With essentially all sports on hold, the betting world has been both dull and generally non-profitable for sports punters globally. A return date for all sport is not definite, so what does one do with the funds in one’s betting account?
After speaking with MoneyBoy towards the beginning of national lockdown, I suggested that he withdraw most of the funds from his accounts and put them into an investment account that gains a little bit of interest, as sport wouldn’t be returning for at least the next three months.
While it may initially seem like an effort in futility – due to the process of withdrawal, the fact that one would have to redeposit one’s money when sport returns, and the uncertainty surrounding the timing of the return of sports – it makes a lot of sense on a few different levels. For starters, I’ve upheld the notion since day one that good sports betting is like investing, and should be treated as such. To align these times with that notion, there is no chance of making returns on the “risky investments” that would be sports matches (as there simply are no sports matches), so the next best thing to do would be to put your money into a no-risk fund, where it can accumulate some interest.
Had Covid-19 not shaken the world, the sports one included, you would have been chipping away at your betting funds every weekend, hopefully making winnings, also risking losing, but definitely not spending the money as if it were in your current account. Putting the money into a separate savings and investment account removes the possibility of simply taking your betting funds back into your current account and spending them. Another way in which stashing your betting funds elsewhere is a good financial move, is that without the money in your betting account, you have no opportunity to make silly, uneducated bets on events that normally wouldn’t warrant a click. In my previous column I spoke about the unethical and problematic betting markets based on actual Covid-19 Statistics. Aside from this ridiculous market, there are few markets such as E-Sports and Ukrainian Table Tennis among others, on offer. It is more likely than not, that most punters are not educated in these events, and therefore, by all good betting logic, should stay the hell away from them. Yet betting, when approached as simple gambling, can be done in desperation, for a thrill, and without sound thought. While you may be craving a bet during these times (which I hope you aren’t if you consider yourself a mature bettor and investor), removing the funds from your account makes the right decision for you, by not allowing you to place these random bets.
Lastly, while you can’t be sure of what the interest gained on your money over the next few months will be, as we don’t even know how many months we should expect to wait, you may at least gain enough for a few extra bets. And these few extra bets can go a long way. R20 might not seem like a lot of money, but R20 you didn’t have previously, placed on a winning accumulator of 7/1 when sport comes back booming, sees you with R140 that you never would have had before. With betting, as with investing, think long term and think small increments. Good betting is first and foremost knowing when not to bet, and then also valuing all money; be it small money or “free bets”. There is no such things as small, when the return can be big, and there is no such thing as free money, when if treated right you can turn it into hard cash.
Stay safe and be responsible. MoneyMan.
