independent bookmaker guide

SBC Podcast #52 🎧: David Lovell From The Bookmaker DragonBet

Posted on by Josh P

In the latest Smart Betting Club Podcast I am joined by ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’ David Lovell, who is one half of the duo that runs the independent bookmaking firm, DragonBet alongside his brother, James.

Immersed in the betting world from an early age thanks to their bookmaking father, John Lovell, both David and James have recently launched dragonbet.co.uk to go alongside their on-course bookmaking in Wales.

David provides a refreshing vision for what a bookmaker should be as we discuss the mechanics of running a smaller firm and how they differentiate themselves from the faceless corporate books.

You can listen to Episode 52 now via Apple / Spotify / Google / and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

In-depth Chat with DragonBet

In this episode, David and I discuss:

  • The Lovells’ history in bookmaking
  • The innovations that David’s father John introduced into the industry
  • How the Lovell brothers complement each other and have the right mix of skills to make their business work
  • The inspiration behind DragonBet, its Welsh identity and pricing up markets that no-one else does
  • ‘White Label’ bookmaking – how it works, its benefits and its drawbacks
  • Hosting casino and E-Sport products on the DragonBet website
  • The day-to-day challenges of running a bookmaker operation & the regulatory changes on the horizon
  • Managing sharp punters and how David views them differently from arbers or fast-feeders
  • On-course bookmaking, the benefits of face-to-face interaction with customers and the challenges that rail bookmakers are up against
  • The Lovell brothers’ future plans for DragonBet

David was a fascinating guest and it was so informative to learn about the bookmaking industry and day-to-day operations at an independent firm.

You can learn more about DragonBet by visiting their website or by interacting directly with David and James on their social media accounts (their Twitter handle is @DragonBetWales).

More on Firms Like DragonBet

Many of us have grown tired of dealing with the impersonal and incompetent service at larger bookmakers and here at the SBC we have been doing lots of work to profile firms like DragonBet and what they can offer smart bettors.

An SBC profile of DragonBet (and other likeminded bookmakers) is available on our regularly updated Independent Bookmaker page, providing a comprehensive summary of the different options available with these lesser known firms.

We also invite your comments and experiences on this page as we build up a dossier of helpful information for those of you looking to bet away from the main firms we all know about!

 

Why The Bookie Is NOT Your Friend

Posted on by Mike

This week I did something I promised I would never do…… I got into a twitter ‘spat’.

Well it was probably more of a ‘strong debate’ than a spat, but it was on a subject that matters a lot to me: bookmakers and how they treat punters.

The bookie in question was Stan James and my ‘opponent’ their head of PR – Rory Jiwani. Now for all intents and purposes, Rory is a nice bloke and he deserves credit for being one of the few people to actually try and discuss issues that few other bookie reps actually will.

My challenge to Rory was how can he defend his bookmaker (Stan James) who are routinely one of the most complained about bookmakers amongst our members. This is backed up by stats whereby they were ranked 26th out of 27 major football bookies and 16th out of 19 major racing bookies, according to 2 large recent SBC members surveys.

Part of the reason for their lowly rating is their apparent clampdown on winning punters accounts as 52.29% of respondents in our recent horse racing survey had their Stan James account closed down. This was by far the worst stat for closures and I was keen to find out why Stan James had so little time for anyone making a semblance of profit! Why were they so different from many other bookies and not keen to lay a bet?

Ultimately, my quest for answers was not fruitful (no big surprise!), but it helps raise a very serious topic once again…that the bookie is not your friend.

Continue reading →