Avoiding new sportsbooks is recommended
Every year from Mid-July until the start of the football season, dozens of new sportsbooks popup online. The sad truth is almost all of these brand-new books will either be out-of-business before the end of the year or limp along until the Super Bowl only to stiff players after the big game. In addition, we have heard from gamblers worldwide regarding several places that had a tough summer of getting money into players' hands.
Here is a list of places that we recommend either avoiding for now, until they get a track record or sportsbooks that players should run from if they get contacted.
TopBet.eu: TopBet has been around for 6 years and has always been a little slow with payouts, but this summer things got out of hand. Players have been waiting months to get paid and while some have recently received payouts, many others are waiting in line. We do think that TopBet will pull out of this current payout situation as they have insisted for some time, but right now we are recommending that layers hold off on any deposits until their payout backlog is gone and payouts are arriving in bettors' hands in a timely manner. Recommendation: Wait and See
RealBet.eu: RealBet came out in 2015 and did a decent job in their first year, but we are aware of several players who are owed 5 figures and are waiting for payouts. They also claim that they will be working all of this out and recently we heard of one of the larger players receiving some dough, but it is tough to deposit at a place that told one player he would have to wait up to a year to be paid in full.
Recommendation: Wait and See
BetVegas777.com: This place opened over the summer and almost instantly had a non-payout complaint registered against them. They still have not paid the player and when we called we were told that the FBI had raided their office! What a joke. This place is somehow affiliated with USWager365, who also has outstanding no-pay complaints registered with OSGA. Run if you hear them on the phone. Recommendation: Avoid
BetAmerica365.com: This place opened about 6 weeks ago and are trying to tell customers that they are part of the European betting giant Bet365. This is a flat out lie. They even use the same color scheme as Bet365. Bet365 is licensed and regulated in England and with a UK Gambling Commission license, they can't take any players from 'grey' markets, let alone U.S. players. Don't get duped by BetAmerica365. Recommendation: Avoid
TicoSports.com: Though the domain has been registered for some time, we just heard about this place over the summer. This looks like an outfit that setup in a hurry so that it would be easy to run when thing get tough. The site looks like it was slapped together and though there are some updates, it is certainly worth avoiding, at least until they have made it through this football season.
Recommendation: Avoid
The bottom line is getting paid when you win. We urge players NOT to play at ANY sportsbook that has not made it through at least one football AND baseball season without a rash of payout complaints. The majority of places that have stiffed players over the last several years were all new sportsbooks with no track record, and ultimately, no money to pay. It is best to stay with an established sportsbook or one of the places that we rate as Elite.
Keep your eye here at OSGA.com. We expect to have updates to this list and updates on these sportsbooks as the football season progresses.