So you want to start betting online or maybe you just want to find a new
sportsbook what do you need to look out for?
I am in a position to speak from some experience at one time I held accounts with about sixty sportsbooks in Europe, UK, Australia and offshore the latter catering mainly to the US market. I have had three online sportsbooks go bust on me luckily my losses were kept to a few thousand dollars that may sound a lot but it could have been a lot worse.
It is not that easy finding a reputable
online sportsbook partly because the web is populated by website owners who will sing the praises of a sportsbook or casino simply because they earn revenue from signing up customers via an affiliate program. Often these website owners know nothing about betting, do not hold accounts with the sportsbooks they are advertising and have not researched the companies they are involved with.
You are keeping your money in an account online. Therefore you should think of the sportsbook you are considering as a bank a place that you intend to keep funds long term.
So what do you look for:
1.Read press articles as opposed to reviews reviews are usually written by the sportsbooks marketing team.
2.Trial the software by joining and playing without depositing funds most sportsbooks offer this facility.
3.Find out if your funds are insured or separated in ESCROW accounts so that if the sportsbook company goes under your funds are still safe.
4.Find out if the sportsbook is independently audited.
5.How long has the operation been online four to five years is usually a good benchmark.
6.Test customer services to see if they meet your standards or the standards they promise you.
7.If you know about betting already, then check some of their odds and lines are they in keeping with what you would expect? Some less scrupulous sportsbooks
offer very attractive prices to lure unsuspecting bettors funds.
8.Find out if the sportsbook is part of a larger group of companies. Sometimes this means added solidity. Are they quoted on a stock exchange?
9.What are the deposit and withdrawal options and the associated charges. These vary quite a bit from book to book. Options should be available that are 'free' or where the sportsbook absorbs the charges. But see how easy is it to get access to your money and how much are the charges?
Not all of the above are critical but can help in finding a secure book.
If you have already have an account with a sportsbook watch out for lapses in customer service and slowness of payment these may be signs that the company could be in trouble.
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