I mentioned syndicates in the first tweet of this 100 and I feel I should go into more detail about them. They play such a huge role in the betting ecosystem, that it is really important to understand as much about them as possible.
There are many well known betting syndicates with the most famous atm being Star Lizard (Tony Bloom). There are plenty of other football ones including the one Matthew Benham (Brentford) was involved with.
You have the huge horse racing syndicates inc Benter, Woods and Zeljko. In sports like golf Mustardbet are huge. There are too many to name and many specialise in multiple sports. What you have to appreciate is the size of these operations and who they have working for them.
These companies can afford to employ the best quant mathematicians out of Oxbridge. These guys are absolute geniuses when it comes to modelling. These companies have huge overheads and therefore have to really make the game pay.
In recent times these companies have found similar problems to everyone else in the industry in terms of getting bets on. The Asian markets in football for example have dried up a bit and as a result they are looking at different options to keep them sustainable.
What we are seeing is these syndicates are now often the people pricing up for bookmakers. It’s a way for them to get exposure to the mass public (losing punters) that they cant get themselves. Its partly why companies are happy to not have many odds compilers any more.
In essence the odds compilation has been outsourced. It is hugely important to remember this when we look at what edge you might or might not have in any given market. You will not beat these syndicates in markets such as Match Odds on football.
You also have to realise that many of these syndicates get very favourable terms for their business whether that be in the shape of rebates/lower commission rates etc. They are the largest liquidity providers. Its not a level playing field.
You want to avoid going against betting syndicates as much as possible. Unfortunately, it is not always possible so you have to understand what their weaknesses are. That is for another day though.
ProPunting 