Sports Betting Scams

Overall, sports betting is a safe endeavor as long as you’re going with an established sportsbook. That’s the first rule of thumb in making sure you don’t get caught up in sports betting scams. Register with a sportsbook or handicapper that has at the minimum a solid five-year record. Here are five of the most common sports betting scams.

The Deposit Only Sportsbook

They won’t say they are a “deposit only” sportsbook but that’s how these folks work. They take your cash and your bets and when it’s time to payout they don’t. They may go as far as to send you a real check that will bounce real high when you try to cash it. Make sure any sportsbook you signup with has a good record regarding payouts.

Scam-dicappers

These are people who sell themselves as handicappers but really aren’t. They’ll even offer you two free picks to try out their service and both of those picks may actually hit.  But these folks are really scam-dicappers. Here’s the way it works.

They offer picks on two games. As an example, let’s say they offer two NFL picks. The picks are for the Jets versus Oakland and the Cowboys versus the Buccaneers. They rotate the choices for every four sportsbettors. Here’s the way it goes:

Sports bettor 1: Jets and Cowboys

Sports bettor 2: Jets and Bucs

Sports bettor 3: Oakland and Cowboys

Sports bettor 4: Oakland and Bucs

One of these bettors will be 2-0 and two others will be 1-1. One bettor will go 0-2. There’s a decent chance that the 2-0 person will purchase the pick service and the two who go 1-1 may stay interested. You buy into the service, which is really not a service at all.

Many legitimate services offer free picks. That’s not the problem. But you must make sure that whatever handicapper you decide to go with is a real service. You do this by checking how long the service has been around and also by making sure that they have a solid guarantee regarding their product.

The Hard Sell with Huge Bonuses

A new site is offering 25%, 50% or even 100% on signup bonuses. That’s unusual for a sportsbook. If they’re giving you a hard sell and promising large bonuses be careful. Again, some legit sites will offer decent bonuses. If the sportsbook has been around for numerous years and it has a good record, then the fact that they offer a bonus is icing on the cake. But new sites with big bonuses could be scams.

The Cold Call on Hot Bets

If you get a call from someone offering you hot picks, simply hang up. This is one of the biggest red lights you’ll ever see. Somehow they got your number and they may even know that you’re into sports betting. Don’t do business with anyone who calls you cold.

Sports Betting Systems

There’s a lot of debate surrounding sports betting systems of all kinds especially those that are software based and that cost money. A lot of these systems make exorbitant claims that are just about superhuman. Winning 75%, 80%, 90% of your wagers is truly an amazing feat and many systems claim that they can do that. Sports betting systems may or may not work. Do your research, perhaps even try a test run but be careful. Many of the big name systems have garnered a lot of complaints.

Research is the Key

The key to making sure someone is legitimate is found in research. Scour the Internet for information on the site, service or software. Check out any complaints on independent  monitoring sites and blogs. You can even post a question on many sites about particular companies. Never give any of you financial or personal information to anyone unless you are certain that they are for real. Beware of sports betting scams.  If you’re going to lose your cash to a sportsbook do so through your picks and not by picking a bogus company with which to do business.