By Chris Dyer (Dirty)
Over the past several days I have been talking to the owners or general managers of several quality online sportsbooks. They have been telling me horror stories of players who have been searching, of all places, Craigslist to find agents who will offer them credit accounts. They will send them a deposit and the Agents will then supposedly open them up for credit up to double what they send in cash. The books are getting several deposits a month from players who have had money stolen from them by doing this.
With March Madness coming up and how many people wager on the event there is not telling how many more will be hoodwinked into doing this. It amazes me why anyone would send money to a random person off Craigslist to set up a betting account. The smart play is to go to the plethora of quality sports forums on the internet, like Ask The Bookie, and ask questions and send the money to a quality online sportsbook that has been in business for many years and has a long record of paying their clients.
The best way to find an agent is to ask around locally to people who you know wager. Many locals are limited in what they offer as many still don’t use Pay Per Head software that allows them to accept wagers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sometimes you can eventually be set up with a good agent after getting to know several people on the forums and gaining their trust but that is rare and not always trustworthy either, as you usually never meet the person in question and only know his online persona.
You can’t trust the ratings at place like Sportsbook Review either. They are biased by who pays them the most money. The best way to keep from getting your money taken is to send money to quality online books and to find these ask questions at the forum(s) you visit. Members will almost always be helpful and will not send you to a terrible sportsbook. They will give you their experiences that are usually honest and unbiased. Sure not everyone will be happy with every book and you will hear some negative things about any online sportsbook you ask about. But the positives always outweigh the negatives at your top online sportsbooks like America’s Bookie, Bet33, WagerWeb, 5Dimes, BetAnySports, Heritage Sports, YouWager, and the Bookmaker Family of books just to name a few. All are very easy to deposit to and to get your payments from when you do decide to request one. You never have to worry about an agent screwing you after you have a good week.
In closing, all that anyone can ask is to use common sense when and if you do find an agent. The smartest play by far, in my opinion, is to deposit at one of the online sportsbooks listed above and that drastically reduces your chances of getting stiffed. Money in those books is virtually just as safe as being in the bank. Good luck on all your wagers and have a profitable March Madness.