Scam Betting Sites 2024

Scam betting sites have been a part of the gambling industry since the first internet-based sportsbooks were established.

This obviously does not come as a surprise to any gambler, as there are numerous stories of sportsbooks that fail to pay or close customer accounts for no reason. 

The last thing you’ll want to encounter as a sports bettor is a scam bookmaker. That is why we have gone a step further to provide the main reasons why we add fraud betting sites to our list. Let’s learn how to identify a scam betting site.

In order to sidestep falling victim to a scam sportsbook, you should always be aware of some common signs before you can decide to open an account with a new betting site. 

Regardless of how lucrative welcome bonuses seem to be or how competitive their odds are, it matters little if it is planning to steal your hard-earned money. The most common ways and main reasons we add betting sites to the scam list include the following:

One surefire way to identify a scam online betting platform is to perform a quick Google search on its name. If the outcomes consist of multiple pages of complaints, there may be a huge problem with that particular site.

Most complaints are usually about the customer support’s failure to address player complaints.

All sportsbooks, including legit ones, indeed receive complaints. After all, you cannot please everyone all the time. However, there must be a big issue if there are constant and overwhelming complaints of dissatisfied punters.

As you research, explore several pages. Scam sportsbooks have been known to craft fake reviews on their sites as well as other platforms.

You need to remember that certain affiliate operators are willing to promote online gambling scams as long as they pay. Also, online discussion forums are perfect places to find unbiased and legitimate reviews from real punters.

Several things concerning security and trust show that a given bookmaker isn’t legit. A lack of transparency in terms of ownership raises one or two concerns.

If you discover that a betting site doesn’t display its ownership information, it targets players from regions or countries where it’s not licensed. It aims to maintain secrecy to keep its owners out of jail.

Another reason why they don’t display ownership information is that owners know they’ve got a poor reputation and, therefore, don’t want to scare off prospective victims. Also, frequent ownership changes are never a good indicator. 

One or two ownership changes in a betting platform’s lifetime are reasonable. However, if a platform is constantly changing its management, there may be an issue with its legitimacy. A steadily growing sportsbook doesn’t need to change its ownership at all.

Many scam sites are headquartered or based in third-world countries because they know business records are non-existent and there is little oversight.

Several cases of scam sites being bought out by “new management” and failing to pay the players scammed previously are available. 

These cases occur after a certain sportsbook earns a well-deserved poor reputation and decides to hide under new management. Most of them claim that the new management will do everything it can to act in good faith in the future. Most of these scam sites simply fake the ownership changes or new acquisitions.

Let’s face the truth. It’s hard for any serious punter to trust an online betting platform without a legitimate gambling licence. The lack of gambling licence information is the biggest indicator of a fraudulent betting company.

A legitimate licence indicates that a regulatory body regulates the sportsbook. That means you have the authority to help in case something goes wrong.

Before you can open an account with any bookie, be sure to check its licence. Make sure a well-known regulatory body licences it for your benefit. Top and reputable betting platforms hold legitimate licences from respected regulatory bodies, which include the following:

• United Kingdom Gambling Commission
• Curacao eGaming
• Malta Gaming Authority
• Alderney Gambling Authority.

With these licences, you can gamble online without having to worry about fairness and your safety. Apart from a non-legitimate licence, some bookies have expired or fake licences.

They claim that they’re lawful by having a phoney license number on their official websites to entice unsuspecting potential customers. 

Another common indicator of a fraudulent sportsbook is a non-clickable or complete absence of a licence logo. After a thorough investigation, we usually add any bookies with no, fake or expired licences to our list. Also, recently, we created a cryptocurrency scams list you might be interested in.

Complicated withdrawal procedures and slow payments are some of the most reliable signs that something fishy is about to occur. A legitimate online betting platform pays players immediately after their bets settle.

An online bookie shouldn’t take longer and longer to pay successful wagers. In most cases, it’s a reliable sign of a serious financial issue.

Betting platforms that are delaying payments may have found themselves short of money and are depending on new deposits to pay what they owe to other punters. This is a common occurrence in the online sports betting industry. 

The betting company starts taking longer than usual to release customer funds. Wait periods grow longer, and concerned customers start to raise complaints.

Sometimes, the site sends a paid representative to major online discussion forums to assure complainants that everything will be fine going forward. 

They usually say that funds will be released anytime soon and blame their payment processors for no reason. One day, the platform simply vanishes without saying anything.

And those representatives who assured people that their money will be released are nowhere to be traced. 

Phone calls, customer support live charts and emails go unanswered. And to make matters worse, withdrawals stop. Both existing customers and new punters who have just deposited their funds for the first time lose their money altogether.

In today’s litigious society, terms and conditions are part of life. But dodgy sportsbooks use their terms and conditions as hiding places. They use them to prey on their punters.

Any serious and pro punters usually go through the terms and conditions of their betting platforms before they can complete the registration process.

Most online gambling fraud websites hide unfriendly withdrawal limits and other requirements deep in their terms and conditions. They do so to make it impossible for their customers to withdraw money or make huge withdrawals.

While the payout margins can be as high as 98%, the terms and conditions ensure they drop to almost nothing.

Sportsbooks that use terms and conditions to frustrate their customers are available in two types. Those that straddle the line between questionable business practices and outright thievery.

The second category consists of sportsbooks that hide behind lucrative bonuses and promotions that are too good to be true.

The former uses vague terms and conditions that it can interpret the way it wants. That means the terms and conditions always favour its decisions. Many scam sites utilise this technique to avoid paying what is due.

Some betting companies use the bonus abuse terms and conditions to cancel customer accounts or deny winnings. Many sites usually say something about having the right to cancel a punter’s account and confiscate the funds without any explanation if the bonus abuse act is suspected.

Most of them don’t explain what bonus abuse means and, therefore, use the term to close the punter account or avoid paying.

If you’ve been seriously going through the sections above, you have an idea of the online betting scams you can avoid. Use what you already know to stay safe when gambling online. Let’s discover some ways you can use to protect yourself from online betting scams.

You need to know how you can identify fake betting sites. To achieve that, you should be sure to complete these important tasks:

• Look for valid gambling licenses
• Read bookmaker reviews on legit affiliate platforms
• Always check player feedback
• Double-check all terms and conditions

You also need to be aware of phishing. With phishing, you’ll be directed to a scam or fake website to harvest your personal information, including credit card details and passwords. In most cases, you’ll be directed to click a hyperlink, which directs you to a destination that seems genuine. 

Once you open an account and log in for the first time using your details, you’ll lose access to your account. Avoid any online betting platform that keeps on redirecting you to many pages.

Also, be worried about gambling phishing scams done via Google search results. Scammers rank for terms you use to search and mimic actual pages of legit betting sites to steal the details of players.

Fake tipsters are popular in the online betting industry. Their latest personifications appear liberally on social media platforms. They pose as successful bettors who share valuable information with the public. 

A typical website or social media page will have thousands of fake followers to offer the illusion of popularity and then give sports betting advice. They encourage players to open accounts with a sportsbook and offer wrong betting information in the form of match-fixing. 

Unsuspecting punters will send them money to receive fixed matches and also place bets with the sportsbooks they suggest.

These fake tipsters will receive money from the betting sites they recommend as well as from the punters. You should always avoid tipsters. Work your way to become a pro sports bettor.

Another expert-proven way to avoid scams is to discuss sportsbooks in online forums with punters communities. You’ll be able to differentiate between scams and trusted online sportsbooks. Punters in these forums usually offer legitimate information since they have been victims before. 

If you want to sidestep scams, a sure bet is to avoid getting something for nothing. Before you do something, take a step back, research and think. If something seems too good, think twice before you can accept it.