Online gambling portals

[Qbins Missile Crisis]

More and more bettors complain about online gambling portals, accusing them of leading gamblers to the slaughterhouse by promoting rogue advertisers.
"Sweat the game, not the payout" is the clever motto of well known online sportsbook The Greek.

Sports betting and winning aren't always part of the same equation, regardless if you are a pro bettor or a recreational one, thus winning is the well deserved reward that shouldn't be ruined by having to sweat the payout.

Unfortunately there is a rogue operator around every corner, reason why bettors usually visit online gambling portals to gather information on internet sportsbooks before signing up and depositing.
Most online gamblers are aware of the need of having to weed through web sites' agendas.

Some gambling portals are normally keener to downplay problems related to their advertisers; others openly attack certain sportsbooks, highlighting their alleged or real poor performance, to make their advertisers look better.

Most gambling sites claim a spotless record when it comes to failed sportsbooks; however every single portal has its skeletons well locked up in the closet.

"Year ago we made the terrible mistake of promoting recently opened sportsbooks," Said Roberto Castiglioni, founder of TheOnlinewire.com. "The error was partially mitigated by pre-arranged bailout plans that rescued over 300 bettors caught up in 3 failures."

Between 2005 and 2006 TheOnlinewire hosted a program called Rookie Project. Some advertised books merged with larger ones while three other failed. "We have learned our lesson the hard way and we will never again accept to promote sportsbooks that have been in business for less than three years." Castiglioni added.

The events of the summer of 2006 dramatically changed the landscape of the offshore gambling industry. The enactment of the UIGEA in the fall of 2006 further accelerated changes by making it tenfold more difficult for gambling operators to move money around.

Industry experts and analysts thought that such changes would have made rogue operators' life even more difficult. They were wrong.

"The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) actually drove several transparent and legitimate operators out of the marketplace to the detriment of player safety," stated Point-Spreads.com Publisher Thomas Jensen. "Instead of stopping Americans from gambling online, UIGEA opened up an environment that allows rogue operators to flourish by using more sophisticated processing schemes that are undetectable to banks and regulators."

Rogue operators and stiff sportsbooks began resurfacing in the summer of 2007, luring new victims once again thanks to the help of gambling portals.

"We are thrilled to have the BigJuicyOdds brand as part of the Gambling911.com family and they have shown professionalism and long term focus throughout their campaign." Gambling911's founder ******opher Costigan boasted at the end of October 2007, welcoming BigJuicyOdds to his site.

"BigJuicyOdds have been great to deal with," commented Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of Gambling911.com. "They are not needy in the least unlike some past sponsors who we kicked to the curb." The quote refers to Royal Sports and SBG Global, certainly not among the best out there but unlike failed BigJuicyOdds still paying winning bettors on demand.

Famous for its claim to be the leading sports gambling portal promoting only the best books Gambling911.com rapidly swept traces of the failed advertiser under the rug.

All BigJuicyOdds.com banners were swiftly removed from the homepage; however the failed sportsbook's name still appears on the site's live line service.

Another ringing endorsement of BigJuicyOdds came from John Walker, founder of SportsBookReview. "This is a D+ book that wants to grow. Players will risk time only so obviously it’s a worthy deal. Although no one is going to pretend this is an ideal situation. They need to take good care of these players. They will make a name one way or the other."

Walker was dead on with his forecast. BigJuicyOdds indeed made a name by stiffing dozens of players, many of whom referred by Walker's own site.

"I feel for these players," Castiglioni said. "I thought gambling portals operators had learned from the past like we did years ago; unfortunately I was wrong and bettors are once again called to pay for others' mistakes and greed."

"Smart gambling portals realize that they need to stick with proven operators if they want to survive long term." concluded Thomas Jensen, a clear warning to those gambling portals who still plan to lead bettors to the slaughterhouse.

TOW Industry Reports
4/30/2008
Online gambling portals lead bettors to the slaughterhouse?