Its one thing to have to beat the odds; its another to have to beat the book. Betting sports online is a fun and entertaining activity, but danger looms around the corner. Most sports bettors constantly seek out new sportsbooks to play at and to use for line comparisons. However, not all sportsbooks are legitimateas you can imagine. How does one protect against being ripped off? Thats the focus of this article. You are about to learn some quick and important signs that will help you escape the potentially fraudulent sports book.

Online Sportsbook Bonuses

The sportsbook bonus is one of the most used tools for fraudulent sportsbooks. Many legitimate sportsbooks will offer deposit and re-load bonuses of 5-15% and usual cap the amount you can get. If you find a sports book, especially a newer one, offering insane bonuses of 30,40,50, or even 100%, its time to leave and visit another sports book. Its also possible that a newer sports book is not looking to rip people off when offering bonuses like thisthey are just inexperienced. In the end, they will realize their mistake and close downyou will be left out in the cold.

Who Are They?

In the real world, you can physically walk into a sports book and see who the people are. For example, when you walk into a Las Vegas sports book, you know who owns the place and can physically see them. In the online world, this just is not possible. Take the time to do your research before spending money with anyone. Do they have a phone number to call? Have you emailed them and received a timely response? Does the company have other business websites? These are all questions you need to find answers to before you even begin to think of playing at an unfamiliar sports book. Another tip is to visit the three major search engines (Google,Yahoo and MSN) and type in the property name to see what comes up. Do the same for the company name and so forth. You may find info from current or former players that shed light on the establishment.

The Big Deposit and Depositing Methods

One quick way to eliminate potentially bad sportsbooks is to look at how they take deposits. All solid sportsbooks take deposits from a wide range of methods. Stay away from any sports book that only takes deposits via cash, check, money order, bank wire and Western Union. This could be a sign of fraudulent activity. Also, if they are not organized (and large) enough to have many depositing methods, they dont deserve your business.

Another tip is to avoid sportsbooks that force you to make a large initial deposit. Any sports book worth playing at will gladly take a small deposit. Bet on sports on your terms not theirs. If the sports book wont take a small deposit (sub-100), then they dont deserve any businesseven if you are a larger player. Fraudulent sportsbooks need larger scores, because their life cycle is very limited.

In the End

While there are fraudulent sportsbooks online, just like there are crooks in the real world, that should not stop you from enjoying the entertaining activity of sports betting. Follow these steps to help you weed out potentially harmful situations. The Internet is loaded with secure and honest sportsbooks that will gladly do business with you and earn your trust and respect. Good luck with your sports betting adventures.