If you’re into betting on sports, then the chances are that at some point or another, you’ve thought about placing your bets online. What’s great about this is how convenient it is to do so and because of all of the bonuses and promotions that often come with betting online.
The biggest downside, however, is actually all of the rogue bookies, which you need to avoid. These are bookmakers that don’t behave ethically and will try and scam you out of your money by withholding winnings or not paying out bets at all.
Fortunately for you, there are a number of techniques that can help you avoid these dishonest bookies:
Don’t believe what you see on the Internet.
Phishing websites are used as bait for online scams. The criminals behind these sites make them look identical or highly similar to a popular website’s login page.
The criminal will then track whenever somebody tries to log in to their account or enter their credit card information on the fake website with the intent of stealing it later. To avoid falling for these scams, you need to remember that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Check their licenses.
Whenever you are thinking of signing up with a sportsbook singapore, for example, make sure they are properly licensed. Most countries require Internet gambling sites to be licensed by the government, so if you can’t find any licensing information on a sportsbook, you should probably find another. This is especially important if they claim to be based in your country.
Look out for hidden terms and conditions.
If a bookmaker has been up to no good, then there’s a very strong chance that they’ll have some unique terms and conditions to the rest of the industry.
For example, some rogue sportsbooks will have terms such as “use our odds calculator to ensure we can’t be accused of manipulating the markets” or “we are not liable for any losses you suffer as a result of third party bookmakers offering better odds than us”.
See what kind of bonuses they offer.
A great way to attract new customers is by giving away a bonus on the first deposit. As a matter of fact, it’s almost standard practice for anyone offering you a sports betting account to give you something extra when signing up – no questions asked.
But don’t get carried away! If the bonus seems too good to be true, it probably is. A common trick to lure people into scam sites is offering an extremely large first deposit bonus that you can cash out before making a bet (e.g. 200%). The catch? There always is one!
Once they’ve got your account information, they will withdraw all your money without even giving you the time of day.
Use a VPN if you’re not sure about an online sportsbook’s legitimacy.
If you use a virtual private network (VPN) to log into your account while surfing the ‘net, this will also make it harder for criminals to follow the trail of breadcrumbs leading to your credit card data.
The VPN also encrypts your data, making it useless to anyone but you. If this wasn’t enough, most reputable sportsbooks offer their own dedicated IP address to prevent risky situations like this from happening in the first place.
Don’t access your sportsbook from public computers.
This advice is basically the same as if you’d been using someone else’s computer or a public wifi network. It’s important to avoid this if you don’t want your information stolen.
There are many situations where criminals come back to a compromised computer and steal all of the data, including your credit card number.
Make sure you’re using the latest version of the sportsbook’s website.
Another obvious one people tend to forget about is to use the most recent version of your sportsbooks’ website. This is especially important if you’re using an older browser that isn’t supported anymore.
As we all know, browsers and scripts update automatically and leave gaping security holes in their wake that criminals exploit to steal people’s banking info.
Ask for customer support.
You think you’re on the right track since you’ve tested their features and everything seems legit? You might still want to take a look at other signs. If a site asks you to fill in your personal details, one of the best things you can do is reach out and contact them through their customer support service.
Do they answer quickly and politely? Even if they might not talk about cash deals over the phone or by email, asking for such information may help you identify the site as a scam.
Verify their payment options.
Getting paid is always a good thing, but only if you’re certain that a sportsbook singapore you want to deal with, for example, can actually pay out winnings safely and reliably.
If they offer several different payment methods, then the chances are that they’re legit (since it’s not likely for them to have accounts with every single e-wallet provider).
Takeaway
The bottom line is this: if you can’t find any proof that the sportsbook is credible, you need to move on. It will be more profitable for you in the long run. Keep looking until you find a site that has all of this information easily available – then, and only then, should you consider depositing money there.
