Problem Bookies. What to Look For

We have been reminded repeatedly over the past few years that in the current economic climate some bookies are struggling to stay open. While no company can ever be described as immune to financial problems, there are some telltale signs which can help you to avoid getting involved with a risky operation. The most important thing to do (as well as taking note of the colour coding and ratings on the bookie list) is to keep your eyes open to any news alerts from forums and places like SBR and Bookmakersreview.

These websites are a good source of information on individual bookies, but there are some more general pointers, which are summarized well in the 2 articles below from SBR.

The first is probably subject to copyright, and can be found here:

http://www.sportsbookreview.com/sbr-…security-4589/

There is also an excellent article by Bill Dozer of SBR, which although it is now several years old, still remains very relevant. It is rather long, but worth reading, and is reproduced in full below. Reading this will give you an insight into why I didn’t include the now insolvent Premier Racing Services (poor business plan) on the bookie list, and why I labelled a £70 refund if lose offer from Bet770 red (too good to be true) when that sort of offer would normally be green. I will, of course, continue to do the research myself, but I felt that in challenging times the more information people were armed with the better. My personal opinion is that the biggest indicator of major trouble is slow pay, and I would never deposit funds in a bookie exhibiting that behaviour unless I was confident that there was a genuine reason for it (eg a software malfunction).

Top 10 Ways to Spot a SCAM Sportsbook

By: Bill Dozer, SBR Analyst © 2007 All rights reserved.

A sports bettor has a difficult enough time attempting to beat the odds without adding extra risk by not researching his sportsbook or monitoring its business. Just as a racecar driver will always check his equipment and wear his seatbelt, the sports bettor should monitor his vehicle to protect himself. Driving in the fast lane does not mean driving reckless. Along with playing at only top tier sportsbooks, there are many traffic signs a player can watch for to avoid the highway pile up.

1. If a Sportsbook that has never offered a bonus over 10%, now offers a 25% Bonus with a low roll over.

2. If a Sportsbook offers a High Bonus with Reduced Juice – or other combination of offerings that look too good to be true, it probably is.

3. A Sportsbook with Obscure or Soft Lines can only mean one of two things: a lack of volume or that the book itself is gambling on events.

4. When things are not going so well, a Sportsbook will increase prices. This alone is not a sign of problems. But if you see this with any of the other items on this list, the book may be in trouble.

5. Keep an eye on a Sportsbook’s marketing campaigns. Watch for anything out of the ordinary – new or drastic changes like cold calling or excessive bonuses can represent a change in target audience or utter desperation.

6. If a Sportsbook representative posts a message in the forums that’s a too good to be true “just for you” offer – the book may be getting ready to run for the hills.

7. If there is a sudden stop of all book-to-book transfers – there’s a good chance it is due to at least one book halting transfers with them first. No one knows more about your house than your neighbor.

8. When a Sportsbook has frequent changes in management and shareholders – there is a new risk to the players.

9. When there is a slow/no pay dispute over a large amount of money from other player(s) – the book may be having financial troubles and can’t pay.

10. If you are given excuses for non payout or your account is audited after the payout process is initiated the book may be stalling.

If you know what to look for, you don’t need to be paranoid. Sometimes you smell smoke and there is no fire, and sometimes the scent leads to a life saving evacuation. In this industry, you have to sniff extra hard because there is no safety net. It is completely unregulated (with Australia being our exception) and only you are responsible for your funds.

Special Report No-Nonsense Advice on How to Spot a SCAM Sportsbook

By: Bill Dozer, SBR Analyst© 2007 All rights reserved

Most non-gamblers won’t have much sympathy for anyone who loses money in a scam sports book. Our society sees us as taking part in a reckless past time, where we are all destined to end up applying for food stamps and living off the tax payer’s money. If you look up the word gambler in the dictionary, you may cringe reading terms like “exposed to hazard”, “risk in hope of gaining benefit” and “uncertain outcome”. While the experienced sports “gambler” does live in the fast lane, we see ourselves as investors of a very quick stock market full of potential profit. In fact, many sports bettors understand probability and odds better than the average civilian. Watching someone in the grocery store buying lottery tickets evokes images of flushing cash down the toilet. Walking by the slots at the casino may as well be a place where thousands of retirees are getting mugged. The profitable handicapper has no tolerance for unnecessary risks and does very little without knowing exactly what the odds are.

A sports bettor has a difficult enough time attempting to beat the odds without adding extra risk by not researching his sportsbook or monitoring its business. Just as a racecar driver will always check his equipment and wear his seatbelt, the sports bettor should monitor his vehicle to protect himself. Driving in the fast lane does not mean driving reckless. Along with playing at only top tier sportsbooks, there are many traffic signs a player can watch for to avoid the highway pile up.

Faulty Business Model

Inexperienced bookmakers can have a hard time figuring out which direction they want to point their operation in. Even for toughened New York street bookies, coming into the online market requires some serious decision making and a business sense. It’s not enough to say. “Hey, I have the cash, I’m a bookie, lets go online!” The online bettor is more educated today than in the past and knows he has choices. Even losing players are looking for winning situations.

More and more gamblers are starting to become aware that different books cater to a different type of player. The booking market is now diversified to the point where two leading sportsbooks may never compete for a single player.

A bookmaker must decide which costs he will pass on to the player and which he will eat as overhead. For example, every book that wants the small Sunday bettor is likely to have low limits and full 10% (or higher) vigorish, but have attention grabbing perks like free payouts, adequate parlay odds and a recent bonus. The last thing the $100 player wants is to give away 20% of his winnings in order to obtain the rest of it. The House is better off charging him 20% vig than passing transfer costs on to the little guy. Conversely, those servicing the larger players and whales are going to pass along at least some transfer costs to their clients. Gamblers wagering $20,000 in a week are not going to care about 20 bucks, though it does add up on the book’s end. Those players use sportsbooks with better than average prices, earlier posted lines and higher limits.

Without dissecting a sportsbook’s business plan, players can usually tell if they are betting into a sportsbook that is also a successful company. Certain combinations of offerings or lack of do not mix. A high bonus book with reduced juice can almost never survive over the long haul. A player needs to win at just under 53% to make a profit at full 10% vig. That number goes down dramatically with a reduced juice price. Toss a bonus into that equation and the player can profit by having his girlfriend pick his teams based on the uniforms she likes. Any knowledgeable book that attempts to offer those two perks does so with either low limits or a one time only small bonus. Dealing reduced juice alone is dangerous without high volume to work with.

Last year the now defunct BetPanAm came onto the scene offering large bonuses, reduced juice, decent limits and free payouts. In a matter of months we saw the free payout perks disappear and wagering limits slashed as if OJ Simpson was working behind the counter. The book was marketed to an educated audience that noticed the swift business model changes but it was too late. BetPanAm closed its doors before the end of football season.

The demographic you are marketing to must also be addressed in the business plan. Using search engine traffic to grab newbie bettors or the weekend entertainment player has been successful in the past. Getting that type of gambler provides room for error. A gambler that found our site from Google is not likely to make you pay for being slow to move a line. He will be happy to take the flashy cash bonus and hope for the best. Depending on what the marketing costs were, the book didn’t even have to make the player happy in order to profit, because player retention did not have to be a top priority. But, try to offer big deposit bonuses and slow moving lines but not much else to a veteran player, and he is going to use and abuse you. Sharp players will go to the bakery and eat off all the frosting but not buy the cake. Today, player retention is now more important with search engines declining gambling ads. Books not willing to get creative may suffer from the new marketing era we just entered.

The old adage really stands true in this business, if it looks too good to be true it probably is. When you notice a book giving everything away for free realise accepting it may come at a high price. It’s great to get good deals but we should ask ourselves, if someone isn’t losing and paying in, then what are they paying me my winnings with?

Excessive bonuses

Bonuses are a big attraction for the average sports bettor. They give the player a sense of being ahead before the race has begun. Under the right conditions, this incentive works for both the house and the player quite nicely. Bonuses are meant to stimulate business. The idea is to make an attractive offering while adding requirements to make it profitable for the house. But if bonus offerings are not well planned, it can be the beginning of the end for both.

First, we should look at how bonuses work. Obviously people don’t receive free unconditional money just for depositing. If that was the case, people would be jumping in and out of books running away with free cash. Most new gamblers will view a bonus by its face value. They see a high percentage offered and either run away thinking it is too good to be true, or deposit believing they are taking advantage of a major perk. The actual value of a cash incentive is gauged by its requirements as well as its numerical value.

A requirement the player will always have, and should look at closely, is a mandatory play through or a roll-over requirement. The ratio of rollover to percent given gauges the true value of a bonus and is what essentially turns the perceived “bonus” into a coupon or discount for the bookmaker’s normal prices.

To simplify this illustration and eliminate some finger counting, lets use the example of me offering a 100% bonus with a 10 time roll over requirement to a player depositing $1000. The player must wager $2000 (deposit + bonus) 10x to meet his requirement and request a payout. Dozer Sportsbook expects over the long term the players will win at an average of 50%. That being the case, his $10,000 wagered should net $1,000 in juice losses; leaving me with a new player and his original deposit in my establishment. If this is offered to the right market of real gamblers who won’t be trying to exploit my weakest numbers, this can be a very profitable marketing tactic.

Using a more common example of a 20% bonus and 3 time roll-over, it can also be profitable for the house. A player deposits $1000 into Dozer Sportsbook and gets a $200 cash bonus. He wagers the $3600 he is required to and loses half of his bets in the process. He has paid me back $180 pounds in juice. Not including any marketing overhead, that would be a player acquisition cost of 20 pounds. Gamblers looking at the bonus as their funds when awarded are more likely to chase any losses of these funds along the way. Many gamblers will lose more than 50% and many will bust.

There are other factors that tell whether or not it is smart to offer a bonus. The above bonus offerings may be more profitable, depending on what other stipulations and factors are involved. The customers that stay on board after the bonus issue has passed are the ones that make the promotion profitable. Management should be confident that they will retain some players once the rollover is met or they may belooking at a bad investment… Some sites may stipulate that no payouts can be taken over a specific period of time after the bonus is awarded. Most will cap the amount of potential bonus given. Others will offer match-play bonuses, which are worth slightly less than half of initial cash bonuses. When you do not see books making an effort to make a long term profit, it should be considered a warning sign.

Many fallen scam sportsbooks have offered exceptional bonuses knowing very well they never have to worry about managing them. Their only intention was to maximize assets they were leaving with. In this case it may be too late to retrieve your money. The bookmaker has made a decision to steal and get out of town. When I see a 25% bonus from a shop that has never offered more than 10% I take notice. What has changed that they now can afford to offer this? Are they trying something new with a higher rollover as well or requiring funds stay in the book for 30 days? Are they forced to offer this higher bonus in order to keep up with competition? Most importantly, what time of year is it? Many marketing departments will try new things when the busy football season starts and a high profile book has many options. Offer me a 20% reload bonus at the end of the NBA season and I break out the caution tape.

Stupidity is probably more common than flat out theft. Some bookmakers go into business planning on thriving and servicing players, only to slowly realise he will end up stiffing them (its debatable if starting out undercapitalized is theft to begin with).

Bad investments in the bonus area are a large part of an overall bad business plan. There has to be some way for the bookmaker to pay his bills and if you don’t see that you may want to question if its there.

A perfect example of a shop that showed all the warning signs was a book called Gambler’s Avenue (currently that site is used by a new bookmaker). They offered large bonuses frequently and depended upon them to keep business coming in. GA had little else to offer the player. They had a very limited wagering menu and a sub par site which meant there wasn’t much to retain clients after they capitalized on the bonus. To make matters worse, they only bought advertising in gambling forums so most players were educated and aware of the shortcomings by comparison. What this equated to was a book trying to beat the player and support its business on a tiny margin. The bonuses essentially made their wager prices reduced and there was not nearly enough volume to support it. The linesman was often caught napping, which meant many soft lines.

Players caught inside when the walls came down either knew the risk or learned some valuable lessons about bonuses…

If a book seems to need the bonus to do any business walk the other way. If the requirements don’t protect the house from giving out free money walk the other way. If the incentive is excessive, sudden and out of character, and too good to be true, run the other way!

Obscure numbers/Soft lines

It is a myth that the sports books don’t gamble and simply get even action to keep just under 5% of the total wagered on an event. For example, at the standard price of 10% vigorish, every two $110 bets on opposite sides would, barring a tie, net 10 pounds in profit. Ideally a book may hope for large amounts of balanced action, but in today’s fast moving online game, banking on that would sink a book before they realised what hit them.

Let’s say I am a relatively new book just starting out. I have a tiny fraction of the customer base the leading books have. It’s Sunday and the Lakers are playing the Bulls in the NBA finals. The leading sports books open the line with Lakers -7 so I follow with 7. Immediately I get ten maximum wagers for the favored Lakers from my normal client base. The next thing I know, the major books have moved their line to 6.5 and eventually all the way down to 5. My very small number of customers apparently did not represent the mass opinion or the big money. Now I am left with a dilemma! If I follow the mainstream line, I will make the underdog Bulls less attractive while likely taking more bets from my normal client base on the Lakers. If I do not follow the heard I will be left vulnerable to the pack of hyenas that see me all by myself with that big juicy Bulls +7! Many will furiously attack my number simultaneously while labeling my herd as the place to get straggling numbers.

This is a very simple example and an off line does not always tell this story. Obscure lines can point to other issues as well. The operation may not realise the overall importance of hanging the sharpest line possible, they may have a linesman who falls asleep or they may just be gamblers themselves.

Players should look for stability in a sportsbook and that means not putting the company on the line. A soft line can usually be attributed to one of two things: a lack of volume or that the book itself is gambling on events.

Cost cutting

Usually the House will take the good with the bad when things are overall…good. Sometimes when things are not going well one may notice price increases. Again, this doesn’t mean the sportsbook is dripping in gasoline while smoking a cigarette, although combined with other subtle signals it may sound your personal alarm.

Canbet Sports which has long been known for being a responsible bookmaker had slowly driven up prices on some sporting events and soon after, reporting a loss to shareholders. Having stock information can take precedence over a minorobservation like price increases but it also illustrates the importance of noticing these changes. As mentioned, BetPanAm raised the costs for withdrawals in their firstmonths of operation… astute observers might have noted that BetPanAm was throwing a curve ball to their brand new budding customer base. Other times sportsbooks are just trying to restructure how they benefit their clients.

A book lowering line prices may raise withdrawal fees or nix a bonus. In that case they may have lowered the player’s cost overall. Most companies realise that clients would rather know what the permanent benefits are than to keep coming back to see what’s on sales. Players watch for sudden price increases in more than one area or overall.

Marketing Changes

Keeping an eye on a company’s marketing scheme can tell us a lot about what maybe going on beneath the surface. We should watch for anything that is out of character. Changes can represent improved efforts, a change in target audience, or utter desperation.

A big name book has recently employed a large marketing firm to help stimulate business. Industry insiders say this book has deep pockets but short arms; but short arms also make for a dirty ass. This shop has slow-paid its current clients as the new campaign was launched. Slow-paying along with starting new marketing campaigns represents the desire for a different client base. It shows the ability but not the willingness to take care of current clientele.

Last year, some players pulled funds out of another top name book because of an aggressive cold-calling campaign. Solicitors called frequently, asking “when can we expect your deposit?” The desperation in their voices along with some unfounded rumors was enough for players to question if their funds were safe, and rightfully so. The pushiness of the telemarketer was likely attributed to their commission-type earnings, as well as a lack of business etiquette. Ultimately the book removed that marketing tactic, agreeing that it was not up to their professional standard.

Books offering excessive bonuses before they run for the hills have been known to put representatives in gambling forums. Posting is a cheap way to get your message out to your target audience. Players may want to beware of too good to be true “just for you” offers. Why would the best offers be directed to only the sharpest players?

Anytime there are drastic changes in marketing styles, the company is taking a gamble. The public’s perception or ideals about your company can change quickly; so if things are already working, most businesses will only make small changes.

Players should look for consistency from their sportsbooks. We would never expect to see Pinnacle Sports launch a marketing campaign with Bikini clad girls, yet we wouldn’t think twice about seeing that from a Sportsbook.com. If Hollywood or Olympic called us to ask when we were planning on depositing next, we would end up withdrawing.

A new marketing plan should bring in new clients without losing the respect of the current customer.

Changes in book-to-book transfers

The first person to see smoke when a house is on fire is the neighbor. People within the business are the most likely to know the status of their competition. Because of this we should take note when book to book transfer policies are changed… Most quality sportsbooks will do their best to accommodate their customers by transferring funds for them and almost all sportsbooks would like to accept money coming in via any method. If two top tier books decided to not do business with a third, there is likely a good reason. We all have friends we regretfully lent money to and have learned our lesson. For that one reason, a player should question why book to book transfers have been ceased.

Players should also be aware of books that stop doing these transfers altogether. It is potentially a face- saving tactic. This way, instead of admitting a couple high profile operations will not work with them, they can simply say they no longer offer that method of transfer at all. I have seen shops eliminate these transfers around the same time a rash of slow-pay complaints arise. Most likely it is not coincidence.

Football Ending

The books like football season because it marks the end of hibernation for many entertainment gamblers. There is a high percentage of parlay and teaser players that come out of the woodwork and they are the best players to have. To simplify, football is the game that most gamblers without a clue play. Some will use only one sportsbook and ignore prices altogether.

For books that don’t take much action outside of football, they can often tell where they stand after the Super Bowl. Decisions are made at that point. Assessments by ownership and management will dictate the next step. If they realise they can’t weather another bad football season or spend money to market for college hoops, they may toss in the towel.

Books that stiff players don’t seem to always intend to from the start. The cracks are in the boat well before it starts to sink. Books that fold with the player’s balance may have started out with insufficient funding which means they gambled with the player’s money. Records and a monitored budget are not always kept and business stupidity can put them in this position.

If a shop plans to rob its players, the best time is after the super bowl. Football season and the super bowl will likely bring in that last influx of cash the house is waiting for. If a book is going to claim bankruptcy, it will likely wait until after the big bowl as well. It is possible that a book that has had a terrible hoops and bases run can make a come back with football. It is also possible they are driven into more debt and hope turns into hopelessness.

Changes in management and shareholders

I have had CEOs of sportsbooks try to make me understand that with them at the helm, things will be different than with the previous leadership. They say something along the lines of “give me a break, look at the mess I’m cleaning up”, or “we are now going in a different direction”, or I was not here when this or that was decided.

Those are all valid points if I was solely observing personal progress or looking over a resume. To the bettor that I am this makes me even more nervous. Management is basically saying that the operation is only as stable as their employment. I don’t even invest in new tools for my own job unless I’m sure its going to work out, never mind let thousands of pounds ride on someone else’s ability to show up for work.

Regardless of whether or not new management is on board for the long haul, there is a new risk to the player. The books history or success holds less weight now that someone else is at the helm. Imagine if Don Nelson was replaced by Pat Riley! Only the name of the team would be the same. To know who is steering the ship and if they are using both hands is valuable information. Instability is what you want to avoid, and a revolving door to the board room gives us just that.

Along with management, owners can also play a part in a potential tug-o-war. If your sportsbook is for sale, don’t think of it like a professional sports team that will barely be affected. These are not bookmakers looking to make sure you get paid before they do. Shareholder issues are reportedly what brought down BetPanAm and is part of the problem for some of the recent payment delays by other books. In general, it is a good idea to have a handle on the business aspect of your sportsbook.

Book Cries Fraud

There is nothing wrong with books protecting themselves from scam artists. It’s no secret that this financially fast paced business attracts its share of con artists. But, if you are able to keep your ear to the tracks, paying attention to disputes can be another tool in helping you decide where the safest place to be playing is.

As a customer, when I hear of disputes over small amounts it doesn’t sound my alarm. At worst, it usually can be chalked up to bad customer service which is worth noting in itself but doesn’t cause me to reach for my funds. After all, most established books know that bad press is worth much more than a few hundred pounds.

When a larger amount is in question it grabs my immediate attention. The amount doesn’t necessarily tell the story but it has the potential to be more than a “dispute”. When a shop is having trouble and can’t pay, it stands to reason that they would stiff the larger player first. If based purely on a business decision, it would be the best option. A business owner would rather upset one person than upset 30 for the same financial loss. Larger players also know or are told by the sportsbook that making noise over their lack of payout can hurt their chances of eventually getting paid. Yelling about a non-payment may cause others to cash out, forcing the book to pay 30 people the amount that he is owed. Management will feel obligated to publicly give a reason for not paying him. They will now have to stick to this reason or admit to a mistake.

That is why the size of the slow/no pay is a factor. If you hear about a dispute and the above is actually taking place, the outcome is often decided right away. The house has even more leverage with larger players because of this scenario. If the player gives the impression that he is upset, it may make the casino feel they will suffer bad press regardless and decide to cry foul first. If an unpaid big bettor does yell, it’s likely the process has run its course and he is at his whit’s end and is desperate. A client stuck with a large balance at a financially unsound casino is truly in a bind.

Website down time

This is a tough one considering the new Denial of Service (DoS) attack era we are in, but it is still very important. The DoS attacks seemed to be a valid excuse as even the top bookmakers experienced some down time. It is also a fact that this excuse was used by books not under any kind of attack.

The bottom line is a store loses business every time it is closed during business hours. The reason for losing income is not relevant to share holders or paying customers. An unreliable key component to a business is a definite warning sign.

Being offline can also be a potential scam orchestrated to benefit the bookie. A book that relies on bonuses as its main marketing tool could benefit from being offline. After offering some large bonuses through limited marketing means, going offline could be a temporary plus. Bonuses have a play through requirement also known as a rollover. Bookmakers are aware that these requirements are easily met with the ability to compare and play against lines at other sites. Bettors are now stuck in the position where withdrawing without meeting the requirement would potentially forfeit winnings and bonuses. They are left to call in plays and are disadvantaged by not being able to compare odds.

Slow payouts and the excuses

The majority of excuses players receive due to non payout are stall tactics. Rarely the excuse given is actually responsible for the delay. If what is at stake weren’t our funds, these reasons would actually be funny. Instead they are insulting. When the operation is short on cash the clerks are forced to lie to you. It is obvious that the clerk is lying and it is also obvious that the clerk knows you know he/she is lying. Management is in an eternal meeting and you are left to follow up on each excuse.

“The man who processes payouts is out sick”.

There are some very catchy diseases going around in the bottom feeding books.

“We are upgrading our servers”.

If hardware was upgraded as often as we are told, sportsbooks could be used as alternate locations for NASA.

“We first need to do an audit on your account for your protection”.

This one is really rough. Not only are they not giving you your funds, but are requiring you to jump through hoops to get answers. You will have to send your I.D, your bank statement, a DNA sample, and a naked picture of you barking like a seal. Requests for I.D are not uncommon. Starting an account audit four days into the payout process is unacceptable.

“The holidays have delayed payouts”.

It’s funny how Mother’s day can close a bank for a week. There have, however, been a few instances where major holidays legitimately have delayed payment one day.

“We had a carnival this week that delayed payment”.

This was a recent favorite of mine. Partying employees overlooked that the Neteller account was unfunded?

Players will often tolerate excuse #1 but when multiple unrelated reasons for non payment are given, we get worried. We are initially thinking they are just covering up a mistake, and later wondering if they have the money or plan on paying at all. For the fortunate ones, books short on cash are giving excuses merely waiting for others to make deposits with which to pay them. It is common for players who have been stiffed to at first be lead to believe there is only a small delay. Sites like Money Plays Casino will tell a client payment is on the way for two weeks before finally claiming the client broke a rule and will not be paid.

A batch of slow-pay reports does not always lead to a shop’s demise. Some gamblers like to roll the dice and consider the slow-paying source. A book that always pays late doesn’t get the attention of its veteran players, but if an A rated book that usually pays within minutes takes an hour, the same players get very worried. Some operations pride themselves on saying they have never stiffed anyone while admitting they have regularly slow-paid their clients.

Personally, I’m not giving points for consistency. Casinos know delaying payment is not good for business so we must assume one of two things… They are not financially strong or they just don’t care enough about the business to prevent the slow pays.

In either case I consider myself forewarned.

Summary of the Top 10 Red Flags

1.  25% Bonus w/ low roll over from a book that has never offered more than 10%
2. High Bonus with Reduced Juice – or other combinations of offerings that looks too good to be true.
3. Obscure or Soft Lines
4. Price increases along with other Red Flags
5. New or Drastic Change in Marketing Campaign (cold calling, excessive bonus, banner, mailing,)
6. Too good to be true “just for you” offers posted in the forums
7. Sudden stop of all book-to-book transfers
8. Frequent changes in management and shareholders
9. Large slow/no pay report from other player(s)
10. Stupid excuses for non payout or starting an account audit after payout process initiated

Risky Unregulated Business

Noticing something out of the ordinary does not necessarily mean that there is anything to worry about. Things change, policies change and businesses change. In every industry there is an evolution taking place. Businesses are constantly trying to pull away from their competition taking steps to improve. We are all aware of this. We also know that if something is not broken the repair guy shouldn’t be over hitting everything with his hammer while his customers complain.

Now that you know what to look for, you don’t need to be paranoid. Sometimes you smell smoke and there is no fire, and sometimes the scent leads to a life saving evacuation. In this industry, you have to sniff extra hard because there is no safety net. It is completely unregulated (with Australia being our exception) and only you are responsible for your funds. There is no reason to be in a situation that you are not comfortable with.

Where to Look and How to Monitor your Sportsbooks

If you’re a veteran player then you probably spend a good deal of time doing your own research on a Sportsbook before you invest your money. You’ve probably developed your own list of red flags and ways to look for them. But how much time are you spending on researching a Sportsbook that you could be sending figuring out how to beat the odds without adding extra risk? Would you like some time saving resources to make this easier?

If you’re a small Sunday better looking for some weekend entertainment but don’t have the time to do research and don’t want to lose your money in a SCAM Sportsbook, then these are must have resources.

Smart Player Resources

Sportsbook Review (SBR) is the undisputed industry leader in identifying scam sportsbooks and providing players with the resources to stay current on offshore betting news. Here are some of my favorite resources provided for FREE by http://www.SportsbookReview.com:

To find out if your current Sportsbook is a SCAM Sportsbook: Check the Black List

To find out how good your Sportsbook is: Check the ratings on over 400 sportsbooks

To find out which sportsbooks are the best and why: Check the Recommended List and read the Reviews

To find the Sportsbook that caters to your type of player: Use the Sportsbook Selector

To find out how often your Sportsbook website is down: Check the Website Performance Monitor

To get live lines (for FREE): Go to SBRLines.com

To stay current on offshore betting news: Read the (almost daily) NewsWire and SBR Upgrades and Downgrades

To get first hand feedback, watch for complaints, special promotions and gaming news: Be active in various gambling forums

Remember, offshore sports betting is a fast stock market full of potential profit and risks. But if you stay informed and watch out for these warning signs (along with your own), you can enjoy all of the benefits and success that come with Sportsbook winning.

To your success,

Bill Dozer