Sports betting is a pastime activity that hundreds of millions of people consider as their main hobby. It is exciting, surprising, and unpredictable. As such, it is the perfect combination of fun and risk that many desire. Being a sports fan and following your favorite teams and players is not enough for certain enthusiasts, which is why they also become passionate sports bettors.
There is simply too much to ignore as the whole sports experience is elevated when the stakes are high for the bettor as well as for the players playing the game. Best of all, there are numerous leagues, competitions, and sports to choose from at any given moment. If your favorite sports are in the offseason, do not worry. There is always football, basketball, tennis, and other sports being played in other countries.
Table of Contents
1. Choosing the Right Betting Source
Source: telegraph.co.uk
Betting on sporting events is amazing, that much has been established. However, it can also be challenging and difficult and not for the obvious reasons. The luck that is involved and the experience and knowledge of bettors is one thing to think about and prepare for. Being taken advantage off and having your personal and financial information stolen away from you is a whole other.
The most important thing when making bets is who you trust with it all. In other words, your bookmaker needs to be right, otherwise you risk losing it all. Luckily, there are enough ways to tell if a bookmaker is legal or not as well as if their business is even legitimate. In this article we will talk about this very topic and reveal to you how you can know if your bookie is the right choice. Read on to find out more and be sure to check out 20BetCA for an example of a proper, legal bookmaker.
2. Learn from Past Customers/Bettors
Source: doughgetters.co.za
The best way to check if the bookmaker you are planning to go with is legal or even a real bookie for that matter is to do your own research online. All you need to do is perform a simple Google search and look for reviews and ratings. There are ratings and reviews for virtually anything on the web these days and they are the best sort of information you can hope for. In essence, these are first-hand experiences that will tell you all the good and all the bad about something.
In this instance, you can learn about what goes on when this bookie is concerned, how their web services perform, and whether somebody experienced malpractices before. If everything seems to be fine and dandy, you can proceed with your bets. On the other hand, if there are some red flags or if a past bettor had bad experiences, you should avoid it and look for a more trusty source of sports betting fun.
3. Asking for your Money
The bookmaker and their services whatever they are, website-based or app-like, should never ask for people’s money. The only time when they should be dealing with your financial info is when you deposit money to bet with, or when you withdraw money that you have won from betting. That is it. In any other situation asking for the bettors’ credit card info is a huge reason for concern.
It is dishonest, it is a big sign of a potential scam, and it can even be illegal if the terms and conditions state it. You do not want anything to do with this type of bookie so if you ever come across one make sure to skip it in favor of somebody honest and legitimate. The way they ask for is through various pop-up windows where they claim they need it for authentications, confirmations, or mysterious, fake, special prizes you won by doing nothing. Do not fall for it.
4. Certifications and Licenses
Source: infomigrants.net
It a service is serious about their business and if they have nothing to hide, it is quite easy to spot actually. On the other hand, when they do have something they do not want to be public knowledge, they will do anything in their power to hide it away and burry it. The same goes for the actual credentials of a sports betting bookmaker. Gambling and betting services are some of the most complex in existence because these activities have been tied with criminal activity and are generally a bit frowned upon.
Back in the day, sports betting and gambling used to be fronts for money laundering schemes and all sorts of other frauds, scams, and dishonest operations. This is why there are so many laws in today’s world that deal with anything that includes money for both participating and in terms of prizes. When you want to know if a bookie is legal, you can check their website for signs of authenticity. These come in form of licenses and certifications, or better yet, rewards they have won for their work. Basically, if a bookie has any of these, they will proudly show it somewhere on their website where it is easy to spot. It is usually on the home page all the way down, or in the ‘about us’ section.
5. Abundance of Content
Source: engadget.com
Last but not least, a good way to check if a bookie is legal is to evaluate how many things they offer their players when it comes to sports and betting opportunities. If they have all sorts of sports, national leagues, cups, tournaments, etc., they should be fine. It is too complex and difficult to run an illegal operation for long time and have it be complex. It is much easier to hide a smaller one that can fly under the radar. The number of matches they cover at any given time is a good way to tell how serious and legit a bookie service is. Similarly, the chances, offers, and bonuses they give can be of use when judging their legality. In case they are off and too good to be true, they are probably fake. Nobody will give you a lot of things for free, except during special promotion periods.
