Learning how to choose a reputable sportsbook where you can safely place your bets is the first and most important step on your way to becoming a successful sports bettor. Make the wrong choice and your hard earned profits could be dust in the wind.
Dramatic? Hardly. This industry is littered with the remains of well meaning startups. There are literally hundreds of now defunct sportsbooks. Some that had even attained reputable status!
Time to pass along what’s probably the most important reason for seeking out shops that have established themselves in this industry and have been able to withstand the early growing pains. It’s something we hear over and over again, and something everyone needs to be aware of.
Make Sure the Sportsbook Has a Track Record
When choosing a sportsbook, the most important and for that matter, simplest step, is to make sure the sportsbook you are considering has a track record. This industry is no longer in it’s infancy. We’ve been here since the mid 90’s. That’s a quarter century!
Sportsbooks like BetAnySports and Jazz for example have been here since the beginning. You’re track record follows you wherever you go. You can’t escape it. A simple google search is all that’s needed.
It’s the simple fact that most businesses lose money in their 1st year of business. Whether we’re talking about a candy store, or an offshore bookmaker. Setting up shop is not the immediate cash cow that some would have you believe. It may in fact turn into a cash cow down the road, but definitely not early on.
Having had the opportunity over the years, and more importantly recently, to sit down with people in this industry and discuss it at length, I can tell you that one of the comments that’s repeated most often, by several different people, is “There were times when we’d go to sleep at night, not knowing if we were going to be able to pay off today’s wagers”.
The bottom line is to make sure you choose a reputable sportsbook that has been around several years.
Why Might New Sportsbooks Fail?
There are many reasons why brand new sportsbooks might fail, making them risky to do business with initially.
Competition is one reason. When the reputable sportsbooks of today began operations, there was much less competition. Even then, there were times they ran into trouble.
How could this have happened? There’s several contributing factors. One simply being that they came into the business under funded. Many scrapped together all they could, borrowed from friends, etc. etc. Raised a couple hundred thousand, and rolled the dice. Others came in with plenty of cash, one instance about 5 million, which quickly dwindled to 1 million in no time at all.
Another contributing factor is the time of year that a sportsbook opened it’s doors. If they opened shop during baseball season, or mid hoops season, chances are that they’ll already be starting behind the 8 ball once football rolls around. A bad football season, WHICH CAN HAPPEN, and they’re cooked.
Once these shops get over that hump, they are very profitable, don’t take this the wrong way. But it’s quite obvious why it takes time to get over that hump.
What Else Can I do To Play Safe?
Once you do your due diligence and find some reputable sportsbooks that have a solid track record of promptly paying their customers, you can then settle in and choose ones that fit your betting needs.
Some sportsbooks offer reduced juice wagering options as a bonus. Other sportsbooks offer fantastic sign up and referral bonuses. Or maybe it’s bet offers like special individual game props you’re after.
The easy part is deciding which sportsbooks fit your needs. The hard part is finding the reputable ones. But hey, you’re here on bettorsworld reading this article. That tells us you’e done your homework. 25 years and going strong is a record that’s tough to beat. In fact, t can’t be beat. We were the first!
Bitcoin is a Complete Game Changer
The acceptance of Bitcoin by most sportsbooks is a complete game changer for the sportsbook industry and one that helps you the player, tremendously.
When this industry first started, the only way to pay your book and get paid instantly was if you did your business through an agent. Sportsbook took your bets but you straightened up in cash with an agent.
But most players did not use an agent. For most bettors, they had to “post up” their money. Which means they had to arrange payment to the sportsbooks. Common ways to do this were via Western Union or Money Gram. Cashiers check was another popular method.
But these methods took time. A check might take a week or more to arrive and the less than honorable sportsbooks would use this as an excuse to slow pay you. “The check is in the mail”. Yeah, right.
Neteller Was Good – But Nothing Like BTC
The closest thing players ever had to getting paid instantly was neteller. The probem with neteller was that it was a 3rd party. You might be able to get paid from the sportsbook, but could you get paid from neteller?
Well, sometime back in the early 2000’s, neteller had their funds frozen by the US government. Not a good feeling. Eventually, they got their funds. But it took several months.
Bitcoin is true peer to peer. Me to you. You to the sportsbook. The sportsbook to you. There is no middleman. It’s like meeting at the diner and exchanging cash.
The advantage to you, the bettor, is that you no longer have to fund all of your sportsbook accounts and tie up your money. You can also afford to take some chances with sportsbooks that might seem a little risky.
You can do this by sending just enough to cover one bet. Make the wager, win, then request your funds.
Most bettors likely don’t even realize it yet. But bitcoin will end up being the best thing to ever happen to the sportsbook industry (and many others). It makes you’re choice of choosing a sportsbook so much easier!
Good Luck with your sportsbook choices and feel free to drop us a line. We’re more than happy to answer questions.