PayPerHead review: an old name with two packages and one published price

Two packages, one price on the page

PayPerHead says it has been at this since 1997, and its name is what the whole business gets called. That is worth something in a search box and nothing on a Sunday afternoon. What you're buying is software and a line service, and the question is whether this one does the job for your players at a price that leaves you something.

The site now sells two packages. Core is for what it calls straightforward day-to-day work: the sportsbook, live betting, the prop builder, a classic casino and email support, at $6.49 per active player per week. Advanced is for agents who need more control. It adds Pay & Collect Online, a player sign-up form, a risk management tool, early parlay cashout, a player management tool and full customer support, and offers extras on top: a premium casino, a live dealer casino, a racebook and a custom website. Advanced has no price on the page. You get, in the site's words, "a personalized price".

I'll say this for Core. A published number with live betting and props inside it is the honest way to sell a head. Plenty of shops put a low base price on the banner and add a few dollars a head for every product your players actually use. If you want to see how fast that moves, the page on pay per head under $5 works one through. Core is built the other way round, and for a book of players who bet sides, totals and the odd live game, $6.49 may be the whole bill.

What the site says about itself

The About page says a group of sportsbook professionals started PayPerHead in 1997, that the software is proprietary, and that over 15,000 agents use it with over 75,000 players. It says the site covers over 80 leagues, has at least 70 racetracks and offers 24/7 phone help on 800-605-4767. It also says, at the foot of every page, that PayPerHead takes no bets, handles no money from wagers and is not a sportsbook. That last part is how every software shop describes itself.

Now the part I don't like. The home page says over 20 years of experience. The FAQ says 25 or more. A banner on the FAQ page says 30 or more, with 82,000 players and 30 leagues, and a second banner beside it says 20 years, 75,000 players and 80 leagues. One FAQ answer tells you the line mover needs the "Prime Package", a package the Core and Advanced pages never mention. None of that tells me the software is bad. It tells me nobody is keeping the pages up, and I'd want to know whether the same goes for the help desk.

Lines, live betting and the agent's tools

Every shop says its lines are sharp, and this site says it has "real-time odds". That claim is the one you can't take on trust, because a stale number gets hit by the one player in your package who looks for them, and you pay him while the shop collects its fee. I'd watch the board next to the market on a busy afternoon during the trial. The software operations guide says what else to watch.

For live betting the FAQ names TruLive, with limits on in-play bets, monitoring of each player's action, live props and the ability to cut leagues. The agent side, as the site describes it, covers player limits, line moving, adjusting spreads and moneylines, settle alerts, action alerts, a layoff account and reports from one dashboard. You can add sub-agents. Most of that is standard kit at any per-head shop, so the test is not whether it's there but whether you can cut one player's live limit at 7 p.m. on a Sunday without calling anyone.

The site also offers to move an existing package across, players, passwords, open bets, credit limits and balances included. If you're switching, ask how long it took for a package your size and what happens to open bets during the move.

Before you deposit

On Core the site says you get the dashboard straight away and need a prepaid deposit before your players can bet. On Advanced you start in what the site calls trial mode and unlock it with a deposit. Neither page gives a trial length or says what the deposit is. I'd find out how much money sits with the shop, whether it's refundable if you leave, and what happens to it if they shut your account.

The other questions I'd put to them before the deposit: what counts as an active player (a bet placed, or a log-in), what the Advanced price is for your package with the racebook and live dealer in it, whether the support on Core really is email only, and who answers the phone at kickoff. Get the answers in writing.

Then remember the software changes nothing about the law where you live. Whether you may take bets at all depends on your state or country, and a rented website doesn't make it legal. The pay-per-head section and how we review say how we set these shops side by side.

Core is a fair-looking price on paper. Paper is where every shop looks good.