VigtorySports.com, a new player in the casino sign up bonus sports betting world, is getting ready to launch its online casino sports betting platform by appealing to high-volume punters. Vigtory promises that high-stakes bettors who place wagers on the Vigtory platform will see the vig – percentage -- that the betting operator generally collects cut significantly. As the NFL season gets underway and the NBA and NHL prepare for the openings of their 2020/2021 seasons, more Americans than ever have access to both retail and online sports betting opportunities.
Sports betting was illegal in every state in the United States except Nevada until 2018 when the Supreme Court ruled that states could legislate sports betting within their jurisdictions. Since that time, 18 states plus Washington D.C. have passed sports betting legislation and now host legal sportsbooks – either online, retail or both. Four states have passed legislation but do not yet have the infrastructure for sports betting to operate in their states and nine states have sports betting bills pending in their state legislatures (or have referendums on the upcoming ballots).
Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, sports betting revenues are increasing, despite the fact that there were no sporting events for several months this past spring and summer. Handle for sports betting in New Jersey for August 2019 was $293,594,862 while August 2020 brought in $667,979,150. Pennsylvania’s August 2019 handle was $109,038,051 and in August 2020 the handle was $364,985,422. In Nevada, where online sports betting is not yet operational, there was $287,757,296 in sports betting handle in August 2019 and $474,948,414 in August 2020.
In short, sports betting is an industry that you can bet on. And Vigtory.com is betting that, by shaking up some long-held truths, they can shake it up a bit more and make a good profit at the same time.
Vigtory.com
Vigtory is a new sportsbook that is hoping to launch sometime this winter. The startup plans to enter the $150 billion legalized sports gaming industry with a new model that has a good chance of catching on. They will simply charge less than the traditional 10% “vig” to large scale bettors which will draw those punters in.
Up until now, bettors had a choice of either betting with one of the traditional sportsbooks or placing their wagers with illegal bookies or through illegal offshore sportsbooks.
Now Vigtory is preparing to offer a wagering platform that features a vig that’s 50% to 75% lower than the big name sportsbooks for high-stakes players. As reported in QNewsHub, Sam Rattner, Vigtory’s Chief Executive Officer, says, “We’re not necessarily looking to knock DraftKings or Fan Duel, two companies that use Daily Fantasy Sports to pull people into sports gambling, or TheScore or Barstool sports. Our site will integrate live streaming, ticketing and other facets of the sports industry and integrate them into one platform”
The Vig
“The vig” comes from the word “vigorish”, which basically means “gains or winnings.” The word originated in Russian, then migrated to Yiddish and came into colloquial use among American bettors in the early 20th century. It refers to “the cut” or the take” – that the house takes for accepting a gambler’s wager.
Bookmakers figure the vig into their calculations so that they have a guaranteed profit from the wagers that they accept, regardless of whether the bettor wins or loses.
High Rolling Mobile Bettors{\displaystyle v={\frac {o}{(1+o)}}\quad {\text{ and }}\quad o={\frac {v}{(1-v)}}}
Vigtory aims to attract high rollers. As a rule, online sportsbooks try to limit such punters – who they call “sharps.” If the bookmaker sees a sharp winning a lot, they often exclude the person. Vigtory, on the other hand, is trying to lure in those wagerers. Rattner said that, “Just because somebody bets big does not mean he is a shark.”
At the outset VigtorySports will debut in Indiana and in New Jersey. The company has also applied for licenses in three other states and hopes to expand to additional jurisdictions in states in which mobile betting is legal. Vigtory.com is based on the belief that investors see value in the high-stakes end of the sports betting industry. There is, said CEO Rattner, a need for high rollers to have a sportsbook that caters to their specific betting habits so that they don’t have to be successful more than 60% of the time in order to turn a profit. “Astute bettors win more than 50% of the time,” said Rattner, “but when someone is betting often, that vig adds up. So for us it seems reasonable to cut the juice.”
Action Network
Vigtory has already announced a partnership with Action Network that will see the network power Vigtory’s sports media content as well as a variety of data and analytics tools. Action Network launched less than three years ago but it has already been featured in major media outlets (Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Fox Sports, ESPN, New York Times, etc) which use its content, in-depth analysis and data, tools, app and real-time odds as a source for their sports new and primary data.
Rattner said, “Many sportsbook operators are announcing wide- canaster media partnerships or ‘free-to-play’ conversion plays, but our vision has always been focused on establishing partnerships that improve consumer experiences. We have certainly found that with Action.”
The goal of the partnership is to bring a better betting experience to sports bettors. The agreement between The Action Network and Vigtory includes the integration of the Action Network’s premium products into Vigtory to bring users state-of-the-art data & analytics tools and data, including Action Network’s professional betting systems, Expert Picks and proprietary projection tools (including player props and lines). Vigtory will also have access to some of The Action Network’s products including BetSync technology which allows users to track their Vigtory betting portfolio automatically.
“Vigtory is laser-focused on consumer experiences pertaining to product, price and VIP loyalty,” said Scott Butera, Rattner’s co-CEO, reported by GlobeNewsWire. “Not only is The Action Network a strategic media partner for Vigtory given their superior content and consumer product, but it was clear to us from the beginning that the company pillars shaping The Action Network are a carbon copy of those pillars that drive us to here at Vigtory each day.”
