How to Find Legit Online Betting Sites

This is a guest post by Tony Samboras.

Anywhere there is money to be made, the potential for rogue actors to get involved is high. Betting on sports has existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Until the advent of the Internet, sports gamblers were always able to put a face with the person or sports book they were placing their wagers with. See who the top UK betting sites are and what they have changed all of that.

Today, most sports betting takes place online. It requires a great deal of trust between the bookmaker and its customers. The potential for abuse from a rogue online bookmaker is high if sports bettors don’t take the time to vet out the best sites and push aside the potential bad actors.

Finding Legit Online Betting Sites
Fortunately, there is a number of way sports bettors can protect themselves against illegal or rogue online betting operations. Here are a few steps that can be taken to help identify a legit bookmaker.

1. Sticking with the Best – Unless a bettor lives in a jurisdiction that doesn’t allow online sports betting, they should have access to at least some of the well-established and most reputable online bookmakers. Websites owned by publicly held corporate conglomerates like Ladbrokes, bet365 and William Hill are good places to start. Longevity is also a good indication of reliability: Paddy Power and Bodog come to mind.

2. Watchdog Sites – The online sports betting industry is a legitimate business concern. As is the case with most other viable industries, there are watchdog groups that make it their business to monitor and report on the activities, policies and procedures of online bookmakers. Before a bettor joins an online bookmaker, they would be remiss to not check on the status of particular betting sites through watchdog sites like Casinomeister. Sports book reviews could also be useful.

3. Licensing – Astute sports gamblers will be the first to admit that only licensed online bookmakers warrant consideration. A governing licensing agency doesn’t offer absolute protection against bad actions by an online bookmaker, but these agencies do have some recourse against online bookmakers that go rogue. Top licensing jurisdictions include the U.K. Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority and the Government of Gibraltar.

4. What to Look For – Another way sports bettors can protect themselves is by understanding what to look for as far a predatory practices are concerned. The biggest issue with rogue online bookmakers is making withdrawals. Any delays in the processing of a withdrawal request should be reviewed with skepticism. A 48-hour pending period is standard within the industry, but anything beyond that could present a problem. Prospective customers might also want to avoid sites that advertise outlandish bonuses. It’s a great hook, but it’s often indicative of a bookmaker desperately looking to draw customers into the fold.

For anyone who is unsure whether or not they can trust a particular online bookmaker, they might want to start the relationship with very small deposits. Before making a larger deposit, it makes sense that they might want to test the withdrawal process a time or two before making the plunge. Most online bookmakers are legit, but the bad actors tend to give the industry a black eye.