Oddsmaker (FutureBet) Sportsbook Review

Oh, where to begin. FutureBet’s ascension to their throne of lies started at the turn of the century after they offered their brand to clients as an OnGame white label for both sportsbook and poker. They charged $30,000 to license their brand and took 30-40% of the profits earned by each skin. FutureBet never did pay their skin operators, nor did they process cashouts to clients as they claimed they would do. Skin owners often reached into their own pockets to pay players, since FutureBet wasn’t stepping up the plate right away.

They assumed, wrongly, that FutureBet would make things whole with them and it was only a matter of logistics. Many skin owners had to close down their sites owing players thousands, after already emptying their own pockets to pay players.

All of this was during the heyday of online gambling in the US, the “Poker Boom” making their theft and fraud even more shocking. Even smaller poker sites were making millions a year back then. A former employee exposed much of this scam publicly, and even pointed people to FutureBet’s offices and new aliases, but no one was able to get their funds back from the company.

After this incident, FutureBet has continuously rebranded their services and products. Oddsmaker has been on sportsbook blacklists basically since they opened their doors, but they have still managed to keep their doors open. Sportsbook Review’s first report of their theft showed up in March, 2011. Since then, Oddsmaker has confiscated, at minimum, $250,000 from winning players. That number is only the thefts that have been reported through SBR via complaints. The actual number could be much more.

How do they steal bettors’ bankrolls? Oddsmaker uses just about all the tricks in the book to defraud players from rightfully getting their winnings. The “syndicate” or “professional betting” clauses are one of their favorites. After a player wins a large sum, Oddsmaker deems them a professional player and confiscates their winnings. If they’re lucky, they might get their original deposit back.

However, more often than not, Oddsmaker just simply ignores emails, live chat inquiries and phone calls when it comes to withdrawal requests. They slow-pay just about all their clients and don’t bother paying the vast majority of them.

Management at FutureBet and Oddsmaker has long ago stopped talking to sportsbook watchdog sites like Sportsbook Review. Of course, if a player goes to live chat or calls them asking for help with depositing – they’re eager to help. Whenever it comes time for withdrawal support, they aren’t nearly as helpful. Live chat and phone support staff continue to feed players excuses and emails go unanswered.

One of the reasons that Oddsmaker still seems to manage to stay open is their lucrative affiliate program. They do pay their affiliates on time each month and offer a 50% revenue share with partners. They boast that their rev share “is the highest online”, which might be true.

It’s not so difficult to offer up to 50% to your affiliates when you’re regularly confiscating the winnings of your clients. In fact, the affiliates that continue to promote Oddsmaker may be the only reason they’re in business.

Some of them may not be aware of the scams that Oddsmaker is pulling, but that’s unlikely. They’ve been around awhile and their status as a rogue sportsbook in this industry has been well documented. Yet, you will see many sites recommending them to bettors and giving them positive reviews.