[cockblocker]

am erica s book ie .com

Contacted me too.

[cockblocker]

Last week things looked bad and everyone including SBR sounded like they waited for the magical Monday to come and see what happened. When BetIslands didn't come through we saw them lower from "B" to "C" late last night.

Today SBR says BetIslands is toast.

I'm sure SBR was making money on BI and didn't want them to fail. BI was still not rated A+ and everyone knew they had only been around a year or so. If there is a better watchdog for sportsbooks out there, then send me the link, because I haven't seen one that is even close.

From Bangthebook sportsbook review site Nov. 11 2012

BetIslands was established in San Jose, Costa Rica in 1998, However after a series of DOS attacks, lost processing capabilities we have determined that Bet Islands can no longer payout individuals and we suggest checking out one of the Top Sportsbooks for 2012 that we have reviewed and tested!

http://www.bangthebook.com/sportsbook-review/blacklist-sportsbooks.php

[trixtrix]

that's all good, i understand wagerweb dan knew BI owner well, just cross promote them instead

[bane]

...

"Jon" (from BI) apparently new something was wrong weeks ago and continued to post reassuring customers that things were fine. ...

My main issue is with SBR who from all accounts knew this was an issue around a month ago (as did many in CR) - as is apparent by another site issuing a warning about BI a month ago. How can SBR not protect its customer base from this issue! I thought their whole mission statement was to bring transparency to the industry, dispute claims and be a voice for the public. However, they failed to inform SBR posters over a month ago of this issue because of their business relationship with BI. This is an epic failure of a business to properly report warning signs that a collapse is imminent because of a conflict of interest.

I thought SBR was providing transparency, reliable reviews, and disputing claims as well. Turns out their business model is providing a captive audience for the books, marketing/touting to said audience, and profiting from their relationship w/ the books.

SBR has clear financial interest in protecting and touting for the books. Absolutely no vested interest in protecting or advising joe public.

[Isaiah]

this comes as no surprise to me. a book coming out of nowhere all of a sudden providing excellent customer service making a reputable name very quickly and goes down as quickly as it came up. Sorry for all your losses fellas.

Indeed. I fell for the ponzi scheme and I know better. Looking back all the warning signs were there...smooth talking front man (Jon), lots of shills posting gushing threads about them, way too generous bonuses, constant staff turnover, etc. Silver lining for me is that this is the final straw, I've considered quitting sports gambling for a long time but really never WANTED to. Now I do WANT to and will. The colossal waste of time and energy is absurd and now the uncertainty and hassles of being paid. A very sick endeavor. No mas.

[Speedy88]

Yep I won't be playing offshore ever again.

[ttrace35]

You're full of crap. Just spoke with Ryan & he's not even accepting deposits, concentrating on payouts first.

Dumbfukk

[zizoudane10]

Wow honestly SBR...

You guys really did a bad job of "explaining" in this thread.

You should consider hiring me as your PR consultant.

I would do a lot better than you just did.

If you haven't got an excuse or an explanation for the things that happened, you should at least LIE LIE LIE LIE LIE. First thing you learn in 1st semester of marketing @ a university: IF YOU CAN'T CONVINCE A CLIENT WITH REASONABLE EXPLANATIONS, THINK OF A BRILLIANT LIE TO MAKE YOURSELF LOOK GOOD.
Obv. your PR consultants are doing a bad job. I would fire all of them. Now. With an asskick. They ruined your reputation.

[zizoudane10]

[Frogger]

From Bangthebook sportsbook review site Nov. 11 2012

BetIslands was established in San Jose, Costa Rica in 1998, However after a series of DOS attacks, lost processing capabilities we have determined that Bet Islands can no longer payout individuals and we suggest checking out one of the Top Sportsbooks for 2012 that we have reviewed and tested!

http://www.bangthebook.com/sportsbook-review/blacklist-sportsbooks.php

I will start to check out their site. I just want to goto the best site with the most reliable information.

[increasedodds]

I didn't have a cent there, but amazing to me that a company closes with millions of dollars and no one names the financial backers. The guys who "pulled out" should have their names published all over the place.

[increasedodds]

...

[BuddyBear]

I haven't deposited with a sportsbook in a while as I have too many things going on at the moment in my life. But I keep up with things on here and have bet offshore since 2000 and all I can say is that I think it is in the best interest of ALL Americans to cease making deposits offshore immediately. There are very few options left for Americans. Depositing has become a hassle and payouts are no longer reliable, even among the top books. The past 5 years have shown that any book is liable to fold at any moment, even those rated very highly by industry watchdog groups. At this point, it may be best to consider finding a local and working with him to meet your gaming needs or find another hobby. The thought of losing some of these sums of money I am reading in this thread is enough to make me vomit...players losing 2K, 5K, 15K, 49K, etc....

The days of Americans being able to freely deposit and move money around are gone. No longer can a guy who works hard throw $50 on a game and have a beer and watch the game and enjoy himself on the weekend. The repressive Republican regime has succeed in dismantling the personal liberties of citizens in this country. They won't be satisfied until we are living in a theocracy and are being taught creationism in school.

[Bill Dozer]

Bill's "explanation" is a nightmare. What are you trying to say? That Jon told you guys he had additional financial support, but he lost it?

That's it?

No apologies to your players? Let me ask you this question. Had you guys not provided BetIslands with a banner, do you honestly believe SBR posters would have actively deposited with them? Obviously the answer is no.

And while no one thinks you have a financial obligation to the players that were robbed, you sure as hell have a moral obligation to provide a much better explanation of what happened to the player's money.

There is one glaring flaw/issue with your explanation. If you were aware of BI's problems, and it appears you were when you typed "SBR agreed on the information available", then it would have helped a great deal if you reached out to your posters and told them to delay further funding at BI until processing issues could be worked out. You could have bought your posters time, and BI time, by simply telling everyone there was an issue.

This is a nightmare, and you guys can't seem to stay out of your own way. One "explanation" makes the next one worse, and rinse, repeat, and rinse.

My post is in response to plainly answer specific Qs on previous pages. There is nothing we can say that it is going to make guys who lost feel any better except that we continue putting the word out that another book has the opportunity to be a hero here. We very much wish we got a better feel for BI and had a better opinion. Again, in response to previous posts, a book sponsoring the forum is not a guarantee. Everything on the site, including the posters poll and discussions, is information for users to make their own decisions. (We are going to add the date-opened to our book lists.) We understand guys want someone to blame in this situation where everyone else seems to be anonymous.

"Based" on the information available, the book wasn't worse off for future players when #2 picked up the slack. There was a detailed plan for how the new guys would handle the business. The book's menu expanded, six figure players were to be on a payment schedule, and the people now getting the operation bills were promptly paying new pending withdrawals. Those withdrawals wouldn't have gone out otherwise. (We are told they exceeded deposits of which were only a few thousand) As we can see now, later there weren't processing issues but what was leading up to today.

[Squared Box]

In other words, it's not SBR's fault you all are suckers.

[gauchojake]

How's about since you know the actual identities of all involved, you make those public? If you want to be a watchdog, then do so.

[Milk Money]

My post is in response to plainly answer specific Qs on previous pages. There is nothing we can say that it is going to make guys who lost feel any better except that we continue putting the word out that another book has the opportunity to be a hero here. We very much wish we got a better feel for BI and had a better opinion. Again, in response to previous posts, a book sponsoring the forum is not a guarantee. Everything on the site, including the posters poll and discussions, is information for users to make their own decisions. (We are going to add the date-opened to our book lists.) We understand guys want someone to blame in this situation where everyone else seems to be anonymous.

"Based" on the information available, the book wasn't worse off for future players when #2 picked up the slack. There was a detailed plan for how the new guys would handle the business. The book's menu expanded, six figure players were to be on a payment schedule, and the people now getting the operation bills were promptly paying new pending withdrawals. Those withdrawals wouldn't have gone out otherwise. (We are told they exceeded deposits of which were only a few thousand) As we can see now, later there weren't processing issues but what was leading up to today.

So who stole my money Bill?

[Monte]

It's the players fault in the first place, but SBR assisted this scam.
They know that their ratings still mean a lot to many people, and they abused this by not doing enough research and easily giving away top ratings.
They still abuse it on BOL and maybe others i forget now.
The attitude tells me enough about these SBR people, i would lower my head, be humble and apologize the whole day if i'd own this place.
I see nothing of this here, so i have to assume they are just part of sportsbook scams these days. Proof me wrong, if you can...

[CollegePro]

again, sbr sucks!

[THE_LOCKSMITH]

BetIsland sponsored tha contest did these players get their prizes?

1st. Jericholic, 60'' LG Plasma TV
2nd. bachngocduong, Dell Inspiron 17'' laptop
3rd. hydrosmak, iPad 3
4th. louie dog, Playstation 3
5th. Monitor-Tan, $200 Walmart g/c
6th. whocares, $150 Apple g/c
7th. darkghost, $100 Amazon g/c

[erickvivar]

SBR should stop putting ratings and simply and officially say these are OUR sponsors and we LIKE you guys to play with them because they give us money for advertising. Nothing wrong with that, it is a business, but do not try to mislead players, enpowers book owners or PR guys. I got burned with Goldp a y and their book, thankfully not with BI or BOL (the next one to go down) but hundreds of player are, all because of your "investigations", "visits", "interviews" and expensive dinners with owners.

Samething is happening with GTBets and how they are being elevated on ratings with no control. All that money you guys collect from BI, it is time to give some back to those players.

In the meanwhile, other D+ Books not sponsoring SBR keep going without stealing all players money. News wires and warnings with all those DANGEROUS books, but zero with the one who single handed rip off half of the players on this forum. Nice job guys.

[CollegePro]

BetIsland sponsored tha contest did these players get their prizes?

1st. Jericholic, 60'' LG Plasma TV
2nd. bachngocduong, Dell Inspiron 17'' laptop
3rd. hydrosmak, iPad 3
4th. louie dog, Playstation 3
5th. Monitor-Tan, $200 Walmart g/c
6th. whocares, $150 Apple g/c
7th. darkghost, $100 Amazon g/c

i was wondering about this too.. if they didn't get their prize, SBR should send them the prize!

[Raven66]

I'll still be playing offshore only at Pinnacle.

[Mr. Jones]

If there is one silver lining it's simply this. It appears as though the Bet Islands customers don't seem to be willing to go down alone. Walker, Dozer, Lou and their once thriving business Sportsbookreview will be dragged down and swimming with the fishes as well.

To borrow from Chad Millman' s great book, SBRODDS One Season, Three Scammers, and the Death of Their Sportsbookreview.

[LVHerbie]

First, I'll say the owners of books aren't always public and it's not up to us to make it so although we consider the available information. If you want to know the details of the comapny, you can go higher up the ladder to the book's that have been there 10 years all the way to public companies like bet365 instead of books that opened in 2011. Everyone can see the timeline of a book whether you agree with SBR ratings or not and choose what risk factors are important to you. In fact, when BI hit its ceiling for a newer book at B, many of the posters who are angry with SBRforum now argued that they should have been rated higher because of how their experience was.

When there is a problem with a book sponsor or in this case, a closure, everyone feels very badly. We try to react quickly without taking chances. There are even staff family and friends who aren't necessarily posting but are often playing along. Anyone who has been around here a while knows it's not just a business at SBRforum and it's about the community as much as anything. We don't just sell impressions to gaming sites who ask. Internally SBRforum discussed how we could avoid this in the future. While I can't say BI was overrated at B at the time, we'll require more years online before a banner at the top can be there. It doesn't help players here but these are the type of things considered as we read each of the posts.

As mentioned BIs backing was no longer... backing. There wasn't a contingency plan for them as we were told early on and some things went on behind the scenes before we had knowledge of the resulting issues. Jon had apparently been visiting every book he knew to get players to land on their feet without a personal interest in what happened. He eventually thought he did and SBR agreed based on information available. One of the owners of a book with assets and the money to make it work had stepped forward. Their upside was to keep an established brand that players really liked and build on it. We are still not 100% clear on what occurred but this arrangement came undone and BI is back in the position it would have been had backer #2 not been introduced.

http://www.sportsbookreview.com/forum/sportsbook...ands-jazz.html
http://www.sportsbookreview.com/forum/sportsbook...treet-now.html

Are we still to believe there were no ties between Betisands to Jazz or EZStreet except shared office space?

[Milk Money]

Hey SBR how can betislands have a solid financial backing when the guy just leaves with the money?

[Milk Money]

If it is an established bookmaker you need to name that book so we know who has our money.

[raiders72001]

If there is one silver lining it's simply this. It appears as though the Bet Islands customers don't seem to be willing to go down alone. Walker, Dozer, Lou and their once thriving business Sportsbookreview will be dragged down and swimming with the fishes as well.

To borrow from Chad Millman' s great book, SBRODDS One Season, Three Scammers, and the Death of Their Sportsbookreview.

This has happened before and will happen again. A and B books have folded with players money in the past. It's not going to hurt SBR. It just hurts the many players that had their money stolen.

[sharlataans]

Someone was living a luxury life at your expense guys

[Bill Dozer]

i was wondering about this too.. if they didn't get their prize, SBR should send them the prize!

SBR Store will send out all the prizes.

[horja1]

BetIsland sponsored tha contest did these players get their prizes?

1st. Jericholic, 60'' LG Plasma TV
2nd. bachngocduong, Dell Inspiron 17'' laptop
3rd. hydrosmak, iPad 3
4th. louie dog, Playstation 3
5th. Monitor-Tan, $200 Walmart g/c
6th. whocares, $150 Apple g/c
7th. darkghost, $100 Amazon g/c

I don't think SBR announce/start a contest before having the prizes already in their posession (cash, etc.)

[Trigger7672]

Everyone should boycott SBR. They are just as shady and just as much to blame as Betisands, Jon, and whoever else. Down with SBR! We don't need no water let the mothafucker burn!

[Dark Horse]

This is not acceptable. You, SBR, made this among your trustworthy books (including a recently ended contest), so it's up to you to solve this for those who signed up through SBR. Not kidding. This one is 100% on you. So find a book that will take on these accounts. That should be your number one priority until you find it.

[Dark Horse]

And Jon, if you read this, as you will, recommended viewing for you is the movie 'Savages'. Not paying is not an option, bud.

[Dark Horse]

My post is in response to plainly answer specific Qs on previous pages. There is nothing we can say that it is going to make guys who lost feel any better except that we continue putting the word out that another book has the opportunity to be a hero here. We very much wish we got a better feel for BI and had a better opinion. Again, in response to previous posts, a book sponsoring the forum is not a guarantee. Everything on the site, including the posters poll and discussions, is information for users to make their own decisions. (We are going to add the date-opened to our book lists.) We understand guys want someone to blame in this situation where everyone else seems to be anonymous.

For real, guy? You're going to sidestep this one when you well know this book was developed almost exclusively through SBR forum, contest, and banner?