The Network is a sports betting tipster service from Matt Houghton and Agora Lifestyles that puts a focus on football. Bets come from a team of tipsters, each with their own specialised areas.
What does the product offer?
The Network provides users with email and SMS alerts whenever a bet is available. The service is primarily provided by Matt Houghton, a well known name in sports betting circles with a team of tipsters behind him, each a specialist in their own field (Matt Houghton uses form studying as the basis for his selections). The team behind The Network are Richie Forbes who finds value odds and uses statistical analysis, Jim McDonald, an expert in betting on Scottish football, Jake Eaton, a second statistical analysis expert and finally “The Matador”, an expert in European football. There is unfortunately no information made available about results for The Network so there is very little to gauge how well the team actually operate.
How does the product work?
As mentioned above, The Network draws heavily on the different areas of expertise and experience of the team. Matt Houghton says that by not stretching one person too thinly, The Network is able to produce long term profits.
What is the initial investment?
Subscription to The Network is handled on an annual basis with Matt Houghton charging £77 per year. There is also a 30 day money back guarantee supplied too.
What is the rate of return?
There are a few examples peppered throughout The Network with the suggestion being that you can make from anywhere to around £28 per bet right up to claims of £400+ from a bet. These results are all alleged to be based on £50 bets over a variety of games and betting options.
Conclusion
The Network pulls out all the stops with one glaring omission and that is the lack of previous results. Whilst much of what Matt Houghton says resonates (i.e. about using tipsters in their specialised field) has a form footing in the real world and his name being attached to The Network goes some way to alleviating the fact that The Network doesn’t have results. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that it goes far enough. Whilst the selections definitely have potential I would want some cold hard data what we can then draw upon to make a decision about The Network. After all, points incomes, strike rates etc. are massively influential on whether or not a product shows value.
I was very tempted to join Matts’ Golf Insider Service. He painted a very glowing picture of could be achieved in a very short time which was outlined in an Agora e-mail I actually sent my registration form in on impulse and bitterly regretted it the following day when I read the reviews! I subsequently e-mailed my fears to Agora asking if they were aware of the bad reviews and asking if they had any current results but so far I have not received a response!