Off Shore Gaming Association

We had a report last week from a U.S. online gambler who, like so many, made use of NETELLER back in the mid 2000s when the EFT payment processor had a significant share of the online gambling market. Then, the UIGEA was passed in 2006 and almost immediately, NETELLER made an exit from the U.S. market. They paid back players after a delay of several months under an Approved Distribution Plan in conjunction with the U.S. authorities. Once the payout process was initiated, NETELLER reported that U.S. members would not be able to request funds after January 26, 2008. However, a final notice was sent out in July of last year.

This former NETELLER user received a call that said he had money still in his NETELLER account. He was unaware of any funds, but also never cashed out of his old NETELLER account. This former account holder said the he was required to send in some proof of ID and fill out a few forms to get his money. This player did extra due diligence, calling back the number provided and verifying that it was a NETELLER number. He did send in the required information as this all seemed very legitimate. But after a couple of weeks and no check, he contacted us here at OSGA.

We checked with NETELLER and today they confirmed our suspicions.

NETELLER management got back to us via email, indicating that this player and others may be the victims of a scam. “All former NETELLER account holders in the US have been contacted by NETELLER as part of the Approved Distribution Plan for residual account balances. A final notice was issued by email to registered email addresses on 15 – 16 July with the final acceptance date for receipt of withdrawal requests being 26 July 2009. Other than for requests already received and/or being processed, any contact after this date would not originate from NETELLER.”

This feels an awful lot like an identity theft scam. The alarming thing is that we know 100% that the payment processor is not paying out any more to U.S. customers, nor are the contacting any former U.S. customers.

If you get a call looking to ‘help you’ recover funds that were in NETELLER. Beware!! Do not give the callers any personal information and contact NETELLER at complaints@neteller.com. If you believe that you may have already fallen victim to this scam, please notify us so that we can continue to warn other potential targets.

2 Comments »

Yes, college basketball frenzy is everywhere. When did “bracketology” become a word anyway? Everybody has bracket predictions and #1 seeds and Cinderella’s. But the real madness is in the wagering. The pools, bracket contests and dizzying amount of games to wager on starting next weekend make this a favorite time of year for casual fans, office workers and . . . sports bettors.

And, this is also the final shot that many players take at their favorite gambling outlet until next football season. It is also a last gasp for online sportsbooks who often suffer through the doldrums of summer and baseball. Thus, sportsbooks offshore offer March Madness bonuses and bracket contests galore. Here are a few of the most interesting ones we have seen.

Sportsbook Bonuses:

Madness can define a couple of the offers that are currently being offered by some very reputable sportsbooks. Bookmaker has an offer that is hard to beat with a 25% sportsbook bonus, 175% casino bonus and 100% poker bonus, all generated from a minimum single deposit of $300! WagerWeb is doing something a bit unique by tying their bonus into the tournament field. They are offering up 64% free play bonus on a minimum deposit of $100. At 5Dimes players earn a 50% Free-Play Reward on deposits from $100 to $400 PLUS an extra 20% on any amount over $400 up to 2Dimes.

And if you are looking for a cash bonus they are out their as well! Neither of these two outfits are doing anything above their normal cash bonus, but that is because the offer is so substantial every day. Sportbet will give players 50% cash on money transfers, wires or check deposits. And BetJamaica give out their standard $100 for $100; Just send in $100 and get a $100 free play bonus.

With all bonuses beware of the restrictions that may be applied to your deposit. The terms rollover is often used. The rollover is the amount times you have to play through your initial deposit plus bonus. Usually, the bigger the bonus; the bigger the rollover. If you take a free play bonus, use it for a straight bet only. Taking a $100 free bet on a four team parlay could create over a thousand dollars additional action required.

March Madness Contests:

If you are looking for a FREE contest, look no further. Pre-registration for the 9TH annual OSGA College Basketball Pick ‘em is underway. This year the grand prize is our biggest ever. OSGA members are eligible for a $1000 Grand Prize. Become an OSGA member to increase your prize pool. In addition to the Grand Prize, the contest offers several hundreds of dollars in free betting accounts courtesy of BetOnline and BetJamaica, more cash and a computer monitor as prizes. Everybody has a chance to win as players who miss the top slots are eligible for a consolation prize of a $10 – 2-team parlay at JustBet. Sign-up for Free Today.

Its ‘Million Dollar Tourney Madness’ at BetJamaica, with over $21,000 in cash prizes or even a $1,000,000 bonus prize available if anyone hits the lottery-like odds and gets all 63 games correct. Not to be outdone with large prize offerings, SBG Global has their annual $500,000 Madness of March Contest. Diamond Sports is offering their version called the “Road to the 2010 Championship Bracket Contest”. This contest is unique in that you get an entry for every $100 deposited – more entries, more chance to win. There are two contest that you can get into that do not involve pcicking every game in the tourney. Bet Phoenix is running a Sweet 16 challenge, where, in a similar model to the Diamond contest, all active BetPhoenix accounts will get 1 free entry, and additional entries will be given for every $200 deposited. And JustBet waits until the final weekend of the Big Dance to get players involved. Their Final Four contest must be completed before the first tip-off but the results are arrived by correctly identifying the four tournament finalists (no point spreads).

So get your tournament prospects lined-up early. There is something for everyone from a free contest here at OSGA to a 300% bonus or million dollar contest at your favorite online sportsbooks.

No Comments »