Tout

A tout is a betting term used to describe a handicapper who sells sports picks. The term carries a negative connotation as most touts use fraudulent betting records as means to allure new clients. Most pick sellers charge high weekly or monthly fees in order to secure a profit before customers realize they are receiving losing picks.

All sportsbettors are advised against buying picks under any circumstances.

Origin

Throughout history touts have been described as salesmen who use aggressive and dishonest marketing strategies in order to solicit business. The term entered the gambling world in the 1930s through horse racing. Touts would claim to have inside knowledge of which horse would win and would disclose that information to unsuspecting customers for a cut of their winnings. The tout would provide each customer with a different horse, ensuring that one client would be guaranteed to win. The tout would collect a portion of the winnings and would avoid the losing customers.

As betting on sports increased in popularity touts began migrating over from horse racing. Novice sportsbettors discouraged with their losses would seek winning picks from self-proclaimed experts. Touts secured a profit by charging a large up-front fee in the event that their picks lost and the customer elected not to renew. Touts do not have a winning approach to pick selection and often provide their clients with random picks known as darts.

Fake Records

Touts use fake betting records in order to appear successful. In most situations these records are entirely fabricated with no evidence of past picks. Touts will boast an unrealistic winning percentage and ROI in order to gain new customers. If the client receives picks that lose the tout will claim that it was a bad week or month and the next one will be better.

Some more devious touts will keep a documented record that is padded using fake lines. The tout will claim all of their spreads and totals are many points more favorable than widely available lines. In this situation the tout's record is graded against imaginary lines that are not attainable by any bettor. Using fake lines allow even randomly selected picks to win long-term.

Third party tracking

Websites that allow bettors to track their picks have become popular in recent years. Users can input their picks prior to the game starting which will be automatically graded by the site upon completion. These third party tracking websites allow bettors to prove that their betting records are what they claim it to be. Many touts have began abusing these sites in order to advertise their picks. Dishonest sportsbettors will register multiple tracking sites and make many large wagers until they have an account that has built up a large amount of tracked winnings.