Off Shore Gaming Association

Every year the sportsbooks in Las Vegas offer contests both big and small for the football season. This year there are a few college and pro football contests, including one that has a $100,000 entry fee at the M Resort! Since we don’t know too many people with that kind of dough, we will focus on several others being offered in the desert.

For players who want to participate in any of these contests you must appear in-person to enter. After the first week however, many of them accept ‘proxies’. A proxy is a person that the contestant would designate to be eligible to enter the picks each week. Players can use friends or relatives but may also find a company or person that does this throughout the football season. One of them is Tom Thompsen. He has run a reputable proxy service in Las Vegas for the last three years. Interested players can contact Tom at tmt228@sbcglobal.net.

Below are a smattering of the most popular (and affordable) season-long contests with a deadline before the season starts.

The Super Contest at the Las Vegas Hilton is one of the most popular and longest standing contests in Vegas. As in previous years a $1,500 entry fee is required and entries are limited to two per person. Proxies are allowed and must sign up with contestant. The Contest: Entrants pick five NFL games against the spread each week. First prize is 40 percent of all entry fees. Winners are paid through 20th place. The Hilton also gives an aggregate $10,000 bonus for anyone who picks over 67 percent. Sign-up by 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 6, to be eligible for a free $10,000 winner-take-all contest on the last three weeks of the regular season. Selections are due by 11 a.m. Saturday each week, unless playing a Thursday game, then all five plays due before the scheduled kickoff of Thursday’s game. The deadline to sign up and get first week’s entry in is 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11. Get more on this contest here.

The Pro Football Survivor Contest at Wynn Las Vegas has a $100 entry fee with a maximum of 10 entries per person. Players must sign up for their Red Card. Proxies are allowed and must show up with contestant to fill out form. The Contest: Players pick one NFL game each week with no spread and if you lose once, you are done. The last person standing wins entire prize pool. The pool offers a guaranteed minimum $100,000 prize. Each week the games with highest spreads will be excluded starting with one the first week and proggressing during the season. Selections must be made on Saturdays by 11:59 p.m. or one hour prior to kickoff of games earlier in the week.

Leroy’s Sportsbooks offer multiple contests, as they do every season. All of the contest are available at all Leroy’s outlets.

The Leroy’s College Challenge requires a $250 entry fee. There is a limit of five entries per person. This contest lasts 12 weeks using Saturday games only from Sept. 11 through Nov. 27. The Contest: Contestants pick seven college games against the spread (all games are half-points) from a list of up to 50 games. First prize is 30 percent of all entry fees, which would be $30,000 based on 400 entries, but will adjusted depending on the final number of entries. Multiple contestants can win in this one with prizes paid through 40th place. In addition, 5 percent of the prize pool will go to the winner of a mini-contest over the final four weeks. The deadline to sign up is 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10 and selections are due by 5 p.m. each Friday. There is a very similar Pro Challenge based on Sunday’s and Monday’s NFL games only. The prize structure is the same as the College Challenge.

In addition, Leroy’s offers a contest with just a $25 entry fee. The Three N Out contest limits entries to 5 per person. The Contest: Players pick just one NFL spread or total with all lines set at half-points. The last person standing wins entire prize pool and if all remaining contestants are eliminated in the same week, they split prize equally. Picks must be made each week before the scheduled kickoff time of the game used. The deadline to sign up is 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11. Leroy’s will also a free entry into a separate midseason Three N Out starting on Oct. 24 for anyone who plays the first three weeks of the the aforementioned contest and loses all three games. Get the scoop on all three Leroy’s contests here.

Station Casinos, Fiesta Casinos and Wildfire Casinos will offer thier Last Man Standing NFL and College contests for just a $25 entry fee each. There is a maximum of five entries per person and buying four will get one free. The Contest(s): Players pick one NFL game against the spread each week with all spreads will utilizing half-points. Since this is a Last Man contest, if you lose once, you’re out. The last contestant standing wins entire prize pool - for Pro, a guaranteed minimum $75,000 and for college, $25,000. $100,000 bonus is up for grabs if someone wins both the college and pro Last Man Standing contests. Each week selections must be made before the scheduled kickoff time of the game used. The deadline to sign up is 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 12.

Player who are looking to enter a contest for FREE and play from the comfort of thier own homes can enter either the OSGA Progressive Pick ‘em or the OSGA Last Man Standing contest. The two contests are distinct, but share in common over $2500 worth of prizes with absolutely NO ENTRY FEE.

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This year the Off Shore Gaming Association is proud to offer, not one but
TWO huge football contests players can enter for FREE!!. The two contests
are distinct, but share in common over $2500 worth of prizes with
absolutely NO ENTRY FEE.

After a successful season-long contest last year, we have again introduced
the 2010 OSGA Progressive Pick ‘em. This contest is actually two contests
in one. A weekly prize of a $100 betting account at BetOnline plus a
progressive contest that builds throughout the season. Each week OSGA players
vie for a $100 free betting account by picking each game straight up with no
point spreads involved. The progressive part of the contest asks a player
to get every game on the board correct. The prize is $100 weekly but grows
every week no one selects all games correctly.

Though a perfect week seems likely throughout an entire season, last year’s Progressive Pick ‘Em saw no player get all games on the board correct.
Therefore, at the end of the season players with the top win-loss records
split a generous rollover pot. The contest winner collected a cool $850 cash,
courtesy of OSGA.

A fun, new handicapping challenge from the OSGA is a Last Man Standing
Contest. Each week players need only pick one single winner again, straight
up. But, throughout the course of the entire NFL season, no team can be
selected twice. This is a “one-and-done” event with a losing pick getting you
instantly bounced from the competition.

The contest is co-sponsored by Badlands Gambling Hall who are offering up
huge FREE BETTING ACCOUNTS for the top four finishers including a $1000
free gambling account for the Last Man Standing. Easy pickins’, right?
After all, who can’t pick 1 NFL winner a week straight-up? Well..for those who
manage to slip-up is a $25 Free Play consolation prize courtesy of
Badlands during the contest’s first month.

If last year is any indication, players cannot only expect a good time but
weekly prizes and huge payoffs at the end of the season. Get on board
today for both the Progressive Contest AND the Last Man Standing Contest. We’re happy to bring these annual FREE football contests to the
OSGA nation and wish everyone who enters, good luck!

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The NFL preseason started last weekend with the Hall of Fame game and now there is a full slate of pre-season games this weekend, right through the first MNF game of the season. And your favorite sportsbooks are also gearing up for football season with website updates and new bigger and better bonus offers than in previous years.

This week BetED launched a brand new website largely based on user feedback and input. The new site features improved graphics, a crisp, clean new look and a streamlined betting center. The company has also expanded the ‘Clubhouse’ section of the website with in-depth previews, special members-only contests and added columnists aimed at satisfying the real sports fan. BetED told us that this site will enable them to offer more odds on more teams, leagues and events than ever before. “If you can bet on it, we’ve got it,” a company spokesman stated.

Over the last month or so Hollywood Sportsbook has finally moved into the 21st century with a new look website, packed with fun features. This is the first site update we have seen from Hollywood in at least 5 years but it look like it was worth the wait. Updated last month, the website features a slick look, unique content and stats, new casino games, a new poker platform and the Hollywood Hotties! The sportsbook is also getting ready for football with cash bonuses, a new loyalty program and upcoming free contests.

This is the time of year that many books create huge offers to attract players for football and the bonuses are beginning to pile up. However, players are urged to read the fine print of any offer before sending any money. An accounting firm must have travelled to the Caribbean and Latin America as offshore books have really crunched the numbers to ensure that the bonus structure in 2010 is also sound business-wise. Where many books used to offer big bonuses with 4, 5, or 6 time rollover, now any bonus in excess of 50% is almost a guaranteed to have a rollover in excess of 10 times. We also are seeing many offers that increase with the amount of deposit a player sends offshore. But, keep in mind, this will also increase the amount of rollover or the amount of times that the deposit+bonus must be wagered before collecting the bonus can become a reality.

Still, there are some great offers out there and for a true player, the rollovers are easily achievable for anyone who wagers consistently throughout the football season. And one book even asked for our input for an exclusive offer.

The offer that OSGA had some input with is over at Badlands. They asked us to provide input from our call center and email database. We gladly assisted them to come up with an offer based on player feedback and Badlands just released a 25+25 bonus exclusive to OSGA visitors. The offer includes both a LIFETIME 25% free play bonus on deposits of $100-$5,000 with a low 4x roll over. That means that as long as you are a Badlands customer you will get a 25% free play bonus on EVERY deposit made I excess of $100. In addition, one of the biggest player peeves is the high cost of payouts. Badlands addressed this need in this exclusive bonus package with lifetime $25 Flat Payout Fee for payouts via check! We are very happy that Badlands sought our advice to come up with something that addresses players wishes. Though this may not be the biggest offer out there, it is an offer that will last a lifetime.

The BetPhoenix brands are offering the “Early Bird Special” – up to 60% bonus based on the size of the deposit. The offer consists of half of the bonus in cash and half of it in free play. For example, if a player deposits $1000, he gets a 20% cash bonus and a 20% free play to use. The bonus amount (and rollovers) increases with larger deposits. Similar offers can also be found at BetMania and WagerChief. WagerWeb also offers up a bonus that grows with the size of deposit. At this Costa Rican book you can receive up to 100% free play if you are willing to send at least $500. The offer can work for smaller players too as a deposit of $25 – $250 will get new players a bonus of up to 50%. And BetOnline also gets into the act with their progressive bonus structure. Players can start with as little as a $50 and get a 10% free play with only a 3X rollover. The bonus gets bigger as the deposit increases until a player sending $2000 or more can grab a 45% free play with a reasonable 8X rollover.

Not to be outdone, 5Dimes is offering the most free play we have ever seen from them with their “50% Plus” bonus program. New Player deposits from $100 to $400 will receive a 50% Free-Play Reward, up to a total of $200 in Free-Play. Here’s the Plus… if the deposit amount exceeds $400, and is up to $2000, it will also qualify for an EXTRA 20% Free-Play Reward.

It’s shopping season, so we urge players to check our Sportsbook Bonus page, which gets updated as new bonuses are released. We tell players ever year to make sure that the offer is not just a big bonus, but also features requirements that they are able to fulfill. Good Luck shopping!

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A funny thing happened on the way to the sportsbook this week. I got excited about soccer, err . . . futbol. And it wasn’t because of the dramatic U.S. victory in the 91st minute. It was because the sportsbook I was headed to was not in Las Vegas, but in Latin America. Apparently, this World Cup thing is HUGE in the rest of the world.

From the moment I got off the plane in Panama, there were signs of the World Cup. People from all walks of life were wearing jerseys from soccer teams around the world. Brazil and Spain appeared to be very popular ones smattered with England, Mexico and Portugal. On the way to the airport, I asked the taxi driver about World Cup fever.

“Oh Ches. De World Cup is berry big down here.” But, Panama does not have a team in the tournament, I remarked. “Every body picks dare team or where dare grandfadders and modders come from”, I was told. Apparently, his team is Brazil, which looks like a solid pick.

Upon arriving at the hotel, all of the employees were all wearing the same colored shirt – orange - for the Dutch squad. Apparently, the parent company that owns the hotel is Dutch. Then it’s off to the hotel bar, where four extra 40 inch flat screens were sitting on tables for all to watch. As one English-speaking local told me, “At my little local bar, there are 6 brand-new plasmas. It’s not that big a place, it’s like there is plasma overload in there.”

On one trip around Panama City in the afternoon, I noticed far less traffic in what is normally a congested area. I was told by that taxi driver that, “everyone is watching futbol.” So, with all of this, and the next several days of soccer, soccer and more soccer, I have been converted. A 0-0 tie really can be exciting. And watching the English bemoan their team and the French cry in their wine, the World Cup has become quite exciting for this American.

And, I am not the only one. Handle is up throughout Latin America and Caribbean sportsbooks. Industry giant Bodog told us that, “We are seeing great action through the first matches of the World Cup. The handle is comparable to an NFL Sunday regular season game.” Sill, 5Dimes is seeing even more wagers than that! “Action is about double what we expected. We expected similar action to a typical NFL Monday night football game. We’re getting double that”, the top man at 5D told us.

One reason for the exceptional handle might be in the outcomes of some of the early games where a number of soccer ‘giants’ went down. 5Dimes added that “this World Cup has exceeded expectations to this point.” And this is only destined to increase.

The belief offshore (and a valid one) is that the handle in the next round will even larger, as bettors get a better grasp on who is playing well, Bodog expects the 2nd round wagering to be “comparable to an NFL first round playoff game.”

Of course, some games will get more bets then others depending on the teams playing, just like in the NFL. But powerhouse countries like Spain, Brazil and Germany will see a good deal of action. And of course, for sportsbooks that service the American market, they can expect to see a ton of bets on the U.S. But, book who have an international clientele, like Bodog, with Canadian, European and South American clients, will get wagers on both teams and thus balance the action.

So have American bettors embraced the World Cup? Yes, is the definitive answer. And for books that take U.S. bets, with clients who have new affinity for soccer betting, GOOOAAAL is the word of the month.

On a side note, in the U.S. the ESPN announcers really do not do the sport justice. International commentators really get into the match. You can have a beer in your hand, turned away from the bar, and hear when it is time to watch the flat screen. The excitement builds in the announcer and the viewers, all waiting to hear the afore mentioned scream of GOOOAAAL! Great stuff, but not on a TV set in America.

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The biggest betting event of the year is underway - the FIFA World Cup. And the first round saw nothing that would sway a savvy bettor except for Wednesday’s shocker in which Spain lost to Switzerland, 1-0. Soccer is hands-down the biggest sport in the world and the huge action taken already by the Ladbrokes and Paddy Powers of the world has already been well documented. But, surprisingly, every book we spoke to in the Caribbean and Central America is also seeing a lot of action, not only from their existing customer base, but from new bettors as well.

BetED, based in Costa Rica told us that “From the initial figures the turnover has exceeded even our highest expectations based on historical data.” Throughout Costa Rica books are experiencing high volume and U.S. facing books are seeing an interesting phenomenon. Though teams like the U.S., England and Germany expect to draw large handle, “the World Cup is the only international tournament where your roots mean more than your birthplace/citizenship”, added BetED’s senior sportsbook manager. Apparently, throughout North America, players are betting with their heritage and teams like Italy, Brazil, Argentina and Spain also have a large amount for futures for winning the Cup.

We also have heard the ‘live’ betting or ‘in-game’ betting has been a big draw. BetED mentioned that the “highest growth we have seen is in our World Cup InPlay” (their brand of live betting). Not surprising from U.S.-based players who can bet on quarters in basketball, first 5-innings in baseball and instant-gratifying props galore during the NFL season.

As expected, the Spain upset proved profitable offshore. WagerWeb commented, “obviously the match with Spain vs Switzerland was a HUGE decision for us.” The 1-0 upset for the Swiss has been the biggest shocker so far. Not to mention that the inordinate amount of ties and low scoring in the first several days of competition also increased bettors woes. The biggest match on the board so far ended in a bookies dream decision. When the U.S./England match ended in a tie, offshore operators were dancing in the street. Surprisingly, BetED and several other books had a large decision fall their way when the host country South Africa drew against Mexico, who were the favorites going into the match.

However, the tournament has not been all peaches and cream for the bookmakers. Sportsbooks across the board got hammered in the Germany vs. Australia match. The spread was between -1.0 and -0.5,-1.0 goals while the action was all on Germany. The emphatic 4-0 win took much of the profits made in early matches off of the table.

It looks like we finally will get to see some scoring and most likely some increased action as the weaker teams get weeded out. Every sportsbook we spoke to expects to see increased handle as the competition becomes better and the odds grow tighter. If some of the more powerful teams like England and Spain can get back into form, bettors can expect a wild ride in what has been a muddled start to the World Cup.

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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.

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