How to Know If Your Bookie is Legit
There are a lot of reasons you should consider shopping for lines when it comes to sports betting. To find the best odds, prices, promotions, and have a list of bookies you can trust. All of your hard work on research, statistics, etc., would amount to nothing if your bookie is not legitimate. Not only will it be dangerous for you, but you could also lose a lot of potential winnings.
That said, how confident are you with your bookies? Do you trust them to be honest with your winnings? If you aren’t sure how to answer those questions, then we can help you with that. Most of the bookies that you can see online are legit. However, it doesn’t mean that there are predatory sites as well. But how can you tell if a bookie is legitimate?
If you see that your bookie is satisfactory so far, then that’s good. But when it comes to shopping lines, you should also know other trustworthy bookies.
Here are some telltale signs that the bookie of your choice is trustworthy.
Sportsbook License
A legitimate sportsbook can’t legally operate without a license. Any bookie without one has the potential of being predatory. A lot of reputable bookies take great effort in showing their customers that they have a license. Most betting sites have their license somewhere on their site. But why is it important for bookies to have a license other than the ability to legally operate?
Licenses are prerequisites for bookies to let their customers know that their books have been audited by a third party, which means their finances have passed their examination. If you see a sportsbooks license on the site, then it’s a sign that they have their finances audited already, meaning you can trust them with your money.
Book-to-Book Transfers
Most sportsbooks allow book-to-book transfer, which is convenient in shopping lines. But what is a book-to-book transfer? This is a process where you can transfer your bets from one sportsbook to another. If your bookie allows this feature, then that means that they have connections to other bookies, which also means that they are legitimate. If they restrict this feature, that could mean something, and most of the time, it’s something bad.
There are two most common reasons why bookies restrict this feature. One is that they don’t have a good relationship with the other bookies, or they are about to be bankrupt. Bookies tend to cut off their ties with other bookies, and one of those reasons is reputation. That’s already obvious enough, so we’re not going to go there.
Long List of Payment Methods
One of the most important things you should check out in a bookie before placing a bet is to make sure that your payment method applies to them. Most bookies have many ways for people to deposit and withdraw money on their site for their bets. It’s a sign that they are connected to many financial institutions and are trusted enough by them. There should be no compromises when it comes to how you place bets.
Take FanDuel for example. When depositing and withdrawing money, you can just login to FanDuel and click the deposit button. You will then be prompted to put in the amount you want to deposit and you will be able to pick how you deposit your money from a list of payment methods available.
However, if your payment method is not all that common, then signing up in the bookie, you have to make sure that that your payment method is applicable for them. After all, one of the most important aspects of bookies is how easy it is to put money for their customers’ bets.
User Support
Most bookies offer excellent user support or customer service to handle the problems of their customers. It’s a sign that they care about giving the best service to their customers. However, gauging how good a bookie’s user support is hard if you haven’t encountered a problem with them before.
You can check out their user rating on their site if they have any or find a forum about their services in Google.
There are telltale signs that the user support of a bookie is excellent. One of these is that when you ask for help in their chatbox, you can have the opportunity to talk with a real person instead of to an automated answering machine. Of course, since you’re a paying customer, their response time should be short as well.
The response that you need for the issue shouldn’t take more than a day at most. Another one is how long your issue will be resolved. If it takes them almost a week, then that’s a sign that their action on problems is lacking.
Takeaway
Even though most bookmakers you see online are legitimate and trustworthy, it still doesn’t hurt to be vigilant. After all, it’s your money we are talking about here, and surely you wouldn’t want to lose it because of an issue like this. When it comes to sports betting, you should always make sure that your money is always in good hands.