, but at least I have not lost money. And while that is not something to brag about, Iām happy as things turned out.
Jim Makos