Online Gambling: The Art Of Running a Sports Betting Forum

I have been surfing around the Internet trying to find some worthy threads to read. It's interesting to see comments made by some people who have never owned or moderated a message board as well as those who have.

For starters, one controversial poster, namely JJ Gold, stated:

"People will kill for mod jobs

it's not the money but the power it gives and prestige."

Joeybagadonuts says the following:

"I can't lie, I am surprised a guy with a rep like Jman was able to get some decent cappers over there. (You, MC, Buffetgambler) Other than that, the site doesn't really impress me. I like MC and you, other than that, not much substance. Jman will never have the relationships with books that some of the other forum owners have. What is going to be the differentiating factor that will make BC succeed? You know as well as I do that in a competitive market, full of like similar sites, or for the sake of argument, call them "products".

What "product" does BC offer that the other sites don't? What is their business plan to increase traffic, what sort of affiliate deals can Jman, or the real owners get? Who is their SEO person, is the person proven in building up a site to get more hits on search engines? What is going to stop Ken from making sure the books he has been friends with for 10+ years to take a shot on a site that has a stiff as their head guy? All I know as someone who has done due diligence when buying companies, all this would concern me as an outsider looking in. Even if the owner of BC came in here and answered all these questions well, I would STILL doubt the fact the place would ever turn any kind of real profit.

I would love to review the business model of a place like that. My thinking on forums is this- unless the site is OWNED by a book, it probably isn't a good investment for the person starting it. I realize that there isn't a huge cost of ownership, thanks to the honesty of Peep and Reagan here. I also would venture that only a few of the bigger forums really have the solid leadership BEHIND THE SCENES to really make money. The guys with huge affiliate deals simply use the forum to sign up new players, that model does work, but puts you on the radar of the feds. The other way, trying to build a forum with lots of traffic and going with an ad based model might have worked 5 years ago, today, not likely. This is all conjecture as I have never owned a forum, or otherwise been privy to how they create revenue. I could be way off with all of this, I don't know, but I think I have been around the block enough to be pretty close.

And to be complete, an owner, namely, SBR John adds his perspective by stating the following about EOG'S HEAD MODERATOR: mofome:

He is a better match where the owner wants or needs a high level of posting from a mod. The mods here let the posters have the stage. Allowing posters to be the show makes more sense and its scalable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Having the privilege of founding both The Prescription and Eye on Gambling, I believe that makes me qualified to comment on what it is like to own a posting forum...

Personally, it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, despite the many mistakes I have made with both venues.

To provide a censor-free environment (for the most part), where gamblers can share their experiences involving sports betting is exciting, informative and the closest thing we have to regulation online.

I am grateful to be a small part of this industry.

The more I stay out of the way and allow our posters to contribute helps make EOG a fun place to be a part of.

What are some other thoughts?

I'd love to hear them.

It sure beats some of these bashing threads, or does it?

Thanks,

THE SHRINK

�

To discuss this and other sports or gambling related topic please join us on our popular posting forums at