how I started betting and experiences - I want to hear your story
Hi. I am betting online since 2000. That means for nearly ten years now. In the beginning i made some big losses but over the years and with much more experience and a nice system and selection of my bets I started not only winning it back - I made some reasonable money. For me 18k + per years means good money. I for some in this forum this ammount means nothing, but for me it is a lot.
After some bad experiences with several reputable sportsbooks over the last months I nearly quit betting and only bet for fun. When there are freeplay I ll take it, but I will never ever send thousands to any sportsbook anymore. I really got scammed but I will not complain about it. I stopped thinking about it but I lost around 20.000 Euro due to some rules and regualtions from the sportsbooks.
Why did I start betting?
Back in the 90s I worked in a foreign country and made some nice money. I had far more than 30000 Euro in my bank account. We bought a car in 1999 for around 20k Euro and paid it by cash. I never had to take a loan. For the new millenium we planned a trip to Hawaii. We had the money in cash even after the trip would have had enough money in the bank account. When we arrived at the airport and showed our passports my girlfriend got arrested for two hours. Back in 1997 before we left Germany I filled in her income tax forms and sent it to the authorities. Until 1999 we never heard anything from them again. They knew were we lifed but we never received any payment order for the taxes. At the airport she was told that there was an arrest warrrent because she had not paid back 2500 Euro in taxes. The tax authorities stated she received back too much money in the years before and that they don`t send payment orders to foreign countries. Total BS. So we had to pay the 2500 Euro at the airport in cash and she was released. No big deal for us. But the problem is that we missed the flight to Toronto and had to book a different one. That cost us some nice money. The holidays were great but when we arrived back home we were around 1k in the reds. I have no clue why but this made me restless. I really don`t know why but somehow I thought this was the end of the world for me. I knew that some companies offered sportsbetting and so I started betting because I wanted to have enough money again and not be in the minus. Usually it should not had been a problem. I really earned enough money and within 4 weeks we would have had out bank account back up to at least 3.5k but I lost my mind. I thought i know sports pretty well and so I started betting.
My first sportsbook was a company from Austria. I made several deposits (total of 500 Euro). All of a sudden I hit a 8 team parlay and made 13000 Euro. That was in the first week I started betting. I guess some of you guys know what came next. I thought I made 13k within a week - why not doint it again. Over the next months I maxed out my cc every months. I made some small winnings but after around 6 months I lost around 30k Euro. That was when my bank called me and wanted to speak with me about this ammount. I had to take my first loan. In the next months I played on but for smalled ammounts. I always lifed on the edge and at the end of every months we had to take care that there is enough money left. That went on for years. Sportsbetting dicated my life.
In 2005 we moved back to Germany. I was still betting on games but for smaller ammounts. I made just 10 to 50 Euro deposits and got more careful with the money and games i bet on. That system worked way better. I usually run up my balance from 10 Euro to 500 Euro in a day and there were many occasions when I run up my balance from 10 Euro to 10.000 Euro in two or three days. Sportsbetting was like my second income in that time and I made an average profit of 15k to 20k per year. Not bad for me.
This went on for years and I already won back the money I lost in my starting years two times. Everything was great until last year. I made another small deposit at a sportsbook. A sportsbook I played for years with. I run up my balance again to 8000 Euro within two days. I wanted to cash out but this time they took my account under investigation. We are talking about a big European sportsbook. They wanted all kind of documentation - id, driving license, birth certificate etc etc etc. I provided everything but in the end they said the documents were not accepted by them. I even sent them docs a notary confirmed to be ok but they denied that. What should I do? Nothing. They did not pay me and I had no legal possibility to get the funds. In the country i am from sportsbetting is not allowed.
In another case, just 4 weeks later I made a similar experience. I never played at that European sportsbook before (licensed in Malta). I made a 1000 Euro deposit (money I won at another sportsbook) and run up my balance to 4000 Euro in one day. This time the sportsbook accused me of money laundering. They took my account under investigation and after 3 weeks they sent me a message telling me that according to their rules they can seize any account were they accuse the account holder of money laundering. I asked them why they accuse me but all they replied was that they will not communicate with me anymore. Case closed - money gone - no legal possibilities again.
After these experiences I quit betting for a couple of months. I decided to get an account in the name of my girlfriend at the sportsbook that already took 8k away from me. I know that this was stupid. My girlfriend had a different adress, the ip was dynamic and so it was all set. I already used a new laptop. Okay. Another 25 Euro deposit, 11000k in 3 days - account under investigation. This time they wanted the documents of my girlfriend. Same story again. My girlfriend provided it. Even the postal code that was sent to her. Id certified etc etc etc. This time the sportsbook said they say she provided fake documents and closed the account again. What should we do? Nothing. Money gone - no legal possibilities.
Overall I lost around 23000 Euro within 4 months. Money were no bonus was involved. Money I won with betting but was taken away from me due to lame accusations. That is when I turned away from betting, from thinking betting may be a nice possibility for making some good and quick money. Sportsbooks can do what they want with us bettors. They make rules which are always in their favour. They can accuse us of money laundering and there is nothing we can do against it. Whenever a sportsbook knows that they host a player from a country where sportsbetting is not allowed they can even freeze your account and avoid paying you. What can you do against it? Nothing. They are always in the better position.
Right now I am only betting for fun. I don`t think sportsbetting is some kind of income anymore. When I win a bet it is great. The times when I spent 12 hours with research, watching games etc are finally over. Betting from time to time is great but not as important anymore as it was in the past. It took a long time but I finally realized that there are more important things in life than betting for a living (betting was only my second income - i am employed).
It would be nice to hear how you started betting and what your experiences are.
BTW: Points for my story are welcome. Maybe I can "buy" a freeplay then
After some bad experiences with several reputable sportsbooks over the last months I nearly quit betting and only bet for fun. When there are freeplay I ll take it, but I will never ever send thousands to any sportsbook anymore. I really got scammed but I will not complain about it. I stopped thinking about it but I lost around 20.000 Euro due to some rules and regualtions from the sportsbooks.
Why did I start betting?
Back in the 90s I worked in a foreign country and made some nice money. I had far more than 30000 Euro in my bank account. We bought a car in 1999 for around 20k Euro and paid it by cash. I never had to take a loan. For the new millenium we planned a trip to Hawaii. We had the money in cash even after the trip would have had enough money in the bank account. When we arrived at the airport and showed our passports my girlfriend got arrested for two hours. Back in 1997 before we left Germany I filled in her income tax forms and sent it to the authorities. Until 1999 we never heard anything from them again. They knew were we lifed but we never received any payment order for the taxes. At the airport she was told that there was an arrest warrrent because she had not paid back 2500 Euro in taxes. The tax authorities stated she received back too much money in the years before and that they don`t send payment orders to foreign countries. Total BS. So we had to pay the 2500 Euro at the airport in cash and she was released. No big deal for us. But the problem is that we missed the flight to Toronto and had to book a different one. That cost us some nice money. The holidays were great but when we arrived back home we were around 1k in the reds. I have no clue why but this made me restless. I really don`t know why but somehow I thought this was the end of the world for me. I knew that some companies offered sportsbetting and so I started betting because I wanted to have enough money again and not be in the minus. Usually it should not had been a problem. I really earned enough money and within 4 weeks we would have had out bank account back up to at least 3.5k but I lost my mind. I thought i know sports pretty well and so I started betting.
My first sportsbook was a company from Austria. I made several deposits (total of 500 Euro). All of a sudden I hit a 8 team parlay and made 13000 Euro. That was in the first week I started betting. I guess some of you guys know what came next. I thought I made 13k within a week - why not doint it again. Over the next months I maxed out my cc every months. I made some small winnings but after around 6 months I lost around 30k Euro. That was when my bank called me and wanted to speak with me about this ammount. I had to take my first loan. In the next months I played on but for smalled ammounts. I always lifed on the edge and at the end of every months we had to take care that there is enough money left. That went on for years. Sportsbetting dicated my life.
In 2005 we moved back to Germany. I was still betting on games but for smaller ammounts. I made just 10 to 50 Euro deposits and got more careful with the money and games i bet on. That system worked way better. I usually run up my balance from 10 Euro to 500 Euro in a day and there were many occasions when I run up my balance from 10 Euro to 10.000 Euro in two or three days. Sportsbetting was like my second income in that time and I made an average profit of 15k to 20k per year. Not bad for me.
This went on for years and I already won back the money I lost in my starting years two times. Everything was great until last year. I made another small deposit at a sportsbook. A sportsbook I played for years with. I run up my balance again to 8000 Euro within two days. I wanted to cash out but this time they took my account under investigation. We are talking about a big European sportsbook. They wanted all kind of documentation - id, driving license, birth certificate etc etc etc. I provided everything but in the end they said the documents were not accepted by them. I even sent them docs a notary confirmed to be ok but they denied that. What should I do? Nothing. They did not pay me and I had no legal possibility to get the funds. In the country i am from sportsbetting is not allowed.
In another case, just 4 weeks later I made a similar experience. I never played at that European sportsbook before (licensed in Malta). I made a 1000 Euro deposit (money I won at another sportsbook) and run up my balance to 4000 Euro in one day. This time the sportsbook accused me of money laundering. They took my account under investigation and after 3 weeks they sent me a message telling me that according to their rules they can seize any account were they accuse the account holder of money laundering. I asked them why they accuse me but all they replied was that they will not communicate with me anymore. Case closed - money gone - no legal possibilities again.
After these experiences I quit betting for a couple of months. I decided to get an account in the name of my girlfriend at the sportsbook that already took 8k away from me. I know that this was stupid. My girlfriend had a different adress, the ip was dynamic and so it was all set. I already used a new laptop. Okay. Another 25 Euro deposit, 11000k in 3 days - account under investigation. This time they wanted the documents of my girlfriend. Same story again. My girlfriend provided it. Even the postal code that was sent to her. Id certified etc etc etc. This time the sportsbook said they say she provided fake documents and closed the account again. What should we do? Nothing. Money gone - no legal possibilities.
Overall I lost around 23000 Euro within 4 months. Money were no bonus was involved. Money I won with betting but was taken away from me due to lame accusations. That is when I turned away from betting, from thinking betting may be a nice possibility for making some good and quick money. Sportsbooks can do what they want with us bettors. They make rules which are always in their favour. They can accuse us of money laundering and there is nothing we can do against it. Whenever a sportsbook knows that they host a player from a country where sportsbetting is not allowed they can even freeze your account and avoid paying you. What can you do against it? Nothing. They are always in the better position.
Right now I am only betting for fun. I don`t think sportsbetting is some kind of income anymore. When I win a bet it is great. The times when I spent 12 hours with research, watching games etc are finally over. Betting from time to time is great but not as important anymore as it was in the past. It took a long time but I finally realized that there are more important things in life than betting for a living (betting was only my second income - i am employed).
It would be nice to hear how you started betting and what your experiences are.
BTW: Points for my story are welcome. Maybe I can "buy" a freeplay then
