Some bettors wonder why we push players towards sportsbooks that have been in the industry the longest and why we are skeptical of new betting sites, even if the operators seem to be running an honest operation and reports back from players are positive.
The reality is that track record means an awful lot. After the UIGEA had been passed in 2006, the online betting landscape was forever changed. Most sportsbooks that existed before the UIGEA was passed are now long gone. They were either shut down, busted by the Feds, or became insolvent, taking bettors’ funds with them, usually after promising to pay their clients.
The reason why we heavily recommend sites like 5Dimes (Full 5Dimes Review), BetOnline (Full BetOnline Review), and Bovada (Full Bovada Review). All of these sites have been in the industry for a decade or more in some form. They’re also among the highest ranked sites for cashier speeds and customer service.
December 2024 Safest Betting Sites
Safety
To put it simply, offshore sportsbooks that have been around for more than five years are a lot safer than betting sites that have a shorter track record. The longer a site has been operating, provided they pay customers in a timely fashion and treat players fairly, the better option they become.
Sportsbooks that are under a year old are particularly risky. Running a sportsbook is difficult, especially in today’s climate. A lot of things can go wrong for new sportsbooks from issues with payment processing to inadequate management.
Few realize that many of the new sportsbook “start-ups” are run by former members of the larger sportsbooks. There are a few success stories, but often these guys get in over their heads, and their new business venture doesn’t work out.
The start of football season is a time when bettors need to be particularly careful. A lot of new online sportsbooks pop up during this time every year, and they are heavily focused on soliciting deposits from players. Their bonuses are often too generous, and they resort to using shill accounts to talk themselves up at sports betting forums, which is a classic tactic of scam sportsbooks.
We’re not saying a new sportsbook can’t become an elite option. After all, all of the sportsbooks we recommend to players ahead of others were once new shops. It’s just a lot riskier to deposit there, particularly in U.S. market, instead of using a site that’s been in business for a decade or more.
Betting sites servicing U.S. residents are always going to have some level of risk. You can reduce that level of risk by depositing with the highest-rated and most trusted sportsbooks.
Payment Processing
Payment processing is crucial to the success of an online sportsbook. Even the biggest and most highly rated sportsbooks have issues from time to time processing payments. However, they have the capability to fix these problems faster and offer more methods than smaller operators.
Payout speeds are important and something to keep track of when you have money at online sportsbook or are debating depositing. Each month we publish a report on the top offshore sportsbooks and their speeds with each cashier method they have available.
The emergence of Bitcoin has helped reduce costs for operators and players alike, but it wasn’t until recently that the smaller sportsbooks began offering it as a method. In most cases, the larger more trusted sportsbooks that have been around longer with offer more cost effective methods and faster speeds.
Markets and Odds
Sportsbooks that have been in the industry typically have a bigger package offer players. Their markets, betting software, and features usually trump smaller operators and those who haven’t been in business long.
The more established sportsbooks don’t have to go out of their way to get clients. Their product is well regarded already. There’s no need to cold-call players or post in forums to hype up their sportsbook. They already have a betting experience pretty much everyone wants, and that’s for a good reason.
Regarding markets and odds, the bigger sportsbooks typically have a lot more to offer. Their markets are vast, and they offer a lot more than U.S. centered sports. When it comes to live betting, most of the time, their experience is a step up as well.
One area where larger more established sportsbooks dominate is when it comes to reduced juice. This just isn’t available at newer sportsbooks or ones that don’t have a lot of clients. It’s because they’re not big enough and don’t take in enough in bets to make it profitable.
The one area where newer sportsbooks might have the old guard beaten is when it comes to bonuses, but even in this area, it’s often fool’s gold. Bonuses aren’t worth as much as competitive odds, to begin with, and these large bonuses often have extremely high rollover rates.
In Conclusion
We’re not saying bettors should avoid depositing at newer sportsbooks or ones that aren’t as highly rated as our top choices. We are merely stating that there is a lot more risk involved when using lesser known bookmakers, especially those with less than a year in the industry.
About the Author
Joseph Falchetti
Editor-in-Chief, Pro Sports Bettor and Casino Expert
Joe is the author of the majority of sports betting pages on SBS and he serves as a gambling consultant to our content team. He's been mentioned on Forbes.com as a gaming analyst, and his articles have been linked by larger publications, such as the New York Times.
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