For most sports bookmakers, the NFL season is always their busiest and most profitable time of the year. The market size of the global online gambling and wagering industry is greater than $40 billion per year, and a good portion is handled in Costa Rica through offshore sportsbooks.

Since the late 20th century, Costa Rica has gained a strong reputation of providing offshore and outsourcing services, which also extends to online wagering and Internet casino gaming. Costa Rica is a pioneer of what has come to be known as Pay-Per-Head (PPH) services, which can be described as an offshore Sportsbook-as-a-Platform solution for sports advisors.

PPH services provide Internet back-office solutions for sports advisors in a safe and compliant offshore jurisdiction. There are three main components to PPH: customer support, hosting and the gaming software. Choosing the right PPH service is crucial for bookmakers who want to profit from the NFL season. Here is what to look for in a PPH service in Costa Rica:

Real-time online access to accounts – This should include the ability to set limits and move their lines from any location; all that should be required is an Internet-connected device equipped with a modern and compliant browser.

24-hour customer support – Although many bettors these days enjoy placing wagers on desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, the option to dial a number and reach a friendly operator is very valuable.

Cloud computing standards – A solid PPH solution must ensure the security and reliability of operations, which should include a complete backup office with real-time replication tha can guarantee that sports advisors and agents can be up and running in just 30 minutes.

Security – The ideal PPH service in Costa Rica should also offer a combination of triple-redundant telephone and Internet connectivity, state-of-the-art equipment and a mitigation solution to resolve any distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks.

Physical protection and legal issues – The last thing a bookmaker wants to hear is an offer to wire or handle player funds in Costa Rica, which goes against the principles of everything PPH stands for. Physical security is also a concern. The main operations center in Costa Rica should be equipped with a double backup office anmd data servers powered by emergency power supplies and batteries. An uptime guarantee of at least 99 percent along with redundancy should also be provided.