New to online betting. Need some advice.

tacomax · 04-08-06, 07:50 PM

1) Any of the books at the top will be safe for you. VIP have 20 cent lines on NBA, Pinnacle have 8 cent lines. You can get monthly free withdrawals at both places I think.

This might be a good place to see which sportsbook is the best for you:

http://sbr.sportsbookreview.com/Match+your+profile+to+the+best+sportsbook/default.aspx

2) Yes - very reputable.

3) Someone who lives in the US can better advise you about that one.

bigboydan · 04-08-06, 11:20 PM

i would advise using that link that taco posted above to choose a book.

as far as neteller goes. well, they are a very safe processor for your gamming transactions. although, there fees are a little high.

from the legal aspect of it all. i would advise you to check with your local goverment on that one. although, most people will bet offshore anyway despite the local laws.

TLD · 04-09-06, 12:45 AM

“1) What is a good site to do online betting on? Are pinnaclesports and vipsports good one's? They are the 2 I've been looking at. I also think it's probably important to note, I am not a die-hard gambler, and wouldn't be wagering more than $20 a week. Any advice on the best site for me?”

Pinnacle is a very good sportsbook in most respects, but it’s hard to say that they would be the best for a small player like you. Wagering is online only, so if you’re looking to use the phone even sometimes for your bets you’ll need another place instead of or besides Pinnacle. No customer service by phone either, and I find their online customer service well short of ideal.

The VIP books I would rank considerably below Pinnacle, however many of the considerations that lead me to say that are unlikely to apply to someone playing the stakes you’re interested in, so they may well be a very suitable choice for you.

In general, someone playing very low stakes has the luxury of ignoring many of the factors talked about on sites like this in evaluating books. You can base your decision almost 100% on the safety of your funds. As far as that goes, the best choice is an Australian book such as Canbet as that is the only country in the world with legitimate regulation of legal sportsbooks. A few other countries provide some minimal protection, but mostly you have to rely on the reputation of the business itself and not its location.

Books that have been around for a long time and are probably the least likely to fold and keep their customers money include Olympic (now called “The Greek”), Pinnacle, CRIS, Grande, WSEX, WWTS, 5 Dimes, Bet365, and most of those ranked ‘B’ or above on this site.

The other factor you’ll need to look at that is not relevant to many players is the various minimums. What is the minimum deposit and minimum withdrawal for which the book will pick up the fees? What is the minimum deposit that will receive a bonus? What is the minimum bet taken by phone? What is the minimum bet taken online? Etc.

Unfortunately I can’t help you much there. But you can find all the contact information for the books here, and it’s easy to call up five or six and ask them these questions and get a feel for whether they fit what a player such as yourself is looking for.

“2) Is neteller.com reputable? I've never heard of them before, but it seems like most sites I've went to require you to use a third party site like that.”

Mostly reputable. It’s large. It’s been around for quite a few years now. It’s not located in the United States, where there would be legality issues. I’ve heard little if anything to indicate they conduct their business in a crooked or shady way. Most sportsbook customers, including myself, are very happy with the service they provide.

I would never say there is zero risk. Money transfer outfits set up for gambling transactions like this have gone under in the past. I sometimes have quite a bit of money there, but that’s because I play in a lot of books and I want the flexibility to be able to move money around quickly and easily amongst them. I’m somewhat comfortable with that, for what it’s worth. I probably feel whatever money I have at Neteller is at less risk than whatever money I have at 75% of the books where I’ve played.

But for a player such as yourself, there’s really no reason for you to park money in Neteller. Just use it to go to and from whichever book(s) you choose.

Also, to clarify something bigboydan said, some services available through Neteller do indeed come with a fee. But some don’t, and for some of those that do, the books pick up those fees. I’ve never paid a penny in Neteller fees for example.

To be specific, you can transfer from your bank to Neteller free. You can transfer from Neteller to your bank for free. You can transfer from Neteller to a sportsbook for free. (They charge the sportsbook a fee, which 99% of the time the book does not pass along to you.) You can transfer from a sportsbook to Neteller for free. (Again, they charge the sportsbook a fee, and while it’s somewhat more common for the book to pass this fee along to you, it’s avoidable. Some books have all free withdrawals, some have one free per week, some have one free per month, etc.)

“3) Is it legal? And are there any real chances of prosecution? Have you ever heard of anyone getting into trouble? BTW I live in Ohio, USA.”

If you’re placing bets rather than booking bets, then, depending on whom you ask, you’ll be doing something which is either A) legal, or B) trivially illegal in the sense that penny ante poker and oral sex are illegal in many jurisdictions. So there’s some gray area there, but the chances someone betting $20 a week on sports could get in trouble for it are basically nil.

Mudcat · 04-09-06, 01:26 PM

Originally posted by ryguy

Hey guys, this is my first post and I have very little experience with online betting. I am a sports fanatic, especially basketball. I watch probably around 20-30 games weekly on league pass. I'm looking to getting into online betting, but I have a few questions.

1) What is a good site to do online betting on? Are pinnaclesports and vipsports good one's? They are the 2 I've been looking at. I also think it's probably important to note, I am not a die-hard gambler, and wouldn't be wagering more than $20 a week. Any advice on the best site for me?

2) Is neteller.com reputable? I've never heard of them before, but it seems like most sites I've went to require you to use a third party site like that.

3) Is it legal? And are there any real chances of prosecution? Have you ever heard of anyone getting into trouble? BTW I live in Ohio, USA.

Welcome to the forum ryguy. You are getting some good advice here. I have used Neteller for years and like them a lot.

I think anything else I say at this point would be overkill. Let us know if you have more specific question once you narrow down your search.

Also, you might enjoy the Bowman's NBA contest which starts every Monday in the Contest forum.

Illusion · 04-09-06, 02:45 PM

Pinnacle now offers one free withdraw per month (for any limit) so that would be your best bet.

Neteller is very safe.

As dan said, check with your local government. Also, I have never seen anybody get busted for betting online if that helps you.

Good luck and welcome to SBR.