Bookmaker Review

Bookmaker is one of the most trusted names in the U.S. sports gambling industry. Their history dates back to 1970 when Ron “Cigar” Sacco took over one the largest bookmaking businesses in the United States. When the US authorities started cracking down on bookies in the late early 1980’s, Cigar moved his shop to the Dominican Republic, becoming the first US sportsbook to operate offshore.

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It was from here the BetCRIS Empire was started. Already running the largest toll-free phone in shop in the business, CRIS went online in 2000 and rebranded as Bookmaker in 2006, which now uses the web address www.Bookmaker.eu.

Although sports betting is frowned upon in the United States, it is completely legal and socially acceptable in most other areas of the world. Their parent company BetCRIS holds their primary license in Malta, which is a member of the European Union.

Their headquarters are in Costa Rica and they have offices in Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Brazil and twelve additional countries. This is the world’s largest American friendly sportsbook, who has gained the respect of the entire industry.

The reasons to wager here are simple: they have some of the earliest openers, highest limits, fastest payouts, and a history second to none for paying all winners hassle free. For the visitors of our site who love bet on live games, this site has you covered with an advanced in-play wagering platform.

Live Betting

The sportsbook upgraded their live betting software in August 2011. Unfortunately, in 2018 it’s high time for another upgrade as the design and usability aspects of the software are poor.

They cover all nationally televised NFL, college football, baseball, and basketball games. They also offer In-Play betting for UFC events, select soccer matches and a handful of hockey games. Punters can wager not only on who will the game, cover the spread, and if it will go over or under the posted total, but also on unique propositions for each play/pitch, drive/at bat and all sorts of other propositions.

Betting Selection

Bookmaker.eu’s website design and usability have fallen behind.

As games progress, the odds obviously change. By using the in-play interface you can continue to bet on point spreads, moneylines and totals at adjusted odds throughout the game. You also have wagering opportunities on all sorts of unique propositions, including the results of each drive, and the first play of each drive.

Here are a couple of NFL examples:

1st Play – 2nd drive of the 1st half will result in:
• A rush for a gain -160
• A completed pass +130
• Any other outcome +180
1st drive of the 2nd half will result in:
• A punt (past the line of scrimmage) -148
• Offensive score +110
• Any other outcome +350

Of course the odds for the above will depend one which teams are playing, current field positions and other factors. These are however real examples in case you’d like to work out the vig this sportsbook charges for live bets.

Once half time rolls around, all sorts of new propositions show up on the in-running betting interface. Some examples include:

Time of 1st score in 3rd quarter:
• .01 through 5.00 Minutes -110
• 5.01 through 10.00 minutes +110
• 10.01 through 15.00 minutes +385
• No Scoring in the 3rd quarter +1000
1st score of 2nd half will be:
• Packers Touchdown +105
• Packers Field Goal or Safety +165
• Falcons Touchdown +225
• Falcons Field Goal or Safety +200
• 2nd Half will be Scoreless +2000

These are only a couple examples; at half time other wagering is available from the live wagering menu as well, including team totals and other props.

This site is one of the top US-facing sportsbooks offering live wagers on NFL football, but for reasons other than the quality of their in-play platform.

They offer similar markets for NCAA football, MLB Baseball, NBA and NCAA basketball, soccer, hockey and UFC. If you’re from the US and looking to wager sports in-play, Bookmaker.eu is a good choice. If you live outside the US, but enjoy wagering American sports, there are better choices.

A promotional video for live sports.

Banking Options

One of the things I like about this site is their banking options.

These guys have a relatively high acceptance rate when processing Visa debit and Visa credit cards issued by US banks. Seriously, even if your card has been declined at other sites, give it a try here as chances are great the transaction will be approved. In the outside chance your card gets declined, you can do a person to person transfer using WU or MG at your local supermarket and Bookmaker will cover the fees.

Payments

Bookmaker.eu has a nice selection of deposit and withdrawal methods.

The fastest payment method with the lowest and highest limits for both deposits and withdrawals ($10-$50,000 for deposits; $50-$25,000 for withdrawals) is Bitcoin. Due to high volatility and uncertainty regarding how Bitcoin is treated for tax and accounting purposes, many gamblers stay away from this option.

The second fastest deposit methods are card payments. If they’re cleared, you have the money on your account instantly. The maximum deposit depends on the brand of the card – for Amex it’s $499, for Mastercard it’s $999, and for Visa it’s $2,500. However, maximum daily limits are different from maximum limits per deposit, so technically you can make four Amex deposits a day (since there’s a $2,000 daily limit).

Person-to-person transfers – namely Western Union and Moneygram – have decent maximum limits ($1,000 and $2,000, respectively) and quite high minimum limits ($100 for both). At 3-5 business days, the cashouts for these methods are slower than Bitcoin cashouts but faster than checks (which can take 1-4 weeks).

Bonus Offers

BonusFor a decade now, they’ve relied on their unparalleled reputation for taking the largest bets in the industry without limit collaring professional. In the past their fast payouts, great banking options, and 24/7/365 customer service were their main selling features.

These days however, with a high number of scam sites preying on the recreational punter, and to help combat that the company has made itself friendlier to recreational sports bettors. It is now possible to get a sign up bonus, stake as little as $1.00 per wager (and as much as $40,000) and get reload bonuses each and every Tuesday and Wednesday.

The sign-up bonus depends on whether you use Bitcoin or not. For Bitcoin users, the bonus is 50% up to $1,000 with a 15x rollover requirement. For others, it’s a 50% up to $300 bonus with a 10x (deposit only) rollover requirement for sports and 40x (deposit + bonus) for casino games.

Re-load bonuses range from 10% to 15% and they cover the cost of any Western Union or Moneygram deposit worth $300 or more.

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