No risk of account closure and smaller over-round
The main difference between Asian handicap bookmakers, such as Pinnacle, IBC, SBO & Eastbridge. And traditional European bookmakers is that they welcome profitable traders rather than close or severely limit their accounts.
Although this may sound counter intuitive to running a profitable sportsbook, Asian handicap bookmakers are able to operate in this manner due to offering small over-rounds and high stake limits.
Firstly, by having smaller over-rounds than their European competitors, Asian handicap sites attract sharp bettors as they will inevitably provide better prices.
To demonstrate this we can look at the over/under 2.5 lines, offered by Eastbridge and Bet365 for this weekend’s game between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs.
Bet365
Over 2.5: 2.00 Under 2.5: 1.80
Eastbridge
Over 2.5: 2.12 Under 2.5: 1.81
The benefit of using Asian handicap bookmakers is clearly visible as the over-round of 102.41% at Eastbridge in comparison to Bet365’s 105.56%, has resulted in better odds.
At this time a bet on the overs will provide a 9% higher return to a punter using Eastbridge instead of Bet365.
To make up for this deficit, Asian handicap bookmakers offer higher betting limits and don’t restrict gamblers according to their profitability.
For example, on the Asian handicap line Eastbridge have a highest limit of 30,000, a feat that can only be matched at European bookmakers if you’re a losing punter, thus providing another beneficial reason for professionals to use Asian handicap books.
This combination of a low over-round and high stake limits enables Asian handicap books to operate highly efficient markets.
Professional traders will always try to move markets, within their pre-set limits, to the correct price and thus enable the Asian handicap books to profit from their small over-round on an accurate price.
In-play Danger Zone
Another advantage of using them is their system of waiting for the ball to leave the danger zone before matching in-play bets.
This is specifically advantageous to automated traders as they are not required to watch every live game they are trading to prevent bets from being placed during dangerous attacks and situations.
Furthermore, once the bet is placed the gambler is guaranteed a bet at the current price when the ball leaves the danger zone.
This removes the traditional bookmaker issue of bets not being placed, after a pre-defined timer, due to a change in price. A problem that often results in a new bet being placed at a lower price.
No commission premium charges
Finally, bookmakers such as Eastbridge, Pinnacle, SBO and IBC, are also preferred over exchanges due to their lack of commission and premium charges.
At first glance, exchanges sometimes offer the best price due to having no over-round, however once commission is factored in, which can be as high as 5%, this is often not the case.
Furthermore, Betfair, the world’s most popular exchange, applies a premium charge to its most profitable traders that can be as high as 60%.
As a result of these charges, exchanges struggle to compete with the liquidity of Asian books due to deterring high staking professionals.
Conclusion – Asian Handicap Bookmakers
Overall, this article demonstrates the key benefits of higher stakes, no account closure, smaller over-rounds and no charges when using Asian books.
Most significantly, the smaller over-rounds and lack of charges result in higher pay-outs to gamblers betting on football and all other major sports, such as tennis and US sports.
Moreover, Eastbridge is perfect place for punters to benefit from these advantages as currently other firms such Pinnacle, SBO and IBC don’t have a UK gambling licence.
Prices correct at the time of writing.
By @jamiedgough
Join Eastbridge Soccer Betting Broker the Asian Handicap specialist.
