Sports betting is one of the activities that has become significantly popular among people. It is an entertaining way to relax and potentially earn some money. However, not all sportsbooks online are going to bring the same benefits. Many of them are fake and unlicensed, and spotting them is not always an easy task. They often look like any other sportsbook that you can find with basic online research.
There are a couple of characteristics that all unlicensed and fake sportsbooks have. For instance, their customer service is usually unprofessional. In some cases, it doesn’t even exist. Despite that, the money people earn usually becomes available for more than 30 business days. In the worst case, players do not even get the full amount they earned.
All these characteristics will not allow you to enjoy the benefits of online betting to the fullest. That is the reason why we would like to highlight a couple of simple ways to spot fake and unlicensed sportsbooks. In that way, your betting will be more entertaining and safe.
1. Before Everything – Look for License!
License is a document that confirms the reliability and honestly of every sportsbook online. Because of that, many of them are proud of that confirmation, and they will publish it on their website. It is an excellent social proof that will bring more and more people to their website.
People can often find it in the footer of the website. However, if they do not see it there, they should ask the sportsbook to provide it. If they start making excuses or simply do not want to show it, that should be a red flag for you.
Still, there is another thing that you need to have in mind. Betting sites can lose their license over time. The license you receive needs to have additional information. For instance, you should clearly understand when the sportsbook got the license as well as the expiring date.
2. Unrealistic Bonuses
The competition in the betting industry is tough. Because of that, betting sites are using different methods to attract more people. One of the ways to make their betting more comfortable is offering bonuses that will allow them to bet for free.
Still, these bonuses must not be unrealistic. For instance, let’s imagine all first-time customers get a bonus of 5000% of their first deposit. Something like that is impossible to see in reliable sportsbooks.
Do not get impressed with these incredible offerings. They only serve as a tool that will hide all the gaps of the casinos. One of those gaps is lack of license without any doubt.
3. Bad Web Design
UX and Ui of every professional betting site are at the highest level. First of all, the design of the web is eye-pleasing. On the other hand, the navigation of the website is often simple. If you struggle to deposit money or choose a game, that should also be a bad sign for you.
Legitimate websites will always invest a big amount of money to keep their website functional and safe. Of course, it often happens that some betting sites stop working for a short period. Yet, there should also be a group of IT sectors that will solve the problem quickly. Fake sportsbooks will never invest money in that way.
4. Customer Support Is Never Available
All the fake and unlicensed casinos will also have a “Contact Us” page. However, that doesn’t mean their customer support will answer immediately after you contact them.
Good and professional customer support is also one of the ways to attract more people. Problems on betting sites occur all the time. However, good customer support is there to solve all the problems that people have. If you need to wait for a couple of days to get a simple answer, that is a red flag.
5. Money Isn’t Available Immediately
Crypto sportsbooks can ensure the immediate transfer of all the earnings you made. When we talk about fiat currencies, people will sometimes need to wait for 24-48 hours. However, that is not the fault of online sportsbooks. Banks often can’t approve the license for a shorter period. They also do not work for the weekends and holidays. Because of that, it is normal that you sometimes need to wait for the payout.
Yet, how long should you wait? Everything more than 72 hours should be suspicious. Professional casinos will try to make all the money transfers as quickly as possible. Despite that, they will always transfer the entire amount of money that you earned while playing. However, fake sportsbooks will usually not credit winning wagers. In most cases, they will do that partially. However, some of them will not send a single dollar to the winner. Becoming a victim of that type of scam can sometimes be costly.
6. Unexpected Changes of Terms and Conditions
Let’s imagine that you won a significant amount of money. However, when you want to withdraw your money, an option like that becomes unavailable to you. Logically, the first thing you will do is contacting customer support. After a couple of days, they often replay in the same way. They will tell you that the terms and conditions of the sportsbook are changed. Of course, they would rarely highlight which changes are made. They will only say that is the reason why you can’t withdraw your money.
Terms and conditions changes happen in legit sportsbooks as well. However, they usually do not have anything to do with money withdrawal. Even if they do, all the customers will get a notification on time.
Is Finding a Reliable Online Sportsbook Possible?
Of course, it is, and most of them are legit and trustworthy. According to this site, sportsbooks like BetWay, Bet365, 1XBet, and others deserve your attention. They all have eye-pleasing designs, professional customer support, etc. If that seems like something you are looking for, you should check out the website we attached and get familiar with more casinos that have amazing offers.
