Fixed points of bookmakers

Sports betting today is mainly done via the Internet, however, some players also like to visit the ground points of bookmakers. What does a land-based game look like and how is it different from online betting? What are the pros and cons of land-based betting? Which betting companies are legal land-based bookmakers in Poland?

Fixed points of bookmakers – how did it start?

Although it is believed that betting shops were born in the UK in the 18th century, the first betting Point opened there in One thousand nine hundred twenty two He was behind it. John Moores who created and applied the betting system used to this day by mutual betting operators. However, in our country, the date of the first official bet is 1917 (it concerned the match Polonia Warszawa-Legia Warszawa). However, at that time and for many years, bets were accepted in Poland directly in clubs, and not at bookmakers.

The first company to set up a factory was founded in 1956, the State Sports Totalizator which launched a dense network of ground points spanning the entire country. Until the end of the Communist Party, the company had a monopoly on organizing mutual bets, and at first only Polish football could be typified. After the change of system in Poland, more stationary bookmakers slowly began to appear – the first such company was Totolotek , which started operations in 1992. the following land-based bookmakers that started operations in Poland are Fortuna (1996) i STS (1997).

At present, that is, at the beginning of 2023, 10 companies have permission to set up fixed plants, of which 8 actually offer them. In contrast, online betting has the right to arrange more than 20 companies.

Modern stationary points of bookmakers

Players to whom the fixed points of bookmakers seem like a relic of the past, do not realize how much land-based bookmakers have modernized their services. Nowadays, technology is changing virtually every area of our lives, and this is perfectly visible even when it comes to the ground points of bookmakers. These types of premises are now a betting company card and their task is not only to allow players to place bets, but also to promote the bookmaker in the urban space. Stationary points of bookmakers are therefore usually very modern, have a nice decor and are comfortably furnished. Betting shops are very often air-conditioned and spacious, you can also take advantage of various other amenities and interesting technological solutions.

Modern fixed points of bookmakers are increasingly equipped with innovative self-service terminals , with the help of which typers can bet bookmakers on their own. Such devices make possible queues to the window faster, and the player can place bets by selecting the appropriate options on the touch screen of the terminal. Usually on machines you can also check the status of the bet you have placed before, and on some you can also watch streaming from selected sports events. Ground points of bookmakers are also often equipped with special coupon readers which allow you to check whether the bets placed by the bookmaker were hit or miss.

In addition, stationary points of bookmakers are places where you can watch for free broadcasts of the most interesting matches . This has an additional advantage – this option is also used by other players, with whom you can exchange types and discuss sports topics. Some fixed-line bookmakers in Poland take care of their best points even so that players can drink, for example, hot coffee, sitting in comfortable chairs.

It is not necessary to add that the bookmakers ' ground points are made available to customers full range of bets on sports, e-sports, virtual games or entertainment events same as the internet channels. Sometimes they are also prepared Special Offers which are only available when playing in fixed locations.

How do you place fixed bets?

As already mentioned, the ground points of bookmakers allow you to bet on the same bets as the internet channels. The online and on-premises offer of a given operator is just as wide, and the betting odds are also identical. What are the next steps to take when betting on a point?

After entering the premises, players usually first get acquainted with the current offer of courses. Fixed points of bookmakers are equipped with boards or telebims on which the course offer for available events is published. Those types that we are going to bet, we write on the card – it is important that save bet number, type and bet the one we want to play for. Then we pass this data to the employee of the point, who enters it into the system and prints a confirmation of the conclusion of the BET in the form of paper coupon . It is necessary to keep an eye on it, because only after it is shown will the winnings from the BET be paid. Money for a bet can be paid not only in cash, because currently fixed-line bookmakers allow you to make a payment even with a payment card.

The second way to bet, which fixed points of bookmakers can provide, is through self-service terminals . Betting and in this case is very simple – the machines are intuitive to use, have large displays and touch screens. The player must only select the event or events that you want to select, pay for the BET and download the coupon which, of course, is necessary to pick up the win. Stationary bookmakers allow you to place bets through the terminals and pay for them (most often by credit card, debit card, PaysafeCard code or cash), but after receiving the winning money, you must already report to the employee of the premises.

Which betting operators are land-based bookmakers in Poland?

Although nowadays the most popular channel used by players for betting is the Internet, still operating in Poland, fixed-line bookmakers run quite a lot of venues. Of course, each of them offers online betting in parallel and they are the main source of income of all betting companies, but the retail channel is not neglected by them at all. Below we will discuss which operators operating on the Africanm peer-to-peer betting market are land-based bookmakers and what their network of fixed points looks like at the moment (as of February 2023).

STs ground plants

The largest bookmaker in Poland has a very extensive network of land-based betting outlets. The first STs premises were opened in 1997, and now there are their offices all over the country. something more than 400 . Fixed STs betting sites can often be placed on self-service terminals, and points are often equipped with coupon readers and allow you to watch free broadcasts of matches. In the largest African cities, such as Warsaw, Krakow or Poznań, STS also operates premium ground points with an increased standard.

Fortuna land plants

Bookmaker Fortuna has approximately the same number of fixed points as the leader of the bookmaking industry in Poland, i.e. more than 400 . Fortuna has been offering land-based betting in Poland since 1996 (at first it operated under the Profesjonał brand), and many of its premises are located in smaller towns.

Currently, most of the points of this operator also allow you to type using betting terminals, thanks to which you can also place bets in Fortuna without the help of a dealer.

Superbet ground betting

Superbet is an interesting case, because nowadays bookmakers first focus on online services, and only later possibly begin to act as land-based bookmakers. In contrast, Superbet did the opposite – in 2021 it made stationary betting available, and it started accepting bets via the Internet only in 2020. more than 70 modern premises Superbet.

ForBET land bets

In turn, the bookmaker forBET started its activity with online bets (in 2020), and 2 years later opened the first fixed points. It is currently operating in various parts of the country. about 35 locations accepting bets from the bookmaker forBET. In all you can bet both pre-match, live and virtual sports.

Betfan land plants

Betfan is primarily an online bookmaker, but it also develops fixed point network . It is worth emphasizing that Betfan undertook an interesting experiment – in 2022 it opened a very unusual ground-based venue in Jelenia Góra, i.e. p UB bettingowo-sportowy . In such a place you can not only bet on land-based bookmakers and watch broadcasts of various sports events, but also eat, drink and have a good time. So one wonders if other land-based bookmakers in Poland will not sometimes pick up on this unusual Betfan idea.

LVBet ground betting

LVBet also launched online betting in 2020, but the company has already enriched its services after a year with fixed betting. However, the number of points is not very large, currently they are in Poland a dozen .

Traf land plants

However, Traf very late decided to expand its offer to online betting (it launched it in 2023), while since 2010 it has been accepting Fixed-Odds Betting. Although there are fixed-line bookmakers in Poland with a more extensive network of premises, Traf does not look bad in this regard – it currently leads about 40 points . However, you need to know that unlike other stationary bookmakers, Traf offers only bets on horse racing.

Go+bet

Go+bet is the youngest bookmaker on this list in Poland – the operator's website was launched in April 2022, and later the first premises were opened. Just like the ground points of the bookmakers already discussed, Go+Bet points are modern and allow you to place bets on Modern Terminals. At the moment the number of points is more than 30 .

Stationary betting – advantages and disadvantages

As you can see, fixed points of bookmakers form a fairly extensive network throughout the country – in total, players have at their disposal about 1,000 venues belonging to several betting companies . Of course, most often legal land-based bookmakers run premises in the largest cities, but in medium-sized and even quite small towns quite often there is at least 1 place where you can place land-based betting.

But is it worth visiting the fixed points of bookmakers, or maybe the game in them has more disadvantages than advantages? The answer to this question is individual needs and preferences of the player – we will limit ourselves to presenting those aspects of the game on the ground that may be relevant to our readers.

What are the advantages of fixed points of bookmakers?

Ground points of bookmakers is certainly a good solution for those players who value anonymity . Recall that in order to bet on bookmakers on the Internet, you must first create an individual account with the bookmaker. When registering, you must provide at least basic personal data, but in this case we can only use a temporary account, which has many restrictions – first of all, you can not withdraw winnings from it. All blocks are removed only after full registration of a permanent account and positive verification of identity, e.g. based on a scan of an identity card or the mojeID service (through electronic banking).

If a player does not want to share his sensitive data with the bookmaker (although it must be admitted that the level of security in legal betting companies is very high), then only the fixed points of the bookmakers remain for him. Here, bookmaking bets are made completely anonymously, regardless of whether we bet in the "window" or through the terminal. There is no need to register and log in or ID (unless the employee of the point has doubts about the age of the client) - bookmakers can bet "on the fly".

In addition, fixed points bookmakers are simply friendly places for typers, where you can have a nice and fruitful time . In the betting shops, you can watch match broadcasts in the company of other sports fans and talk to them about what is worth betting on, exchange Sports News and perhaps learn something that would be difficult to find on the Internet.

After all, the ground points of bookmakers are visited by experienced players with great sports knowledge and high betting skills, who are often happy to talk about their passion and share invaluable insights with other typers.

What are the disadvantages of fixed points bookmakers?

However, it cannot be hidden that even the most modern fixed points of bookmakers are, however, a less comfortable solution than betting online. Online betting can be made at any time, on any day of the week, including Sundays and public holidays. On the other hand, land-based betting is offered only at certain hours - fixed-odds bookmakers usually open venues in the late morning and close them in the afternoon, less often in the evening. So if we want to bet on fixed betting sites, we have to adapt to the rigid hours in force at that point. Sometimes we can simply not have time to place the selected bet – not only when the point is already closed, but also when the bet on the event ceases to be available before we reach the premises. Some bookmakers may not be available in ground mode at all. For example, if an NBA game of interest to us is played at night, we will not be able to select it using the live betting offer on the premises – in this situation, we can only bet online.

People who live in small towns or in the countryside have even greater problems. Such locations are unlikely to host fixed points of bookmakers, so in order to place land-based bets, they would have to go to the nearest larger city where such a place operates. To make matters worse, despite the fact that bookmakers ' ground points are still important for many betting companies, their total number in Poland has been declining in recent years. The same the availability of fixed bets is becoming less and less . Needless to say, online betting can be done anywhere, as long as you have a computer or smartphone and internet access.

Fixed-line betting is also less convenient to bet and it's not just that you have to go to the place. On the website or in the mobile application, everything is given as on the tray – just click on the events that interest us and enter the bet rate (or select its type, for example, a system bet), and the potential win will be calculated on the e-coupon. Sometimes a bonus can be added automatically, and if the player exceeds the limit imposed on the bet, a message will appear regarding this situation. Typer also has a number of other features that make typing easier, m.in. extensive sports statistics, match-trackers, ready-made coupons, etc.

While fixed bets make players more busy and take more time . The player must write down the types and numbers of bets that interest him and calculate the possible win (of course, it is indicated on the coupon, but at the window there is usually not much time to think about changes in the bet). Land-based bookmakers in Poland also usually offer much less help for effective betting typing by players than is the case with their online services.

It is also worth noting that fixed points of bookmakers offer about much less betting promotions than their online counterparts. This is primarily due to the fact that in order to encourage the creation of a personal player account, bookmakers offer users so-called welcome bonuses. In exchange for online registration, typists often receive whole packages of start bonuses, the value of which is very large. On the other hand, land-based bookmakers in Poland offer only promotions related to various sporting events or other occasions, which are usually also available in their online channels, possibly loyalty programs, etc.