Betting consultancies are an ever-growing business type that will only become more and more prominent in the years to come. Naturally, that is due to the rapidly increasing number of people who choose to wager on sporting events, seeing this gambling form as one that boasts higher winning odds than casino games. Hence, with an expanding pool of individuals seeking to gain an edge in this hobby, there is no doubt that new professional advice services will appear trying to give them this advantage they so desperately seek en route to profits. While most sports gamblers turn to tipsters, those who know their stuff (and have deep pockets) know that betting consultancies are a safer bet (pun intended). Why is that so?
Well, these firms specialize in providing data-driven strategic guidance. They offer a range of services that aim to improve client’s efficacy regarding their betting on sports. Their list of services typically includes advanced statistical methods that analyze all relevant factors that may contribute to an event’s outcome. But probably more importantly, they supply research into markets, odds movements, and bookmaker behaviors. By doing this, they allow bettors an opportunity to identify quality betting opportunities. They also have experts on staff who give their contributions and opinions on what algorithms churn out.
In short, these are entities that employ the latest analytics tech to get the software to look through massive volumes of data in real time and make the best sports predictions that current technology can deliver. We must stress that these firms make all employees sign NDAs (non-disclosure agreements). Plus, they implement a security practice known as compartmentalization, not to allow the public to be aware of what they do precisely. Below, we tell you about four leaders in this sector, a bit of their history, and what they advertise.
Starlizard
According to many, Starlizard is the realm’s leading firm. The brainchild of Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, Tony Bloom, reported a $154.4 million after-tax profit in 2023. Like many industry players, there are not boatloads of information available online about Starlizard, as it is one of many secretive consultancy firms whose operations revolve around sports betting.
Tony Bloom allegedly became a sports gambling wizard in the late 1990s when BetVictor creator Victor Chandler introduced Bloom to Asian handicaps. As the story goes, that made Bloon dive into sports wagering, which then led to him creating Starlizard in 2006. The company markets itself as a cutting-edge analytics firm that produces leading match predictions. Headquartered in Camden, north London, Starlizard primarily works with large gambling syndicates, telling them when and how to bet. It has a team that is a few hundred strong, who make wagers for clients through its bespoke platforms that enable Starlizard to execute high-frequency orders at all times.
Smartodds
Here is another North London consultancy, one that got up and running in 2004, with a base at Highgate Road. It has over a hundred employees and states that it supplies quantitative analysts and predictive statistical models for chiefly football matches. It has software and sites that let clients access interfaces created to meet their preferences, where they can view all the info Smartodds can feed them, and using these, they can make instant decisions on which events and markets they wish to bet on.
Per online info, Smartodds pulls in annual revenues of $23 million. Hence, they are much smaller than Starlizard. Nevertheless, like it, Smartodds also has an EPL owner for its founder.
Matthew Benham, the head of Brentford FC, is the man behind Smartodds. He also owns the Matchbook betting exchange. Benham is an Oxford University graduate with a degree in physics who got into the gambling sector via Tony Bloom, who hired him to work for his company Premier Bet in 2001. The pair had a falling out three years later, causing them to split and Behnam to establish Smartodds as a Starlizard rival. In interviews, Benham has proclaimed that he never liked gambling. Yet, he has always loved football and math, which guided him into this landscape.
White Swan Data
It should be clear by now that London is the hotbed for entities that utilize technology to enhance sports betting entertainment. White Swan Data also operates from the Big Smoke, headquartered on 175-185 Gray’s Inn Road. It opened its doors over a decade and a half ago and has a team of high-quality software engineers, mathematicians, and data scientists under its roof that create refined sports wagering models while continuously developing and deploying novel ones. White Swan Data mainly covers golf, horse racing, and football wagering.
Bernard Marantelli, a former Deutsche Bank Associate and Monsanto PR operative who attended London Business School, created White Sawn Data, and he is also the co-founder of Colossus Bets, a leading UK pool betting specialist. Marantelli calls White Swan Data a data modeling company looking to expand dramatically in 2024. It is interesting to note that Marantelli began Colossus Bets along with Zeljko Ranogajec. If you are not aware who this person is, he is one of Australia’s most notorious gamblers, which some journalists have called the world’s biggest one.
Football Radar
And again, we have another firm from London (based in Paddington) making the cut. Football Radar appeared on the scene in 2009 with a mission to become the number one football bet advisor. It utilizes qualitative methodology and is a privately owned company with a staff of around two hundred that seeks to maintain an informal, start-up atmosphere.
Football Radar specializes in predicting match outcomes but also rates players and supplies this info to top clubs willing to pay for it. Alexander Reedtz is the firm’s director, and like Bloom and Benham, Reedtz is also a football franchise owner, as he headed the Danish consortium that bought Notts County F.C. in 2019, along with his brother Christoffer. Notts County F.C.., nicknamed the Magpies, is an EFL League Two team, which holds the distinction of being the oldest professional association football club on the planet.
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