Offshore Sports Betting
You should not struggle to find the best online sports betting sites. With the incredible growth witnessed in the industry, there are many platforms where you can play online. However, there are a couple of platforms you should avoid.
To help you find the best sports betting sites, this guide lists the top three best online sports betting sites: Bovada, BetOnline, and MyBookie. There are many factors that make the best online betting sites. These sports sites cover many sports and have the fastest payouts. They are honest, trusted and reliable. 1.Overview of Bovada. 'As sports betting has become less and less taboo, offshore sportsbooks have seen their player bases steadily grow over the last decade,' said one executive at a major offshore sportsbook who. Offshore betting is better than your bookie Before the Internet brought the ability to bet on sports right into your home, you used to have to make your picks with the local bookie. Surprisingly there are still sports bettors out there that have not made the transition from their bookie to offshore sports books. OFFSHORE BETTING. When people think of gambling, the first thought that comes to mind is Las Vegas. The Strip, the bright lights and the gambling.
To help you find the best sports betting sites, this guide lists the top three best online sports betting sites: Bovada, BetOnline, and MyBookie.
There are many factors that make the best online betting sites. These sports sites cover many sports and have the fastest payouts. They are honest, trusted and reliable.
1.Overview of Bovada
Bovada is by far the best sports websites for bettors in the US. The company offers everything you would ever want. Bovada is easy to navigate, professional and has many offerings for bettors. Players have never complained about missing payouts. It is one of the most secure sports gambling sites.
Banking and Deposits
Bovada boasts of smooth deposit options for gamblers. However, the platform does not have many deposit money deposit options although things are easy and straightforward. Deposit options include bitcoin, Amex, MasterCard and visa. Transactions are quite fast with fewer hoops. You can use the cash almost immediately.
2. BetOnline
BetOnline is yet another notable sport betting platform. They always improve infrastructure, bonuses, and promotions so that you can get incredible products. It is important to know that you are playing on a platform that keeps improving their performance.
Banking and Deposits
The platform requires a minimum of $10 to play. Payment options include MoneyGram, Mastercard, western union, bitcoin, Skrill bank, discover card, diners club, American express, Ethereum. Support BTC and USD.
Customer Support
Customer support is extremely important when it comes to finding the best sports betting sites. BetOnline offers one of the best customer support system including email and phone. You can ask questions related to skill game, casino, and poker and you will get quick responses. Also, you can connect with the customer reps through social media networks such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Follow them on twitter to see how lines are moving and upcoming bets.
3. MyBookie
MyBookie is an incredible top online sportsbook and casino. Even though some aspects need to be improved, it still offers some incredible features that gamblers would appreciate.
Banking and Deposits
There are a host of banking options that the website offers. It is easy to deposit and withdraw funds any time of the day. However, the website does not offer e-wallet options like other sports gambling sites. Players hope in the future MyBookie will introduce Neteller and Skrill.
Bonuses
MyBookie offers some incredible bonuses for players. There is a broad assortment of bonus across sportsbook and casino which players can use to spin, earn bonus money and so much more. In addition, the bonuses are more extensive as compared to other sports betting online websites.
Customer Service Support
MyBookie has one of the best customer support among sports betting online sites.
First and foremost, they offer customer support 24hrs, offering help to customers. Apart from that, you can easily reach them through telephone, web form, and live chat. Customers have recorded satisfaction in customer support as they are helpful and fast.
User Interface
It does not matter if you are using a desktop version or mobile version of the website. Also, the quality of the user interface is commendable. The website is easy to navigate. It is never an issue to find what you want on the website, all thanks to the thoughtful and quality built.
Finding the best online betting sites that are safe and secure is not easy as there are many fake sites online. However, a good online gambling site is that which offer the best user experience, easy banking options, and great customer support.
Many states in the US have legalized sports betting. More are considering doing so and have legislation in the pipelines.
However, a good portion of states are still served by offshore bookmakers. The latter operate in the US without licensing and don’t pay taxes to the American government.
They instead leave the matter up to individual states.
Should the federal government finally take strong action against unregulated operators and ban them? I’ll discuss more on offshore bookmakers along with if they should be completely ousted from America.
What Are Offshore Betting Sites?
The United States doesn’t allow for any unregulated gambling sites to be based within its borders. They’ll take swift action against anybody who tries to run an illegal gambling operation in any of the 50 states.
However, authorities would probably need to do much more work to bust unlicensed bookmakers that operate outside of its borders. They just can’t send the feds to Costa Rica on a whim.
Speaking of which, Costa Rica is the biggest hotbed for offshore bookmaking. It allows online sportsbooks to operate within its borders with nothing more than a business license. The Costa Rican government also has few restrictions in place against operators.
Therefore, an offshore bookmaker can serve whatever country or territory they’d like from within this loose jurisdiction.
Most offshore operators stopped serving the Bluegrass State after this incident. For the most part, though, offshore betting sites will operate in any market that doesn’t have strongly-worded laws regarding online gambling.
What’s the Legal Situation Surrounding Offshore Bookmakers?
Unregulated betting sites have never been legal in the US. However, they haven’t necessarily been banned either.
The first major action that the federal government took against sports gambling sites was the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Signed into effect by President Bush in 2006, the UIGEA bars online gambling sites from accepting payments where doing so is illegal.
Its main function is to disrupt offshore operators’ ability to take payments from many US states. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) called on this law when they took down several online poker sites in April 2011 (e.g. Black Friday).
The UIGEA isn’t, however, an outright ban on internet sports betting. Bookmakers have found ways around this law through unconventional payment methods, such as Bitcoin.
In 2011, the DoJ gave an opinion on the federal Wire Act that may deem offshore betting illegal. They opined that the Wire Act only applies to sports gambling.
However, this is just a decade-old opinion from the DoJ. The federal government has never gone after offshore operators based on this interpretation of the law alone.
Of course, the feds have taken down certain online bookmakers in the past. They’ve only done so, though, when they had proof that the betting sites were laundering money and/or guilty of bank fraud.
Why Governments Hate Offshore Operators
The federal and state governments dislike offshore betting sites for multiple reasons. Here are their main gripes against unlicensed bookmaking.
No Tax Revenue or Licensing Fees
The big motivation behind state governments legalizing sports gambling lately is money. The US betting market is projected to hit $8 billion by 2025.
Politicians want a piece of this pie for their respective states. They don’t want to be among the minority that misses out on serious tax revenue in the future.
With offshore operators, states don’t see any of this money. Bookmakers in Costa Rica, Belize, and elsewhere keep all of their earnings beyond what the taxes they pay local governments.
Of course, this situation doesn’t directly impact the federal government. But US lawmakers would rather see money flowing into various states rather than staying offshore.
No Control Over the Operators
One of the key benefits of a legal sports gambling market is that regulatory bodies have some control over the operators.
A state regulator can set rules and standards for the market. Bookmakers, meanwhile, must abide by these standards or risk a heavy fine.
Online bookmakers aren’t supposed to run misleading advertisements or target problem bettors.
Regulatory bodies don’t have the same oversight over unlicensed betting sites. They must undertake a big effort to go after offshore bookmakers. After all, the latter are operating in completely different jurisdictions.
Offshore Sports Betting Odds
No Protections for Gamblers
When an operator gets out of line in a regulated market, the local governing body will crack down. They can impose a big fine on the bookmaker or even revoke their license.
Bettors feel protected in these cases. If they feel that an online sportsbook has wronged them and won’t fix the issue, they can contact the local regulator.
Picking on Costa Rica again, the government takes a hands-off approach to operators.
This isn’t to say that every Costa Rican sportsbook is crooked. In fact, some of them are among the best in the business. However, nefarious operators have more room to get away with ripping off customers in this country.
The Case for Offshore Bookmakers
You can see that regulated markets offer big advantages to gamblers. They protect bettors and have lots of oversight over bookmakers. But as you’ll see below, unlicensed betting sites come with their own set of benefits.
Competitive Marketplace
More operators create a more competitive market. Offshore sports gambling sites have been collectively offering their services for a quarter century.
They’ve had plenty of time to find out what does and doesn’t work.
Of course, offshore betting sites possess an unfair advantage when competing directly against legal and state-regulated bookmakers.
Nevertheless, they can force regulated bookmakers to provide more competitive odds. Otherwise, sports bettors might just use a VPN (consider the pros and cons first) and keep gambling at offshore sites.
Freedom to Bet
Not every state in the US features a regulated internet sports betting market.
Those living in these states don’t have many options to choose from.
They can give states like California, for example, the ability to bet on sports.
America is built upon freedom. Therefore, many bettors feel like they should have the freedom to wager on sports whenever they wish to.
Plenty of Quality Operators
The offshore betting industry gets a bad rap for the reasons covered before. It also features a few bad apples.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of high-quality sports betting sites that are based overseas. These sites specialize in offering fair odds, knowledgeable customer service, and bonus opportunities.
Of course, you should never blindly sign up at the first online sportsbook that you find. But you can definitely pick out some good ones by reading reviews and looking at rankings for the best sports betting sites.
Do Offshore Betting Sites Belong in America?
Unregulated sports wagering sites have been operating in the US for over 25 years. With that said, they don’t look to be on the outs just yet.
However, America is largely moving towards regulation with online betting. More states are legalizing the matter, and they expect offshore bookmakers to stay out of their markets.
Luckily, many unregulated operators are abiding by the rules. They’re only offering their services to states without regulation.
I believe that an offshore bookmaker has the right to serve a gray market with no regulation or strong anti-online gambling laws in place. Unregulated sites belong in America until there are no more gray markets to serve.
Conclusion
The federal government has never fully embraced offshore betting sites. Nevertheless, they’ve put up with them in some capacity for more than a quarter century.
By “putting up with,” I mean that the US government hasn’t explicitly banned offshore bookmaking.
The US government has only gone after betting sites that have used money laundering and bank fraud as a means of serving customers. Ever since the repeal of PASPA, states have had the option to legalize betting and deal with offshore bookmakers.
Most unlicensed betting sites stay out of these markets as a result.
Best Online Betting Sites
Therefore, the federal government will likely never implement a hard ban against unregulated operators. They’ll just continue letting states handle the matter.