The Economist has a great piece on strategy sportsbetting apps use to throttle smart bettors:
â«ïžSkilled players are âsharpsâ and given âstake restrictionsâ if they play too well (bets are capped).
â«ïžRest of players called âSquareâ.
â«ïžIn 2025, 4.3% of active UK accounts had a âstake factorâ below the maximum bet allowance of 100%.
â«ïžSportsbook will take bets with a profit margin as low as 4.5%.
â«ïžIf they are able to do good âplayer-profilingâ and keep the âsharpsâ from playing, the profit margin can reach 10-20%.
â«ïžAs important as keeping out âsharpsâ is hooking âwhalesâ, the deep-pocketed players that are willing to keep playing (and losing) large sums.
â«ïžSome âwhalesâ are actually âsharpsâ in disguise, though. Theyâll lose a bunch of bets to lull the sportsbook then put down a massive bet when they have an edge.
â«ïžWhile there is a risk of a âwhaleâ being a âsharpâ, the value of a real âwhaleâ is so high that sportsbook will take the risk
â«ïžâIn March 2024 PointsBet, raised its share of online sports-gambling revenue in New Jersey from 11% to 24% after wooing a single cash-spouting customer away from DraftKings.â (I can confirm that this wasnât me).
â«ïžHow sportsbook profile players:
> Playing on Mobile is a good sign (where majority of people play)
> Playing on PCs is a bad sign (itâs easier to compare odds and run models)
> E-wallets are a red flag (sportsbooks prefer debit direct deposit that can attach a player to a single account; e-wallet is more anonymized and players can move cash between sportsbook more quickly to shop for the best odds)
> Women bettors are a red flag (most bettors are men and âsharpsâ often use women to place bets)
â«ïžFirst wagers are a major tells (typical bettors go after top leagues â NFL, NBA, EPL â and do so near the start of the game).
â«ïžPopular bets for âsquaresâ: who will win, scoring margins and how star player will perform (also, they love multi-leg parlays).
â«ïžâSharpsâ go after less popular leagues and place bets as soon as odds are published, when they are most mispriced. They also go after less popular bets such as âpts in Q3â or stats from a random player (âSharpsâ rarely do parlays and donât withdrawal winnings often).
â«ïžOne gambling consultant tells The Economist that âBy the time a customer places his first bet, [sportsbooks] are 80-90% certain they know the lifetime value of the account.â
â«ïžâSportsbooks look at a playerâs âclosing-line valueâ â a measure that compares the odds at which he bets with those available right before a match begins. If it is consistently ahead of the market over his first ten wagers, he is highly likely to beat the book in the long run.â
â«ïžSportsbook mathematically monitor players and creates a new risk score every 6-8 hours (risk score = estimate of probability that customers will wind up unprofitable).
â«ïžE-wallet users, women and bets over $100 are flagged. These suspicious bettors are given 30% of maximum bet (and proven sharps only allowed 1%).
â«ïžHigh-skilled players will often get a âbeardâ to bet on their behalf. Most sportsbooks ban this practice but it is widespread.
â«ïžSafest âbeardsâ are close friends and relatives because you can mostly rely on them to pay out any winnings. The âbeardsâ try to look like degens (playing at 3am, bet non-stop and doing ridiculous parlays) before placing a winning bet.
â«ïžThe most effective strategy for âsharpsâ is âwhale-flippingâ. Find a losing gambler, then ask to put a (likely) large winning bet amongst their pool of guaranteed losers.
â«ïžOnce âsharpsâ max out the people they can use as âbeardsâ, they tap professional networks called âmoversâ. These âmoversâ employ a bunch of âmulesâ who can put down bets on the behalf of the network. Low-end movers charge 10-20% while high-end movers charge 50% of winnings.
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Lots other great details here: https://t.co/RH1KMF7k90
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