For the current 10 most breaking online sportsbook news items, visit the Sportsbook Review homepage.
 

SPORTS BETTING INDUSTRY NEWS RSS

News on scam sports betting operations, events and business deals within the offshore sports gambling industry.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

02.04.2006
Two BetRoyal slow-paid clients including SBRforum poster paid in full. Royal reports processing payout for 3rd player via credit card refund, blames European credit card system for delay.

02.03.2006

SBRforum poster complains Royal Sports(SBR rating D) unable to process payout.

Sportsbook Review presents the SBR Excellence Award for the 4th quarter of 2005.

02.02.2006

Successful sportsbook owners know that one of the keys to success is surrounding themselves with quality management. Despite the best sportsbooks being synonymous with iconic figures, these are not one-man operations. This award is meant to highlight the daily efforts by other key individuals at elite or vastly improving sportsbooks.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

02.01.2006
ChampSportsbook (SBR rating D-) defaulting on payment plans.

Player: "Boy am I hoping you can help me out. I’m having real problems with a payout from Champsportsbook.com. I’ve been playing with them for two years now and have spent a lot of money with them. I’m currently trying to withdraw 10,000 from my account with them. They told me that I would have to take the payments in increments of $2,000/per week for 5 weeks. I’m totally fine with that format. The problem is they paid me one payment of 2k for the week of January 7th after a whole lot of hassle and that’s it."

Players should pursue immediate payment from ChampSportsbook and its FutureBet sister sites, regardless of the amount. This company is known for being unprepared for large batches of withdrawal requests like those that occur following the Super Bowl. Although SBR has been successful facilitating some payout plans, it is not uncommon for bettors to wait months for small sums.

SBRForum: $1500 Super Bowl Contest

01.31.2006

All posters are invited to join the first annual SBRforum Super Bowl contest. Players can win up to $500 in their VIPsports(SBR rating A+) account for giving their picks to questions like: Which team will score first? and for giving their prediction on who will be the game’s MVP. The contest will even award a $100 booby prize to the player who proves to be the worst capper in the forum. Read contest rules and enter HERE.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.30.2006
BetonStars(SBR rating D-) processes withdrawals for two players who have both waited over one week; the sportsbook reports being up to date on all withdrawals. SBR will continue to monitor pending requests and confirm payments with players as the sportsbook talks of moving their office prior to Super Bowl weekend. 

WagerWeb

01.30.2006

receives second upgrade in two months, resulting in jump from C to B-. In a recent conversation with SBR, WagerWeb ownership talked of implementing friendlier policies and agreed to eliminate a procedure where accounts are temporarily locked until the user confirms that he/she understands betting restrictions placed on proposition wagers. Recent player feedback has otherwise been positive.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.28.2006
BetonStars(SBR rating D-) tells SBR they are waitng for a $10,000 deposit to clear its Neteller merchant account in order to pay slow-paid bettors. When asked how they planned to pay players beyond this relatively small sum, management replied: "We will have enough left over to pay other players". BetonStars players now fear that the book will rely on a profitable Super Bowl from the few clients that remain. SBR and slow-paid players were originally assured that this latest wire would clear on January 24th.

SBR Bill Dozer reports: WagerFree(SBR rating F-)

01.28.2006
owner makes final attempt to lessen severity of charges before impending arrest. Garet would like owed players to email him at wagerfree@yahoo.com with amounts owed.

Garet Bradford: "if and when you talk to the commish. let them know that anyone that wants to be paid need to make a request to this e-mail with there user name and password (from wagerfree) and the amount they are owed by march 1 so they can be set up on a payment plan. thanks"

This is likely a futile attempt to avoid the fallout of running a scam sportsbook within the US. Mr. Bradford has been quoted multiple times as saying he is bankrupt and does not have player funds.

SBR Bill Dozer reports: BetBookie and Phoenix Rising Group downgraded to F

01.27.2006
as no-pay complaints continue to fill SBR’s mailbox. Customer service remains off-line and the sportsbook shows no signs of life. BetBookie victims had hoped that World Gaming was to take over the site as they did with AllSportsCasino. However, the different sites are being treated as separate entities, likely divided by ownership of player packages. World Gaming states that they currently do not have any plans to take over other Phoenix Rising sites.

"Hi.  I have a quick question about betbookie.com.  They actually owe me $8000 since late October of 2005.  They gave me all these BS reasons for not giving me my funds.  When I tried to call them today, it seems like they disconnected their phone service.  Then I came to your site and noticed that they either sold or trying to sell their website.  Is there any way to receive my money or is this money down the drain?  Any suggestions or answers are welcomed.  Thank you very much and I truly appreciate your website."

Pinnacle Sports (SBR rating A+) requires ALL players to change their passwords.

01.27.2006
SBR receives multiple complaints that the new password system is too difficult. In a letter to SBR, Pinnacle explains that this is part of their ongoing security upgrades and strategy and was planned well in advance. It is both an attempt to secure their system as well as verify email addresses. The date was chosen as the best time, due to the fact so many of Pinnacle clients wager on the Superbowl. Players need to be able to confirm the email account that they used to set up their account.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.26.2006
Peter Lenz, a.k.a. Jason, formerly behind defunct sportsbook, Dunes Sports, back in business as operations manager of BoxSeatBetting(SBR rating F) and BettorsOnlyNow(SBR rating F). Players should avoid BoxSeatBetting, clone site BetBSBnow.com, as well as sister book BettorsOnlyNow.com.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.26.2006
Sportingbet Plc management agrees to refund mystery casino losses not placed by account holders; blames issue on a "glitch". Four of five account balances have been rectified with the final account under review. Total adjustments exceed $30,000.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.25.2006
BetMaker(SBR rating B) addresses complaints attributed to misinformed customer service rep. Players who were told they could not withdraw their promotional winnings can email assistance@sportsbookreview.com or contact Silvia at Betmaker for the conditions of the offer.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.25.2006

BetMaker(SBR rating B) botched promotion prompts players to complain of dishonest marketing. The sportsbook offered free wagers to inactive accounts. Account holders who made winning wagers were later told that these funds are not withdrawable and is fake money. BetMaker’s customer service manager, Silvia, is investigating the matter.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.24.2006

Slow-paying sportsbook BetBookie(SBR rating D-) domain name listed for sale on EBizName.com.
Description: Fantastic web address for online gambling and wagering. Also can be used for betting, college and pro picks, casinos, etc.

Players looking for information regarding a potential takeover of accounts should call World Gaming Services at 1-800-372-0333.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.23.2006

Slow-pay complaints evolving into no-pays at D- rated sportsbooks Custombets, BetBookie, BestBetBookie and BookaSport.net. Bettors are waiting over one month for payment and are hoping to hear news that the betting sites will be taken over by World Gaming Services. LiveChat is currently off-line and phones are unmanned. Players who manage to reach client support should request a payout immediately.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.22.2006
SBR receives first report of theft from BetWGN (SBR rating F-), which is run by former ownership of ChangeABet (SBR rating F-) and the owners of SunsetSports (SBR rating F-). The lead man now goes by Michael Franklyn and was previously using the name Peter Cole.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.21.2006
BetAtlas(SBR rating C) parts with key member of management. Gary Thomson, formerly with BetCRIS(SBR rating A+), was responsible for the website’s facelift and procedural changes. Both Mr. Thompson and ownership tell SBR they agreed to part ways due to differences in the direction of the company.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.20.2006
Another player from a Sportingbet Plc sportsbook, MySportsbook(SBR rating D+) reports account balance wiped out. This is the 4th complaint from a large account holder who was told that his balance, which was $11,225, was lost on a virtual horse racing casino game. SBR to inquire with management.

SBR Bill Dozer reports:

01.19.2006
BetIsGlobal(SBR rating F-) new sportsbook from the VIPBetZone(SBR rating F-) Group. Past scam books include VipBetZone, BetNowOnline, GoWagers, BetGateway and most recently, Bet4Aces(SBR rating F-).