Is Sports Betting Legal In Uk

Is Sports Betting Legal In Uk Average ratng: 7,8/10 1682 votes
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  2. Is Sports Betting Legal In Uk Today
  1. Find the best legal sports betting sites for 2021. Learn where to bet on sports legally & the current status of online sports betting in the United States.
  2. Sports betting and the law in the UK The UK has a well-established culture of sports betting. Online betting is hugely popular and continuing to grow, with increasing numbers of people placing bets on.

Online-Betting.me.uk has been designed to bring you closer to the betting action. We are a popular website for online sports betting needs, helping you out by bringing you the expert information that you need to get the most out of your online sports betting.

Discover different Tennessee online sports betting apps and learn how to choose a good sportsbook. Gambling options and types of games available in TN.

While we are primarily focused on football betting, betting tips, match previews and betting guides, we cover a wide range of sports and betting topics with latest betting odds. On our online betting site, you can find information and free tips about betting such as best online bookmakers, the latest betting bonus offers and much more.

Our goal at the end of the day is to support punters and to boost their success in profit returns.

Best Online Betting Sites in the UK according to online-betting.me.uk

We like to test and rank bookmakers because we know how valuable that information is to punters. Our extensive research has led us to create a full listing of the results from our evaluation of UK online betting sites.

BookmakerReviewRatingWebsite
Bet365 Reviewwww.bet365.com
William Hill Reviewwww.williamhill.com
Sportingbet Reviewwww.sportingbet.com
Unibet Reviewwww.unibet.com
BetVictor Reviewwww.betvictor.com

There are many different aspects of an online bookmaker to consider. It may not be time-efficient for you to go and visit every single operator that is out there. So to ease the stresses of that, because after all you just want to get to your online sports betting, we have ranked and rated some of the most established online bookmakers in the UK.

We take the most important factors that punters would come across, those criteria which are most important to overall viability in using an online betting site, put it all together to come up with our conclusion. We have spent time looking at the different bookmakers and examining what they have to offer, from those all-important odds through to the game-changing features and mobile accessibility.

Current Online Betting News and Tips

Plenty is going on at this online betting site. It’s not just about bookmaker reviews and bonuses, as valuable as they are. We go one step further and bring you the current online betting news as tips and latest betting odds. This is one of the biggest and most popular sections that we have. We have betting experts delivering content daily here.

  • Today’s football betting tips are a mix of selections from the Champions League, Premier League and Championship. The big clash of the night is in Paris where Barcelona will be trying to overturn a 4-1 def...

  • Today's horse racing tips are all features from over jumps as we focus our attention on Catterick and Fontwell. The pick of the races for us is the Catterick 15:10 which is the Millbry Hill Hand...

What can you expect to find? First and foremost we like to take a look ahead at some of the biggest sporting action around. Whether it is the Grand National, weekly Premier League football, the latest ATP tennis tournament or just about any major sporting event that you can think of, we will have betting news and previews available.

The sporting previews in the betting news sections helps to give you an oversight of what to expect, as well as where to go to get some of the best odds in relative markets. We also enjoy putting out a prediction or two for the events, anything to try and help the punter reach their goal of making some profit.

Online Betting – Free Tips

On top of that, we have an extensive, dedicated betting tips section. Free tips. Yes, free online betting tips are available here. These are compiled by our experienced bettors to again try and steer you in the right direction. Just remember that all predictions on the site are the opinions of our experts but all of your betting decisions are down to you at the end of the day.

  • Manchester United vs AC Milan 11th March 1755hrs Football – Europe – UEFA Europa League Pick Home Win by One Goal Bookmaker Unibet Odds: 13/5 odds taken 1012 GMT, Wednesday 10 March Manchester United and AC Milan mee...

  • Dynamo Kiev Vs Villarreal Thursday 11th March 2021 – 17:55 UEFA Europa League Pick: Villarreal to WIN Odds: Evens Bookmaker: BetFred (All betting odds correct at time of writing: 8th March 2021) Preview: Both teams will feature in a Eu...

But our online betting services don’t stop there either. On top of the latest bonus previews, tips and news, we also have betting strategy guides. These are always worth a look because it may help to fill in some missing pieces of a betting puzzle that you have. We always say that you can never stop learning when it comes to sports betting. There’s always some new tidbit of information to collect and pick up, one that could change your whole outlook of how you bet on sports.

We also offer other valuable tools as well like our betting calculator, football injuries and suspensions lists and our own live football results service for online betting. So right here you can follow all of the current football matches.

New Online Betting Sites

Along with the more established online betting sites that are available and which have the big pulling power in the industry, it’s important to remember that there are also newer bookmakers on the scene. These are operators who shouldn’t be ignored just because they are new players in the field. We have noticed a big trend of new online betting sites being very strong right out of the gates for competitive odds and high-quality sportsbook services.

Betting

List of our new Online Betting Sites:

We have been impressed with some of the new bookmakers like Tote and Fansbet who have all earned high ratings from us. It does say a lot about an operator when as a relative newcomer in such a big industry, that they can make a strong impression. Even if you have been doing online betting for a long time and have your own established favourites, then there is still nothing wrong with checking out what the new guys have to offer.

So always keen an open mind and explore new online betting sites as well, which is easily done through our bookmaker reviews. Let our experts help you pick the right operators that will serve your betting needs, from finding strong value in market prices to getting the best of bookmakers bonuses. Read our ratings and find out who we ranked highly and most importantly, why.

Popular Online Betting Offers

One part of this site is the section where welcome bonus offers and other promotions from bookmakers can be found. You may well find that this is a very valuable section for your day to day betting experiences. It is because we constantly look around at bookmakers websites to see what current promotions and betting bonus UK they are offering.

LogoBookmakerRatingBonus Details
Bet365Bet365 bonus details
William HillWilliam Hill bonus details
SportingbetSportingbet bonus details
BetvictorBetvictor bonus details
Paddy PowerPaddy Power bonus details

Betting offers are a big part of online betting, and wherever you go for your online betting, whichever bookmakers that you choose, you will see them. While they are not the be-all and end-all of picking a bookmaker at all, they can be an integral part of what you do online. Maybe you will find a long-running promotion that you want to take advantage of.Maybe it is just a big one-off promotion that a bookmaker is running for a specific event.

The offers will vary from free bet offers, to acca bonuses, money back specials and betting clubs and while bookmakers do have their staples, those betting promotions which they continuously run, others will come and go. In our betting promotions section, we always list the up-to-date offers which can be found at the online bookmakers.There are even some exclusive offers, which you will only find here at Online-Betting!

So it is a section that is well worth checking out, because you may just find a promotion that you want to take advantage of. It may be a bookmaker who has launched a new horse racing bonus product or a welcome bonus which may make it the perfect time to try out a new online betting site. We understand that a betting bonus is something that is designed to add a little enhancement to your betting.

We always take some time to assess them on their merit. We look at the real value of them and consider things like what is involved to complete a bookmaker offer, such as what initial stake is required. Plus it is always worth a glance at what you can do with any free bet bonuses that you can pick up from a promotion, such as what markets they can be used on.

Another way in which we have assessed the value of bonuses is taking a look at how often and what type of promotions that certain bookmakers offer. This is part of our extensive bookmaker reviews section, detailing the benefits and features of the many bookmakers available.

How we review online sports betting sites

Reviews are an important and a big part of what we do at online-betting.me.uk and that’s because they allow our experts to impart their knowledge. No two bookmakers are the same. On the surface, they may all look alike, but there are different modes of operation underneath the logo branding. Determining factors like bookmaker margins, which sets the overall value of odds in a market is one of the important criteria that we consider.

An online bookmaker is a multi-faceted operation. It’s not just a sportsbook. It’s what value that sportsbook brings. How does a sportsbook at one operator stand up against another in terms of market variety and depth? Who covers the more niche markets and non-sports markets better? Which ones have the most live streaming coverage?

How well is horse racing supported? The list goes on and on and we have looked at as much different information as we can when reviewing bookmakers. There’s the customer service, the features and of course the odds themselves. It is a fascinating world, but as a punter, you want to head off in the right direction of getting as much enjoyment and as much value as you can from your betting.

At the end of the day, our bookmaker reviews are designed to help you decide which is the best online betting site for you. Remember too that the best online betting site for you may not be the same as for the person standing next to you. It is down to your individual betting preferences. So use the information we have put into our betting guides as a way to get you to your online betting destination.

Betting Sites for Football

If you take a look at any UK bookmaker you will find a heavy presence of football markets. There is just an abundance of betting opportunities for the beautiful game at an online betting site.

Football betting opportunities are just astonishing. This ranges from the top tier action in the English Premier League through the World Cup and European Championship action, to the main UEFA competitions of the Champions League and Europa League and domestic and foreign club competitions.

Our Top 3 Football Bookmakers List:

But now, such is the way of online betting, that even football betting markets from the far-flung corners of the world can be accessed. It doesn’t matter what time of day or night that you jump on to an online betting site, you will find football betting opportunities and that includes in-play options as well. If football betting is your thing then you are just never going to be short of wagering options.

In terms of online betting for football coverage, we are helping out there too. We have looked at many different bookmakers and have selected those which in our opinion, are the best betting sites for football betting. So check them out and remember that you don’t just have to pick one, you can register with a few to allow yourself the luxury of shopping around of odds value.

What to look for in best betting site for football betting? Well, the odds and value within are not a bad place to start at all of course. But there are so many other options to consider as well like the range of in-play markets available for the games that you are interested too, right through to any football betting bonus action that can help to enhance your experience. Think insurance and money-back special offers that bookies toss out there.

Betting Sites for Horse Racing

Horse racing is one of those great British traditions especially when it comes to betting. The Sport of Kings continues to grow and flourish to this day and when you get a special big race or a big festival then the hype around the sport grows even more fervent.

You can find some racing action to get stuck into every single day. Even when a day’s racing on the domestic front has been wrapped up, you can still get online and enjoy some top international racing betting opportunities from the likes of Asia, Australia and the USA. So you are never going to be short of racing betting opportunities.

Our Top 3 Horse Racing Bookmakers List:

But not all bookmakers will cover the sport in the same way. Some of them will bring more in-play betting into the picture. Others may have more extensive racecard information available at your fingertips. The live streaming of racing is also another factor to weigh up as well if you want to watch and see what is happening to your wager.

Among some of the biggest racing events on the calendar year there is the amazing steeplechase spectacle of the Grand National, the pomp and glamour of Royal Ascot, the blue riband of the National Hunt season that is the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the famous history-fuelled action from the Triple Crown events.

What to look for in a horse racing betting site

One of the things that we recommend is looking at the horse racing features, such as how many races Best Odds Guaranteed coverage is applied to and how much extra places a bookmaker provides, especially on the bigger races. At the end of the day though the deal breaker is going to be the odds.

You aren’t going to nail the very best odds on every single horse that you back in your betting. That’s just not feasible. But what can help you is not just limiting your betting at one bookmaker. Having an account at more than one bookie will afford you that opportunity of potentially getting better odds elsewhere. Use our bookmaker reviews to help you get to the right bookmakers for your horse racing betting.

Advantages of UK online betting sites

What are some of the advantages of getting your betting done at UK online betting sites? Well for starters things are legal. When you register with any bookmaker that holds a UK or Irish licence, because of regulations you are going to have to be a UK resident to hold your active account with them.

All betting in the UK and Ireland is regulated and that does offer the consumer some protection. Naturally, there is a vast difference between betting at a reputable established operator like bet365 than there is trying to run an account through some obscure bookmaker who is operating out of the unregulated territory. The complications with the latter, albeit extreme example, are just too numerable to mention.

So a licenced operator in the UK or Ireland has gone through serious checks before they can operate. Another advantage of UK and Ireland online betting sites is, of course, currency. You work hard all week and get your wages in pounds or Euros and you don’t want to go losing any of that value through currency exchanges. That would just be throwing money away unnecessarily.

You also have some fierce competition in the betting arena between the bookmakers themselves. That’s a good thing for punters because, in such a crowded operator space, they are all trying to grab your attention. They do that by offering things like competitive odds, betting bonuses and trying to outdo the competition. So that as an end-user is good thing.

Focused Markets

Other things to consider as well about the benefits of betting in your own territory is that you are likely going to get clear English customer support options and sportsbooks that are geared to what the public wants. Just as an example of that, while it’s clear that big sports markets are things like the Premier League and horse racing, you can also find very UK-centric markets.

Think of things like betting on the name of the Next Royal Baby. How much more British can you get than that? Then you have the political angle as well which has become more and more popular. If these types of alternative markets are your scene then you are going to find them at the UK and Irish bookmakers. But one of the biggest questions about it all is the legality of betting.

Is betting legal in the UK?

Yes, it is. That’s the simple answer to that. Everything is regulated stringently and as long as you are at least 18 years old, then you are free to get online and start wagering. The only restrictions when it comes to opening an operating an account at an online betting site is age and residency. That’s the sum of it. Betting is perfectly legal.

That’s why all those high street betting shops exist and why the online presence of UK bookmakers is so huge. It is worth noting as well that your winnings from betting are not subject to taxation from HMRC. That perhaps when all things have been considered is one of the biggest advantages of them all. Tax-free betting.

Online Betting .me.uk provides the complete package for all your sports betting needs, and this is just a short summary of the highlights and the basics of Online Betting, of this sports betting guide. We are here to try and help you to bet more successfully, and we wish you good luck and the necessary patience needed for successful online betting!

www.bovada.lv is our Fall 2020 featured US betting site. Exclusive to the US market they accept players from 45 US states – excluding only Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey and New York for legal reasons. With a history dating back to 1994 they have a great track record. You can bet matches both in play and also do live betting while watching games on TV. New players are welcomed with a 50% up to $250 initial deposit match in the form of free play credits. Bovada accepts US credit and debit card as well as bitcoin.

This article is a detailed guide to betting online from the United States. It is recommended you read it in full prior to depositing with any online sportsbook. I start with covering recommendations as well as US betting sites to avoid. I then progress to the laws, deposit options and cover the many risks. It is important to understand all US sportsbooks operate in locations they are not legally accessible. This means they are unregulated and players have limited to no recourse in disputes. That said, with certain sites problems are quite rare.

Recommended Sportsbooks

US Betting SitesSign-up Bonus1Bovada.lv50% to $250 Free Play2Bookmaker.eu50% to $300 Free Play

The websites to the left are my (Prop’s) honest opinion of which sites are the safest to use. While I am an affiliate for most books listed on this website, advertising cannot be purchased. Topbet, BetMania, and others have contacted SBS willing to pay for referrals. These positions are sincere recommendations. Neither the order of listings nor which books are listed is financially negotiable. SBS is not for sale. You can learn a bit about me (Prop) and how I take recommendations seriously on the SBS Ratings Guide.

With the 2020 basketball and hockey seasons underway, many bettors are turning to Google for finding online sportsbooks to bet with. Understand, this is not ideal. There are a high number of scam sites on the internet that should be avoided, and you won’t find notes about them in the Google results. One example is Dimeline.eu. This is practically a deposit only sportsbook that has multiple unprocessed payouts that date back several years. Meanwhile, in December 2013 once reputable site Canbet.com ceased operations while multiple weeks late on payouts. December is a familiar month for this. The year prior, in December 2012, BetIslands closed owing players over $1.5 million. This site was heavily marketed by self-proclaimed “industry watchdog” SportsBookReview/SBRForum collectively known as SBR. They provided no notice of the collapse. SBR downgraded them from super reputable and touted with a B rating to a no-pay scam rating of F in a single day. These are only a few of MANY examples.

You need to understand most every sports betting information site on the web cannot be trusted. These sites sell advertisements to sportsbooks. Who they recommended is often determined by which site pays the most. If you read our reviews of WagerWeb, EZStreetSports and Oddsmaker you’ll see examples of sites that while not outright scams should not be trusted. Of course, you’ll find these sportsbooks advertised all over the web because they spend money sponsoring betting forums and pay affiliates well.

At SBS we pride ourselves on providing honest sports betting information. The betting sites recommended on this page have many pros and some cons. This is all explained lower in this article. These options are simply the ones we feel are safest in the unregulated market that US sports bettors are forced to deal with when betting online. Again, I strongly encourage you to read every word of this article – a complete guide to US betting sites – prior to depositing with any internet sportsbook.

Is Betting Online Legal

While there are no federal laws prohibiting sports betting there are laws that make operating a US sportsbook a crime. This means at the federal level no crime is committed if you log on to say www.bovada.lv and place a sports bet. However the US Department of Justice (DOJ) considers Bovada an illegal gambling operation and therefore treats them (not their users) as criminal.

Also, banking restrictions included in the SAFE Port Act of 2006 makes it illegal for banks and credit card companies to process online gambling payments. What our competitors won’t tell you is if you use your credit or debit card at an online sportsbook your credit card company or bank might close your account. If they do, it will not be an isolated incident; sports betting forums contain posts of US players reporting their bank account was closed for cited reason: online gambling / non-desirable customer. As I’ll explain shortly, this is the reason most of America’s 51.9 million sports bettors use Person to Person (P2P) for deposits (this is taking cash to the local super market to do a WU or MG transfer).

Now there are states where online gambling is a crime. You can read our pages on Maryland Gambling Laws and Washington State Gambling Laws for more on that. If you live in either of those states you’ll have tough time finding a betting site to accept your action. Also players from New York and Utah can join most betting sites but will need to use P2P for deposits. Those living in most other states will have no issue and can bet at online sportsbooks such as www.bookmaker.eu. We also have a page on Kentucky Gambling Laws.

Remember, in most all US states, online betting at the consumer level is NOT a crime. The betting sites themselves are mostly located in Costa Rica, Kahnawake, Antigua, and Panama which are all locations that are outside US jurisdiction and are also locations where sport betting is fully legal. The only challenges bettors in most states have are banking restrictions, and finding reputable US betting sites.

What’s up with the .eu, .cx, .lv, and .ag Domain Names?

As I mentioned, betting sports online is NOT illegal in most states. It is however illegal to operate a US Sportsbook. Considering all the online sportsbooks servicing the US are located outside US jurisdiction they’re not at risk. However .com domains are issued by a US company incorporated in California. It is rather easy for US law enforcement to seize .com domains. In fact, be very careful depositing at any betting site that uses a .com domain as chances are great that betting site is a scam. Reputable US sportsbooks all use alternative extensions including .eu, .ag, .cx, and .lv.

The US Market is Unregulated

The most reputable gambling sites are publicly traded companies licensed by proper gambling commissions. However, none of those reputable sites accept US players for legal reasons. The three listed earlier in this article are legitimate. There is however little to no dispute resolution available.

If you past post (bet a game after it started), bet obvious line errors, break some sites terms and conditions, or simply upset them by having it out with a support rep, there is no recourse if they simply decide to confiscate your balance. A lot of US players trouble to cope with the fact they have little to no recourse in disputes. This is a fact it would be wise to understand early. If you care about your money, NEVER angle shoot or intentionally upset a US sportsbook while they are holding your funds.

Again, the US betting sites recommended on this page are considered reputable but the odd disputes do occur with almost every sportsbook. For well over 99% of the players using these books there is never an issue and payouts come fine. Do cash out often and keep your bankroll under control regardless.

How to Deposit at Online Sportsbooks

The majority of sportsbook review portals are operated by affiliates whose only concern is making a commission when you click one of their links and make a deposit. Likewise, their goal is to advertise online betting sites that pay high commissions and have the best credit and debit card acceptance rates. The unfortunate truth is the more reputable a site is the less convenient it is to deposit. Due to credit cards and banks being very sketchy over online gambling – P2P cash transfer is HIGHLY advised.

P2P Cash Transfer Explained

Person to Person (P2P) Transfer is a deposit method that most often involves taking cash to your local supermarket or Wal-Mart to make a deposit. Two of the best known P2P companies in the world are Western Union and MoneyGram. Because these companies don’t like their names tossed around with online betting, and because there are a few competitors, in this article we’ll stick to the term P2P when referencing this method.

P2P is a great way to deposit money to online betting sites. This of course sounds odd and unnatural to most Americans as we usually associate P2P transfers with Nigerian 411s or other types of scams. In betting however, this is not the case. The most reputable online sportsbooks prefer P2P deposits, and will even pick up the transfer fee if you deposit over a certain amount (usually $300+ but in some cases $250+ or $500+). How this works is if you P2P transfer a $300 deposit and there is a $21.00 fee to do so, your starting balance will be $321.

A few P2P tips

  1. To deposit with P2P you’ll need to contact the online sportsbook asking for details on who to send to. After sending you need to contact them again with the transaction ID # (often called a control number) and the amount sent. They’ll then add the transferred deposit to your account in a short time frame, usually less than 45 minutes.
  2. www.bookmaker.eu has live website chat. This makes it easier to get the details of who to send the money to and to report P2P transfers. You can do so online without picking up the phone at their site.
  3. Not all sportsbooks advertise the fact they cover the P2P fees. It is important to ask about this prior to sending your deposit.
  4. Most P2Ps offer online accounts, which usually take a couple days to set up. Once you’re set up you can make P2P cash transfers online using your credit card, debit card, or even bank account.

The best reason to use P2P to deposit is that when using this method most sites will also issue payouts back to you via this method as well. When you deposit with credit card, to then cash out you’ll have to go through all sorts of hassles of faxing in your ID, utility bill, copy of card etc. There’s also hold periods and many sites will only pay credit card depositors via check – which is a pain as they take a while to arrive and then must be deposited. The deposited checks can take a while to clear because they’re usually from a Non-US bank. Therefore using P2P for deposits and P2P for payouts is most ideal.

All Other Methods

Understand credit card is not a horrible method to deposit. You can attempt to deposit with this method at most online sportsbooks. There is however a risk that your bank (if it is a debit card) or credit card company (if it is a credit card) might close your account. It’s not hard for them to track down the card is being used for online gambling. With only a small number of transactions the risks might be low – however when making many deposits you are better off using P2P.

E-checks are scams – Please understand no reputable US friendly betting sites accept e-check. You might be able to find sites such as Oddsmaker.ag or SBG Global willing to accept them, but click any of those links to read my write ups so you can better understand these sites sometimes scam/stiff winners.

Top US Sportsbooks

There are some 700 online sportsbooks on the market and most all are NOT reputable. Many sports betting sites, as in those that review sportsbooks, will recommended whatever websites pays them the highest affiliate rate. The problem here is shady sites depend more on affiliates than reputable ones and therefore pay much higher. So what you will find marketed at review portals is mostly problematic sites.

The websites below are listed in order of which I view are best for those new to sports betting online. If the section with complaints or player vs. sportsbook disputes sounds rough, note that it is then obvious you are not well oriented with the US market. For most every other betting sites I know of servicing the US an entire page is needed to cover their issues and risks. These below are my sincere best picks. The reviews are simply honest and chances are over 99% that you will not have a problem using any of these three sites.

#1 is Bovada

www.bovada.lv is the most popular sports betting site servicing the US market. Players opening an account here are welcomed with a 50% up to $250 initial deposit match bonus paid as free play credits. This is one of the few gambling sites it is possible to deposit with VISA debit or credit cards issued from a US bank.

The reason they are rated #1 on this page is because they have what most readers first searching for a US sportsbook are looking for. The fact is: a single time using your credit card here to get started likely won’t run you into the risks mentioned earlier when I suggested P2P is better than using credit card. They also have a nice sign-up bonus which is a huge plus for beginners. This is a good book to start off with. They support all the features recreational players are interested in. Their website is accessible on both desktop clients as well as mobile phones. Here you’ll find betting odds on all sports from around the world, and they even have in-play live betting for US sports.

If you enjoy other gambling products Bovada has much on offer here as well. Their poker room is on the same network as popular Asian bookie Bodog88. This site brings tons of players from Asia that have little to no poker experience to the online tables. As a result the poker games at Bovada are most often softer than can be found elsewhere online. Bovada also has a casino with generous bonuses and promotions, and a racebook that pays up to 10% win or lose rebates on turnover. You can learn about their impressive history in our Bovada review.

Restricted States: Bovada does not accept players from Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey and New York.

Bovada Complaints: The most common complaint with Bovada is they are slow to post lines. For some markets you won’t find a betting line until hours before the game. They also often do not offer moneyline bets on very small point spreads (-3/+3 and lower in football) or on very high point spreads. This is because Bovada mostly services recreational players and wishes to keep the professional players at bay. This brings another common complaint of low betting limits. The bottom line is that Bovada is a decent site for recreational players betting up to a few hundred per game. Other than MANY spots to pick off extra small money, they do not offer enough to attract large sharp bettors.

Player vs. Bovada Disputes: One of the things I like about Bovada is they have reps all over the internet. When small disputes come up they are quick to get them handled. There were periods in mid-2008 and in late-2011 that Bovada payouts were delayed. These have long since been resolved and checks are coming in about a week. Going back several years ago, there were live betting disputes too when they were still known as Bodog. While I’m not sure those were all properly resolved they were all many years ago and I have not read of any recent occurrences. Ultimately due to their strong presence on forums serious Bovada disputes are quite rare.

#2 is Bookmaker.eu

For most players, the entire selling point of www.bookmaker.eu is trust. Their history dates back to the Ron Sacco betting operation started in 1970’s. In 1985 this was the largest betting operation in the world. Sacco was arrested and jailed twice over bookmaking. It was after his parole ended the second time that (in 1985) he moved his business to the Dominican Republic and started marketing a toll free 1-800# sportsbooks to the United States. He was first to do this, and countless others followed in his footsteps.

The call center company became BetCRIS. Later, its US version became Bookmaker.com, then Bookmaker.eu. During this time Sacco was arrested 2 more times. He eventually retired and the .com domain was seized by the DOJ. Through all of this, Bookmaker has remained the world’s leader for betting on American sports.

Bookmaker has the highest betting limits, does not give winners personal limit collars, and always pays. Simply put, www.bookmaker.eu is the most trusted sportsbook servicing the US market and goes to great lengths to pay winners timely. As for the legal stuff, Ron Sacco was jailed 4 times, fought those charges, appealed them, never hid and always paid his US taxes. This company has been a great service to the industry and many consider this the safest sportsbook to have money stored with.

Restricted States: Bookmaker.eu now accepts players from all 50 states.

Bookmaker Complaints: Understand Bookmaker is one of the first sites to post lines and has the largest betting limits of all US sportsbooks. They do not offer reduced juice nor do they even offer a baseball dimeline. Better odds can often be found at their competitors; however, these competitors are risky. Bookmaker has a perfect track record for payouts and is one of the best at dispute resolution. You however won’t find much reduced juice or large bonuses here. The one other complaint is the large fee for wire transfer and check payouts. This is a moot point if getting a debit card which lets you withdrawal your Bookmaker payout at an ATM for only a few dollars in fees.

Player vs. Bookmaker Disputes: There are not too many of these appearing on forums. Other than a couple rare alleged past post issues, the only semi-common dispute that comes with Bookmaker involves their BetPoints loyalty program. These points are awarded based on turnover and can be redeemed for cash. The issue that comes up is Bookmaker often discontinues the program for professional players and in doing so confiscates their points. If this happens you should speak to a manager and insist you are credited cash to your balance for the value of points you had prior to becoming ineligible. If they don’t agree make it public on a sports betting forum. These are sincerely the only disputes I am aware of involving Bookmaker.

Other US Sportsbooks

A final note to US players: for those who understand the risks, a lot of value can be had taking advantage of bonus offers from other sportsbooks not making the above list. The same is true for hitting these up when they have soft lines. Most all books (those rated D and F excluded) might be worth hitting up so long as you understand the risks in doing so. Taking bonuses at books we have rated C+ or higher is often smart even for recreational players. The majority of the time you will get paid without issue. If you do enough dancing where there is some fire, on occasion you might get some small burns. However, all the times you get away with easy money from these books will make it worth it for most. For possible other books to try see our sportsbook ratings. Be advised though we can do very little to help if you have a dispute with a low rated book. We warned you in advance of the risk.

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