There are rules posted on every online gambling website and here at OSGA we urge players to read through them thoroughly before signing up and sending money overseas. However, many of the rules at some sportsbooks and casinos are open to interpretation by the house and can leave a player in limbo. We received a recent complaint against a sportsbook in Costa Rica that is standing fast on one of their rules and at this point has confiscated the funds in a players' account.

BetMayor is a sportsbook that certainly has had some issues in 2014 and these concerns are continuing into 2015. This book has had run-ins with several big winners and though some have been paid out, others have been stiffed. Such is the case here.

The player (we will call him Paul) who complained to us about four weeks ago went on a tear in the BetMayor casino at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015. He deposited $300 and after just a few weeks had run up his balance to over 40K playing multi-hand blackjack and two different slots. Paul did receive two payouts, but after seeing such a large balance BetMayor finally began to look into his play. BetMayor determined that Paul was using a "a strategy that gives an 85% chance of winning" and thus Paul was not a 'recreational player'.

This is where arbitrary rules come into play; BetMayor has rule #10 – "We cater to recreational players only. Any professional, steam, or syndicate players will have their accounts closed immediately and funds at the moment will be confiscated." Betmayor deemed that Paul is a professional and confiscated over 50K, closing his account.

Sportsbooks and casinos all have risk management in place to monitor players and many do cut off any winning players that they do not want. But most will notice a player's action well before he runs $300 to 50K. This is just poor player management on the part of BetMayor . . . or perhaps they were just hoping that Paul would start losing. Basically, the book was free rolling Paul and unfortunately for him, he did keep winning.

Paul had told us that he played at several other sportsbooks, so we decided to check and see if he was deemed a professional at other gambling houses. Here is what we received back from a vey reputable online sportsbook and casino regarding Paul:

"He has actually been with us for a long time, his account is in good standing and has never caused any fraudulent issues. I have nothing negative to report about him."

We have been unsuccessful at persuading BetMayor to reinstate Paul's account and pay him the funds owed, despite numerous reqeusts to settle his account.

This is very similar to what OddsMaker did to several players a few years ago and it makes us sick. In the 16 plus years that we have been out here trying to protect players from predatory sportsbooks, we have seen almost every sportsbook cut off anyone that they do not want. However, they don't just steal from players. Places like BetMayor and OddsMaker are simply taking shots at players and when it does not work out in their favor, they confiscate the account, take the dough and use their version of Rule 10 reasoning to basically steal from players. They love 'sharp' or big action when a player is losing, but god forbid the player wins, then they simply shut him down and move on to the next guy they can take a shot at.

The real shame is here that BetMayor has gotten in the hole with more than one player and has paid several of those players in full. Unfortunately, it looks like Paul's luck has run out and because of the loose licensing in Costa Rica, there really is nothing that anyone can do.