Smart Betting Club

Episode 97: Anthony Kaminskas on AKBets on Modern Bookmaking, Restrictions & More

Posted on by Peter Ling

In Episode 97 of the Smart Betting Club Podcast, I am joined for the third time by Anthony Kaminskas, founder of AKBets and a former professional punter turned bookmaker.
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Nearly three years on from the launch of AKBets, this conversation takes stock of how the business has grown, how the betting industry has shifted, and why life as a modern bookmaker is far tougher than most punters realise – including a healthy discussion on betting restrictions.

AK speaks candidly about operating under UK regulation, handling restrictions, managing compliance risk, and absorbing rising costs at every level of the business.
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He also lifts the lid on the real economics of running a sportsbook, sharing hard numbers on payroll, data feeds, duties, levies, payment processing and platform fees.
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It is an honest look at why betting markets look the way they do, why margins are tightening, and why both punters and bookmakers are being squeezed by the same pressures.

You can listen to Episode 97 FREE now via Apple / Spotify / YouTube and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

You can also support the SBC Podcast by visiting our podcast sponsor, Matchbook. You can get 150 days, commission free with them via this link.

Discussed With AK:

  • The early chaos of launching AKBets just before Cheltenham and surviving the first year​
  • Growing from a one man operation to a licensed bookmaker with close to 30 staff
  • Why compliance now outweighs trading as the biggest business risk and team
  • How and why bookmakers limit or restrict certain betting patterns
  • The reality behind social media narratives around account closures
  • The impact of rising UK betting and casino duties on prices and offers
  • Why higher taxation almost always leads to worse odds for customers
  • The true monthly cost of running a UK sportsbook
  • Why horse racing is becoming harder and harder to offer sustainably
  • The growing risk of black market operators as regulation tightens
  • Whether the future still holds opportunity for sharp bettors
  • Why professional gambling skills transfer well outside betting

If you want to understand how bookmakers actually think, why markets behave the way they do, and where the pressure points now sit in UK betting, this is essential listening.

Key Quotes

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​On the reality of running a bookmaker

“It costs us around £500,000 to £600,000 every single month just to keep the site running.”

On total account closures

“Since the start of October, we’ve closed four accounts for trading related reasons. One of those was Brodders, who has an account with us now. So realistically, you’re talking about three accounts closed in that period.”

On process changes after the Brodders case

“We don’t let individual traders close accounts anymore. If an account is going to be closed, it now needs sign off from 3 people.”

On taxation

“Higher betting duty only leads one way. Higher margins. There is no other solution.”

On compliance versus trading

“A mistake in compliance has more chance of us not existing as a business than a mistake in trading.”

On the black market

“If you think the legal market is tough on sharp customers, the black market will be worse, not better.”

On horse racing

“You could make the tax on racing 0% and it still would not fix the underlying cost problem.”

On survivorship bias

“People only see the bookmakers that survive. They never see the ones that disappear.”

On professional gambling skills

“If you can think critically and solve betting problems, those skills transfer to almost anything.”

About The Smart Betting Club

The Smart Betting Club (SBC) is an independent service that has been helping serious bettors and professionals since 2006. We review, rate, and monitor tipsters and betting strategies, uncovering proven ways to profit and avoid the noise. Our mission is to help you make smarter, more sustainable profits without relying on bookmaker goodwill.

Inside SBC membership you’ll find:

  • In-depth tipster reviews and performance reports
  • Access to winning strategies that work with sharp-friendly bookmakers
  • Educational guides, data, and insights from professional bettors
  • Monthly magazines and podcasts covering everything that matters in betting today

If you’re ready to treat betting as an investment and want guidance from experts who actually win, join the Smart Betting Club today.
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​ 👉 Join SBC and start improving your betting now

Sharp Betting Reviewed: Small Stakes, Sharp Profits Inside SBC 187

Posted on by Peter Ling

This month’s SBC Magazine – Issue 157 is out now and a must-read.
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Inside, we uncover the full story behind Sharp Betting, one of the most talked-about football services right now, and have secured an exclusive SBC member deal – get 12 months for £150, saving £78 on the regular price.

That’s £12.50 a month, available only to SBC members until 30 November 2025.
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(Given you can join Join SBC from £25 a month you can join Sharp Betting too and you’ll actually save overall!)

Access Issue 157 and the entire 19 year back catalogue with a SBC Membership

Inside SBC 187. Sharp Betting – In Depth Analysis

We’ve gone deep on the football service built by David Hipkin and Chris Fawcett, including:

  • David’s Daily (Free Service) – 2,624 bets, 12.54% ROI in under a year, fully reviewed with staking and bank analysis.
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  • Multiples Edge – how combination betting helps you profit quietly under the bookmaker’s radar.
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  • David’s Road to £8K journey PLUS how a simple small-stakes approach turned £300 into £1,306.05 over 879 bets.
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  • A clear, practical path for anyone betting from £10 – £20 stakes, designed for the affordability-check era.

Also In Issue 187:

  • Each-Way Golf Doubles Strategy + Video Guide – how to link weekly tournaments for powerful each-way returns, perfect for shop bettors or restricted accounts.
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  • Betting Mailbag & News – priming accounts, VIP status, and the overnight racing challenges facing both punters and tipsters.

SIGN UP FOR INSTANT ACCESS

If you’re a member, log in to your SBC account to read Issue 187 today.
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If not, join SBC now and get instant access to this magazine, our full tipster ratings, betting insight and knowledge and hundreds of previous issues and reports!

To sign up as a paid SBC member, just click here and follow the registration link.

Inside the Bet Diary: Real-Life Betting Wins, Losses, and Lessons from Rowan Day

Posted on by Peter Ling

Betting can often feel like a solitary game and it’s rare for many of us to regularly talk about our punting in an honest and transparent way, if at all (booming on social media doesn’t count!).

Which is why Rowan Day writes his Bet Diary for us here at SBC as we felt there was a gap in the market for an honest, realistic and at times humorous rundown of what it is like to bet on tipsters to make a profit.

Follow Rowan’s real life betting journey

Below are some excerpts to show why this series is so popular as Rowan gets into the weeds on the ups and downs of how he makes a long-term betting profit.

And the good news is that lately it’s been a very positive time as Rowan outlined in his latest diary update. Here is an excerpt:

“My last post was headlined, “56% bank growth…in one bet!!!”.

What’s it going to be in my next post? “1,000% bank growth…in one bet!!!”, as a Lucky 15 is landed with four double digit winners?

A man can dream.

But, what is no dream, is that following on from a 3 out of 4 winning Lucky 15 using the Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker last week, Weekly Golf Value – taking value priced players from the Bookie Bashing Golf Tracker – put up 200/1 winner of the Genesis Championship in South Korea, Junghwan Lee! I woke up to the news that a final round 64 had shot Lee to the head of the leader board, and there he had stayed. Wow!

If memory serves me correctly, and sadly I’ve reached an age where perhaps my memory is not quite as sharp as it was, that’s the biggest winner I’ve ever had on the golf. “

Yet as good as a period of form its been lately (His October ROI sits at 16.49% as he updates at the end of each blog post), it’s not always sunshine and rainbows when betting as we all know.

There are often challenges, not just losing runs but things like online restrictions and juggling it around work and other commitments as he posted about on the 1st October:

“September has been a particularly underwhelming month, and several issues have arisen that frankly, have been a little tiresome to deal with. I’ve recognised the problems, because I’ve been through these situations before. More to the point, I knew they would arrive again, and have therefore had plenty of time to think ahead.

In a nutshell, the time has arrived again to start to look towards betting predominantly in shops and on the exchanges.

My betting now has to be designed largely around work, and being able to get to bookmaker shops. I’m fortunate in that I have a number of BetFreds, William Hills and Ladbrokes all within a very short drive. I’ve been here before, and I’ve been able to make it work.”

Real Life Betting

Rowan lives and breathes his betting, reporting the challenges that can come with following any tipster or system.

He has been doing this for a long time so he knows ‘the game’ but I still find it fascinating (and refreshingly honest) when he articulates the joys, biases and paranoia that can come with serious betting for profit.

In addition to this, Rowan’s posts also discuss things like:

  • New tipsters, strategies and angles that have come into the SBC or the general market
  • Account restrictions
  • Exchange betting
  • Shop betting and dealing with the ‘beady eyes’ when taking that value
  • Rowan’s thoughts on developments in the gambling world
  • Arsenal’s title challenge (Yawn!)
  • A lot more besides!

Read More Every Week

For those of you interested in reading the Bet Diary, simply visit the Bet Diary link each week to read Rowan’s posts.

Every one of Rowan’s pieces is also kept on this page if you would like to go back and read through the archive!

Betting doesn’t have to be a solitary game when you can read the thoughts of others – this is the perfect opportunity to do just that!

SBC Issue 156: Boxing Tipster Review, 10-Year ROI Record & Betting Insights

Posted on by Peter Ling

The latest SBC Magazine (Issue 156) is here and the headline tipster review is a real heavyweight!

Boxing Bets That Pack a Punch

This month we shine a light on the exceptional Hall of Fame boxing tipster, who has delivered a 13.25% ROI over more than 10 years of betting.

Affordable, well-run, advising bets that don’t move in the market and overseen by a bonafide expert bettor, this is a service to check-out!

Access Issue 156 and the entire 19 year back catalogue with a SBC Membership​

Inside This Review:

  • The 10+ year betting record that has produced a 13.25% ROI and consistent profits since 2015.
  • How professional bettor Greg lives entirely off his betting, and the approach he takes to boxing.
  • How his method of mixing singles and parlays creates a potent edge
  • Why odds rarely shift even after bets are released, making the service simple to follow.
  • Why these bets look recreational to bookmakers and why that matters for account longevity.
  • What type of bankroll and staking approach works best with this service.
  • Why the subscription cost is kept deliberately low, and why SBC members get 2 months free on top.
  • Why this service can complement an existing portfolio, adding diversification without extra workload.

ALSO IN SBC MAGAZINE ISSUE #156

  • New Free Tipster for SBC Members – Introducing the Pinnacle Underdog Edge, with a proven record of finding value underdogs at sharp-friendly prices.
  • SBC Mailbag – Your questions answered, including:
    • Are “odds-to” services still useful today?
    • What lessons can everyday bettors take from how syndicates operate?
    • What to do when you hit betting limits at firms like Paddy Power.
  • Exploring More Bookmakers – Why it pays to go beyond the big names, with Greg’s insight into which smaller firms he personally uses and why.
  • Black Market Report Analysis – Our take on the Yield Sec study, what’s driving the so-called “growth of the black market,” and what this really means for everyday bettors.

SIGN UP FOR INSTANT ACCESS

To gain instant access SBC Magazine #156 and all of our back catalogue of reviews and reports, you will require SBC Membership.

​To sign up as a paid SBC member, just click here and follow the registration link.

Sample two Smart Betting Club Magazines Free

Posted on by Mike

To give you an idea of what it is like to be a Smart Betting Club member, you can now download two free SBC betting magazines for free.

Each month, we publish TWO monthly betting magazines, one devoted to Sports Betting (with a main focus on football) and the other to Horse Racing.

Each magazine is jam-packed with all you need to make money betting and you can download a sample of each to check out the quality of our work.

Download a free Horse Racing magazine – Click Here

Download a free Sports Betting magazine – Click Here

These special previews contain… Continue reading →

Dark horses, sleepers and teams to avoid this football season

Posted on by Dan

Today we released SBC’s Essential Guide to Football Betting stacked with free systems, tipster and analysis for the 2011/2012 football season.

We couldn’t fit all this content in a single edition, so as a special bonus we have made available one of the sections for all to read.

Editor in chief Greg Gordon asked a selection of the football experts that we monitor to provide some ideas on dark horses, sleepers and teams to avoid in this coming football season….

Dark Horses, Sleepers and Teams To Avoid

Having covered The Premiership, We set our caucus of top tipsters the onerous task of unearthing value bets hidden with the morass of Europe’s football markets.

Here is our rundown of the best long-term wagers on offer, those teams to oppose and teams we should side with.

England

Like Scott Armstrong of The Sportsman, Greg Gordon of Scottish Football Bets, and Phil Brown of Betting Laying Club have taken a shine to Brighton.

Phil Says: “I feel Brighton under the guidance of Gus Poyet will give the Championship a real go this season at 20/1 and expect their big signing Mackail-Smith to score plenty of goals.” Continue reading →

Mike’s Football Bets – Seasonal Wrap

Posted on by Mike

A bit late this but better late than never…

Well that’s it for another season in the English Premier League, in what has been one of the most competitive leagues I can remember for a long-time. Man Utd ended up champions by 9 points despite having one of the worst away records of any title winning team and only 10 pts separated Fulham in 8th and Blackpool down in 19th. There are a lot of very similar sides strength wise sitting in mid-table and the gap between the top 4/5 and the rest appears to have been reigned in somewhat as well.

As per my own stats, I managed to make a profit of 4.96 pts from the 117.5 pts staked at a Return on Investment of 4.23%, which is I must admit was below my expectations for the season. I do wonder though that after such a tough season like we have just seen I shouldn’t be too hard on myself, especially as a number of my peers in the top division have also struggled. Sometimes we are at the behest of some very fine margins between profit and loss – for example had Wolves gone down or had there been a third goal in the game between Liverpool and Spurs last week, the final figures would be a lot more positive.

Seasonal Record

Below you can find the breakdown of performance dating back to the 2009/10 season, when I began advising bets in October 2009. The ROC refers to Return on Capital, which is the percentage growth of profit in relation to my advised betting bank of 25 pts.


The full spreadsheet of results can be downloaded here.

I do hope to return again next season and continue to build upon the promise of the first 2 seasons advising bets in the EPL, thanks for all your support in 2010/11!

If you have any questions, do drop me a line on either the members forum or via mike@smartbettingclub.com.


Mikes Football Bets 20th May

Posted on by Mike

Last week summed up how difficult it can be at this time of the year and as such I am drawing a line under all Main and Shortlist bets for the season.

Instead my focus is on the Ante-post portfolio, which could either way this weekend depending on so many different outcomes. What we do need is Stoke to finish in the top ten and if possible Wolves and Wigan to go down!

I have just one extra bet for the Ante-post and that is on Newcastle to beat West Brom at 2.11. This is for those of you who backed my early season bet on the Baggies to be the top newcomer for 0.5 pt at 9/4. The two teams face each other at St James Park so a 0.5 pt bet on the home team should they win, will ensure a profit whatever the outcome. Naturally only take this bet if you took the West Brom top newcomer one earlier this season.

Good luck with all your bets this weekend!

Antepost Bet
0.5 pt Newcastle to beat West Brom. 2.11 Canbet/SBOBet

 

Final Fink Tank Ratings & Value Picks

Posted on by Dan

You can find some background on this test here.

Fink Tank provide predictions on football games based on their model which is roughly based around shot on target. The Fink Tank team found that shots on target was the best predictor of the outcome of a football game and when you rate this for various attributes you can have a reliable prediction model. For our test, we use the predictions from Fink Tank and only bet when the predicted % chance is better than the predicted chance implied by the available bookmaker odds. The bigger the difference, the bigger the value on offer in theory.

Update:

It was a storming weekend for the Fink tank ratings, picking up Villa, Spurs and Fulham to win away. The season’s total now stands at 52 points with an ROI of 17%. Not bad at all!

 

This weeks:

Note, if a game isn’t listed, it means there’s no value at all in that game. The ratings have thrown up some big value in certain games this weekend, but they are probably best taken with a pinch of salt with a very different United team likely to run out against Blackpool.

For more tests of ratings services like this in sports from football to horse racing, check out how membership of Smart Betting Club could help you.