At some point, every bookie will face a question. Should you or should you not extend credit to a player? Although the answer seems very evident for some people, you should never extend credit. Players should only bet the money they can afford, but do not consent them to use credit from you. If they lose, you would possibly not get your money back but if they win, it’d be like if they were winning some of your money in the original wager.
For many bookmakers, the answer of whether or not to extend credit is more difficult than a simple yes or a no. As you make the decision on extending credit, there are a few things to consider:
Who is your client and how well do you know them? Do you know where they work? Do you have a realistic approximation of what their salary is? Do you know why they gamble? All of these questions are important, and a “no” to any of these questions might be reason to not run the risk. Just like a bank makes a background check on any person they consider making a loan to, you need to know your players. And if you like what you know about them, go ahead and extend credit. But if any of the things you know sets off alarms, then why take the unneeded risk?
Can you float this loan without putting yourself in danger? You may have a player who wants to borrow to make a big bet, causing you to be tempted by the potential profits. But what if the player does lose and cannot pay the bet off in a timely manner? Will you be able to cover their losses temporarily until they get you paid back? Floating someone else a line of credit isn’t worth it. Not if you suffer because that person cannot take care of business as they promised to do.
Does the player understand the credit line and the limits you are willing to accept? If you are willing to float them credit to make a bet, does the interest increase for payback? What is the timeline for payback? The player must absolutely understand those considerations, and they should be able to repeat this information back to you. You don’t want to have problems with them later because you have set different terms for this bet than is customary. No understanding of terms, no loan to make the bet.
You may never be able to avoid this issue completely. But you can hedge your bets so to speak by recruiting qualified players. You may think this is a customer that you have known a long time and that you know well, but unless you really know important details about his or her life, giving them credit does not make sense. Only give credit to someone that you know very well. You can also save yourself numerous other headaches that come with the territory by choosing a qualified PPH service.
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