A Q and A with Darren Moore
Hi Darren and many thanks for joining us this month, would you start by telling us a little about yourself and your background?
I have quite a varied background but my career prior to betting was as a Police Officer. I made the transition to betting following a growing interest and success in betting on US racing.
After a couple of years as a pro bettor I joined forces with a pro football bettor and we worked on a small tipster site together, fast forward a couple of years and I was co- founder of Tipster Warehouse and then moved on to launch Betting Gods in early 2014 which has gone from strength to strength, and now operates out of Malta alongside our sister sites and company.
What attracted you to the world of horse racing world and what do you enjoy most about the sport?
To be honest my attraction was the enjoyment of place betting on US racing in an evening; it was purely a hobby initially that eventually turned me pro punter, the hobby then evolved into a career.
I do still enjoy watching the racing, for me it’s the thrill of watching such a powerful and beautiful animal running and competing that attracts me to the sport.
From a betting point of view the attraction is the events (races) last just a few minutes at most and then you have chance to relax or wind down for a few minutes before preparing for the next race, whereas football is full on for 45 minutes.
What led you to the setting up of Betting Gods? What do you feel your site can offers its visitors / punters?
Betting Gods was the evolution of the Tipster Warehouse partnership that dissolved, we aim to provide some of the world’s leading tipsters backed by caring support, transparent results and a genuine aim to help punters beat the bookies and make a genuine income from sports betting.
How would you describe a typical working day?
It’s rare that any day is the same.
Despite from the outside the business ‘doing the same’ day to day there’s a lot more behind the scenes.
We have a team member dedicated to the recruitment and proofing of potential tipsters, a team member dedicated to managing the results for all live tipsters, a marketing manager, plus of course the tipsters, writing team and customer service.
Any day I could be meeting colleagues from other companies, negotiating existing and potential affiliates, or heading to a conference either here in Malta, London, Budapest, Berlin or Amsterdam; just to name a few recent and upcoming events.
Beyond the conferences though it’s managing the team, while being as heavily involved in the day to day running of the company as time and resources allow.
Do you bet yourself and if so, what style of approach do you take to your betting on a personal level? What do you think of staking plans, loss retrieval systems etc.?
The only time I bet nowadays is on the rare occasion I have a day or evening at the races, and essentially these are for fun but backed by the insights shared by our tipsters.
I had a brief period working in politics, and still do retain a keen interest in politics so I do enjoy some fun bets on the likes of general elections across the globe.
Loss retrieval I’m strictly against; it’s the route to the poor house.
It may pay for a few days, weeks or even couple of months but sooner or later that losing run will kick in and you’ll be gutted!
What traits do you think a good racing tipster should possess and what do you think the average punter is looking for from a tipping service?
Consistency, professionalism and discipline are the three main qualities we seek when recruiting tipsters for Betting Gods, plus of course a proven profitability.
We see the full range of punters at Betting Gods; the guy who really know his stuff, bets with large stakes and fully understands/appreciates that losing runs are a part of betting. And then the other extreme who sadly believes that he or she will become an overnight millionaire with all tips winning.
New and old punters alike can struggle to make a success of their betting. If you could give them just one piece of advice to improve their profitability what would it be?
Discipline is the most important skill, as I mentioned previously you will have winning runs and losing runs; a lot like a stock or forex trader, sports betting for income is no different – sure you have good days and bad days, but the key thing to remember is that by being disciplined and following your tipster or own betting system that sticking to a proven method should yield positive results.
For example you may have 10 losing bets in a row, but if your 11th bet comes in at 12/1 you’re in profit.
Likewise you may lose £40 for example in August, but then gain £70 in September. A disciplined approach and long-term outlook really are essential if you’re serious about your success when betting for an income.
What would you consider to be a highlight of your racing experience to date? Do you have any personal racing / betting experiences which when reflecting back brings a smile, or for that matter any which bring a grimace; you can share with our readers?
The main highlights for me have been seeing Betting Gods sponsor races, or host full cards of race days.
I was also fortunate to attend Cheltenham this year with some good friends and colleagues where we shared a private box, that was an amazing day and one I’ll remember for many years.
What about the gambling industry, is there anything you like to see changed there? Many website forums are full of criticisms of the bookmakers and their treatment of their customers?
Is this something you have an opinion on?
The industry does receive a lot of bad press; some justified and some not.
I do agree that punters need some protection from the scam tipsters who often crop up on Twitter only to disappear and resurrect under a new account, and also the ridiculous claims of overnight riches and lavish lifestyles but of course we need to be careful of having a nanny state of over control that the likes of Tom Watson MP seem set on us having, despite him having hypocritically having voted yes for the third reading of the 2005 Gambling Bill that first introduced FOBTs, and then again voting yes in 2013 to increase the stake, and prize, limits for certain categories of gambling machine.
Sure that isn’t related to sports betting directly but sadly it’s all too easy to be tarnished with the same brush as The Guardian seem to do in their recent articles (see our open letter to them at https://www.bettinggods.com/an-open-response-to-mattha-busby-the- guardian/ )
What do you do to relax and unwind? What interests have you outside the world of horse racing?
I’m very fortunate to live on the Maltese islands so my leisure time is often spent enjoying a walk along the coast with my wife, swimming in the sea with family and friends, or pursuing my love of flying and putting my Private Pilot’s Licence to good use.
I’m also a serious petrol head and proud owner of two minis – one of which I have spent more hours tuning and modifying than I dare to even think about!
