The Sniper is a sports betting tipster service which is operated by Josh Allen and Market Prospectors. It utilises a pay as you win pricing structure and seemingly, carries quite a lot of profit potential.
Introduction to The Sniper
I’ve tried a good few times to actually start writing this review. And in some respects, it’s been a bit of a difficult thing for me to do, because there is a lot of framing to do in order to provide context for this service. So, in order to discuss it all… Well, it could be an article in and of itself. So, here’s the breakdown. Josh Allen and Market Prospectors aren’t entirely new to the game. In actual fact, in a roundabout way they have collaborated on various other products under different names and branding. This wasn’t down to them, and now we’re roughly up to speed.
With all of that said and out there (don’t worry, I know I’ve been vague but where it is relevant, I will be talking about things in more detail), let’s get down to this. Every now and then, there comes along something that is, frankly, well thought out and just a little bit different to everything else on the market. And today’s subject, The Sniper is one of those products.
Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t in uncharted territory here, and you will have seen similar before. But there isn’t anything quite like this. Does this mean that it’s a flawless service? Absolutely not. But I will say here and now that for a certain type of person, The Sniper is almost definitely the service that you’ve been waiting for. So, let’s get down to business and see what exactly Josh Allen is doing with Market Prospectors here.
What Does The Sniper Offer?
I said earlier that I’ve tried several times to sit down and write about The Sniper, and that is with good reason. It is both one of the easiest and one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to write about. Even now, trying to think of something as simple as a brief overview of the offering is a bit of a challenge.
I mean… Obviously, it is a tipster service. And that is possibly the best place to start. But this isn’t a typical tipster service. First things first, let’s talk about the logistics of the service. The Sniper is… Well, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from any modern tipster service. Josh Allen sends out his selections directly to subscribers via email. All that you have to do is place the bets (something that I will be talking about in detail shortly).
As well as having selections sent out via email, when you sign up to The Sniper you also get access to a Telegram group. This is an app which provides you with an active outlet for socialising with other users. Honestly, in my experience, whilst a long way from necessary, it is a nice touch, This kind of social element can go a long way in helping you to stay on course and disciplined.
One of the things that is incredibly interesting to me is that Josh Allen recommends using just one bookmaker with The Sniper, and that is BetBull. Now there are a lot of reasons for this, but key amongst them are the bonuses that they offer. These include games you can play for free bets, and importantly, odds boosts. These do exactly what they say on the tin, and can increase your odds by as much as 50%. All of which is free.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about the bets themselves. The Sniper is based entirely around backing accas, specifically looking at football. Of course, this has a significant impact on a number of different elements of the service. And the main one that stands out to me is the availability of bets. Because this is a low volume affair with Josh Allen estimating that, on average, there are just 3 bets per week.
Now, when you talk about football accas, a lot of people have a very specific image in mind. Namely, we’re looking at a lot of different bets and incredibly long odds, or alternatively, just picking 2 favourites to get some semblance of value. Josh Allen sits firmly in the middle of this with The Sniper mostly 4 to 6 bets advised per acca. That is a very manageable amount.
Because of all of this, The Sniper is in the enviable position of having quite decent odds. The average across all bets comes in at 24/1, but what is most impressive is that the average winning odds are 13/1. That isn’t half bad at all for this kind of service. Especially because that result is actually a pretty accurate reflection of what you can expect to see.
When those kinds of odd are paired with a decent strike rate, well, it’s certainly a sight to behold. Now, with that said, I do feel the need to clarify something here. When I say a decent strike rate, that is very much keeping in mind the fact that The Sniper is based around accas. Because the actual figure is just 17.6%. This means around 1 in 6 bets winning, which at the odds, makes for a consistent profit.
Staking wise, the stakes are a little varied. Typically speaking, you will be betting £10 of your money per bet. That is however subject to change depending on what bet Josh Allen is advising, as well as (potentially) what free bets and credit you have in your account. Either way, I think that it is very manageable, and whilst I haven’t seen a specific recommendation for a betting bank, around 50 points or so should be enough here.
How Does The Sniper Work?
One of my favourite parts of The Sniper is that Josh Allen talks at great length about his approach to selecting bets. And for those of you who are curious and want to see this in more detail, I’d strongly recommend checking out the website. But breaking it down into very basic terms, it looks a little bit like this.
Post Covid, football is just different. And whilst there are various things that impact this, one of the main ones is a lack of fans in the stadium. This has the effect of losing the “home advantage”, with some teams seemingly relying on the proverbial 12th man to elevate their form during a game. Other factors include the rate games are played at, changes to substitution rules (in some competitions) and arguably most importantly, how bookies and bettors react to all of this.
Josh Allen says that we area well positioned to take advantage of all of that in order to usher in additional profit. Effectively, you can look at things that will actually matter, rather than looking at things that would have mattered if football were “normal”. And I have to admit that it does all make sense.
When you boil it all down, there isn’t really anything exceptional behind The Sniper. But I don’t think that there needs to be either. Really, what you are dealing with is a focus on getting the best possible value from your bets, trying to leverage an advantage over the bookies, and exploiting offers to ensure that you are betting in the smartest way. All things that I would generally say will guide you to long term profits.
What is the Initial Investment?
One of the best things about The Sniper for me is the pricing. Josh Allen and Market Prospectors have set this up to work on pay as you win basis with a very nominal charge to get things moving. In order to actually join up to receive the tips, it will cost you just £1. Once you are signed up, you are asked to pay £10 for each winning acca which is billed 2 working days after the bet has landed. That means that you should be paying out of your winnings.
If you are in a position whereby you weren’t able to place a bet, you have 5 working days in which you can notify Josh Allen and Market Prospectors to get a refund. Based off my knowledge of them, I believe that this is all genuine and you shouldn’t have any problems at all claiming this.
What is the Rate of Return?
There are a few numbers that are key when you’re looking at The Sniper. The first is the headlining statement from Josh Allen. “How Covid-19 has turned my £10 stakes into a £981 profit”. Something that we can very quickly and very easily convert to a 98.1 point profit. Given that this is over some 4 months, it is very impressive indeed. At the time of writing, the profits stand at 88.48. A small drop, admittedly, but a single win could take this back up that level.
The marketing material for The Sniper equates that 98.1 point figure to an ROI of 197.54%. Once again, this has dropped a little too, currently standing at 128.90%. This is still a bloody good looking number though, and as with the points profit, a single win could drastically improve it.
Conclusion for The Sniper
There are few questions that I have about The Sniper that I think are very valid. First and foremost, let’s address something that I haven’t really talked about too much, but is a massively important thing. The core premise of the service is that it was designed to work in a post Covid world. But what about as things change and football returns to normal? I believe that Josh Allen will still be able to deliver, but there doesn’t really seem to be any provision for this change once it happens.
Moving on from this, a big part of The Sniper is the fact that it uses BetBull. So much so that, as I will discuss, that is somewhat key to my recommendation of this as a service. Now, for my money, if you find that you are locked out of that, a fair part of the broader appeal of the service goes away.
With that said, it isn’t the be all and end all either. Should you encounter problems, there are other alternatives available and I note looking at the proofing available that Josh Allen has been using Smarkets for a few months. These are a betting exchange and as such, they have none of the downsides that come with using a bookie, namely, restrictions or closures.
The final factor is how often you are going to win. That (roughly) 18% strike rate looks good, and for good reason. But again, the more recent proofing does highlight a concern with The Sniper. There hasn’t been a winning bet since the 14th of November. That’s 21 straight losses which, at £10 per bet, is a fair old amount of money. Now, you might not have had to pay for that, but let’s be honest, it’s still costing you. And for some people, that might be a pretty big problem.
Despite all that, I think this is something that may be worth a look for some people, and let me tell you why. I often talk about the casual punter and what services are a good fit for them. Let’s be honest here. Not everybody wants to take betting seriously and as an investment. They’re looking for something that will help them win a few quid and have fun doing it.
When combined with BetBull, The Sniper ticks that box nicely. You’re talking about big wins, you’re talking about gamified bonuses in the form of slots for free betting credit and spin wheels to boost your odds. If you’re in it for the buJosh Allen, those things are more than welcome. And when you’re winning £180 off a £10 bet, that you’ve had £3.20 of paid for by the bookie, and you’ve boosted that with an extra 20% on your odds… Well, that really hits the right buttons.
Now, if you do take betting seriously, what all of this does is it adds steps. I know that a lot of people I talk to are aiming to make a second income from betting, and convenience is a big factor. As such, they don’t necessarily want to sit on the couch playing a slot machine, or they don’t want a lack of consistency on results. They want something that is going to be more or less on the same beat week in and week out. The Sniper categorically isn’t for those people.
So, is this a bad product? No, I don’t think that it is. Does it have some holes in it… Undoubtedly so. I stand by my assertion that there is a lot here that won’t suit a lot of people. But I have definitely seen much worse than this. And the fact that you’re only paying after you have a winning bet is exactly how the pricing structure should work.
And… Well, that’s about it really. If you like to bet for the fun of it. If you like to have a “gamified” betting experience (and you can use BetBull) then this is going to be a good fit. Otherwise, I can’t help but feel like the potential for long losing streaks and the time investment required mean that there probably more efficient services out there.
