In real life a beard covers something up, perhaps hides something. And it often looks pretty stylish, too, if I may say so myself. The same is true in sports betting - minus the stylish part. A beard refers to a person who places a bet for someone else in order to conceal the identity of the real bettor.

So, why would someone use a beard instead of just placing the bets themselves? Let me count the ways (and this probably isn’t all of them):

1. A person could use a beard if they are not allowed to bet at a particular sportsbook themselves. They could have been banned for some past indiscretion but still want to bet there - perhaps because the book offers the best price, favorable rules, or is one of the few to offer a particular type of bet.

2. A sharp bettor could use a beard if he doesn’t want to risk having an impact on the line. If he were to bet himself the linemaker might move the line, but if they don’t recognize the beard they have no way of knowing who is really making the bet.

3. A person could use a beard if they aren’t allowed to bet on a particular sport. Current players, coaches or officials can’t bet, but if they really needed to get some action down this could be a way to do it. A celebrity could also use a beard if they don’t want to deal with the repercussions of being seen betting on sports.

4. A person could just be embarrassed about making a particular bet - like if they are betting against their favorite team - and they don’t want to risk being seen.

5. If someone doesn’t live somewhere where betting is legal they could use a beard somewhere else - like in Las Vegas, for example - to make bets for them in exchange for a fee. This is not technically legal in many places, so you need to be aware of the laws you could be running afoul of. More significantly, you would need to be sure you could trust the beard you are using because the opportunities for fraud are significant.

6. Using a beard can be a way to get around a betting limit on a game. Say, for example, that the limit on a particular type of bet was $10,000, but you wanted to put $20,000 on it. You could bet, and have a beard do the same. Or, you could use two beards.

7. Maybe you are just too lazy or too busy to bet for yourself. If you can afford to pay someone else to go place your bets then why wouldn’t you? It’s just one of countless tasks that most people would pay others to do if they could.

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