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PaddyPower bonus complaint; Free promo account closures
7/28/2010 4:48:59 PM -
PaddyPower (SBR rating B+) bonus complaint. A fourth bonus complaint has been received from a player that signed up to take advantage of PaddyPower's £1000 free bet offer for Cheltenham racing. The promotion required 10 wagers to be placed in order for players to redeem the free bet. After placing 8 of 10 wagers, the player's account was closed. PaddyPower stated that it was a "trading decision". The 1st complaint received on PaddyPower's handling of the Cheltenham free bet promotion resulted in PaddyPower reinstating the player's account following SBR's inquiry. SBR is following up on the complaint. | Read full PaddyPower complaint
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WilllHill player reports canceled withdrawals, system glitch?
7/28/2010 1:43:16 PM -
A WillHill (SBR rating A) player reports that his payout requests were canceled. The withdrawals were for a total of 35,000 SEK ($4,795). WillHill initially stated that Moneybookers was responsible for declining the transactions. Moneybookers denied this, WillHill then clarified that its withdrawal system suffered from a technical glitch. SBR is following up on the complaint.
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FutureBet now operating as Gametech Solutions
7/27/2010 3:46:19 PM -
The FutureBet, formerly I-Gaming Software (IGS) group is now calling itself GameTech Solutions. FutureBet has twice rebranded its company name in an effort to distance itself from its history of theft. SBR has discussed FutureBet's past with numerous licensees; the most conservative estimates have FutureBet owing $5 million to players, licensees, and staff.
The most recent brand to join the FutureBet/IGS/Gametech group is poker, sportsbook, and casino FeltStars.com (SBR rating F). Futurebet supplies the FeltStars sportsbook and casino software. Futurebet fully hosts and supports FeltStars. | Read full Futurebet report
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Oddsmaker (SBR rating D-) withdrawal complaint
7/27/2010 12:54:53 PM -
Withdrawal requested — $3,400 on April 30th.
Player issue — On January 9th a player deposited $250 to Oddsmaker (SBR rating D-). After a few months of play, his balance increased to more than $7000. On April 30th he requested a $3,400 withdrawal via priority check. The expected time-frame for delivery was 10 business days. The trouble began when the quoted time passed and no check had been received. The player followed up with Oddsmaker to inquire and to his surprise was informed by the cashier department that his "bank wire" was sent. Taken aback by the claim, the player clarified that he requested a priority check and never at any point provided wiring instructions. Oddsmaker was adamant that the wire had been sent and suggested he check his bank account for the funds. The book finally acknowledged the error a week later. Oddsmaker then told the bettor it was in the process of canceling the bank wire and resending the funds via priority check. Two more months passed and no updates were given to the player on the status of this check.
No progress was made. The player submitted a sportsbook complaint to SBR.
SBR is currently in discussion with Oddsmaker management, who said only the banking department could provide updates. When asked about the disconnect between management and the cashier department, an Oddsmaker customer service manager stated that it could not comment on the company structure but would provide an update ASAP.
SBR will update this report. | Oddsmaker is part of one of the largest online betting scams, FutureBet.
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WSEX update ? player reports payment, 4 new complaints filed
7/26/2010 1:07:29 PM -
A WSEX (SBR rating D) player has reported receiving $2500 via Neteller. He requested the payment on May 10th. While this is the 3rd payout report in July from a WSEX player, 21 new slow-pay complaints were filed throughout July including four today. SBR will update this report.
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Readers discuss BigCitySportsbook
7/26/2010 11:36:03 AM -
SBRforum readers discuss BigCitySportsbook (SBR rating D-). BigCitySportsbook is part of the Apex sportsbook family. Write to help@sportsbookreview.com with feedback or for sportsbook dispute assistance.
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Unibet closes player account and confiscates funds
7/25/2010 3:49:32 PM -
Unibet (SBR rating B+) has permanently closed a player's account which held a €1005 balance. The player deposited €500 and increased his balance to €1005 after 2 months of play. Upon making a withdrawal request, Unibet blocked the account and requested proof of ID. The player complied and made all documents requested available to Unibet. However, Unibet did not reinstate the account and informed the player his account would remain closed forever. In a similar complaint which SBR is also investigating, the same circumstances apply and Unibet was equally as tight-lipped to the player regarding their reason for shutting down the account.
Player:
[quote]Tell me the rule, that I have broken, please?[/quote]
Unibet:
[quote]Unibet does not need to explain its decisions.[/quote]
Unibet: [quote]2.3Unibet reserves the right, at its own discretion, at all times, to: Decline to open a Unibet Account and/or to close an existing Unibet Account, without any explanation whatsoever.[/quote]
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WSEX player reports payment
7/25/2010 2:38:50 AM -
A WSEX (SBR rating D) player reports payment. On July 8th the player contacted SBR for sportsbook dispute assistance, stating that he requested $1,500 on March 22nd. The player confirmed receiving his payout request today through Moneygram. This is the first WSEX payout report since July 9th. In total, WSEX is still slow-paying 51 players $259,034.
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BetUS (SBR rating C) Steals $6,000?
7/24/2010 12:51:21 PM -
BetUS (SBR rating C) has seized $6,000 from a player's balance due to correlated parlay wagers. On July 20th, the player wrote to SBR stating that his account was closed in April with a balance of roughly $16,000. BetUS investigated the player for "syndicate wagering" while his account was frozen, but ultimately concluded the player was not acting in concert with other account holders. BetUS states that it does not allow correlated parlays, and docked the player's balance $6,000.
BetUS:[quote]We did freeze the funds won from correlated parlays and sent him the remainder of his balance, per his request. Of course, we do have a correlated parlay rule on our Ts&Cs[/quote]
SBR reviewed the BetUS terms and conditions page and found only the following rule, which does not specifically mention correlated parlays:
[quote]Multiple wagers/parlays/if bets are not accepted where the outcome of one part of the wager contributes to the outcome of another.[/quote]
In addition to the ambiguity of the printed rule, which could apply to every parlay wager, the BetUS software does not prevent these bets from being accepted. The complaint is similar to the Sportsbook.com (SBR rating D-) confiscations, where players had thousands in winnings voided after placing wagers on correlated parlays. SBR is discussing the situation with BetUS.
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BetRevolution update
7/23/2010 3:04:53 PM -
BetRevolution (SBR rating D+) has been added to the SBR rating guide. On July 9th SBR reported that forum readers were discussing the sportsbook. SBR has completed a preliminary review of BetRevolution. BetRevolution claims that the company is located in Antigua while their servers are housed in Costa Rica. However, in addition to BetRevolution, the domain '
'
is also located on the same web server.
is a coffee supplier located in Costa Rica. BetRevolution management did not directly comment on this outside business and failed to provide any additional information in a planned e-mail followup to SBR's telephone interview. The BetRevolution marketing department is operated and managed in Canada. BetRevolution's introduction into online gaming forums was not without incident as the following two situations tarnished the perception readers had of the relatively unknown sportsbook.
1. BetRevolution operated a knock-off odds site called ShowMeOdds.com. The site used the same logo and displayed some of the same information as ShowMeTheOdds.com. After SBR inquired during its conference call with BetRevolution, BetRevolution first denied any knowledge of the ripoff site before SBR shared that it learned the site was being hosted on the same web server as BetRevolution. A member of BetRevolution management could not confirm the extent of the relationship with the site but stated that he would inquire with ownership. BetRevolution did not followup on the item with SBR as planned, and the site has since been taken off-line.
2. BetRevolution displayed a license on its website to an "Antiguan Gaming Commission". Forum readers at the Eye On Gambling website, where BetRevolution now advertises, were able to determine that the claim was false by contacting the Directorate of Offshore Gaming in Antigua to confirm the licensing agreement. The DOGA allegedly stated that no applications were submitted for the domain BetRevolution.com, and thus no such license existed.
BetRevolution addressed the situation by downplaying the matter as an honest mistake and that they were in the process of acquiring a license, despite the fact that on a blog designed to promote the BetRevolution brand, a fake license number was provided next to the Antiguan Gaming Commission logo.
BetRevolution: [quote]...we want to clearly state that we do not have an active gaming license with the Antiguan gaming commission. We recognize the value and confidence that such statement brings to the gaming community and now in retrospective to the EOG Forum. This is why we have made all the necessary arrangements, not only to have part of our operations located in Antigua, but also to be an applicant of such recognition.
It was our honest mistake and fault to have indicated in our content that we've already been granted with such license.[/quote]
Players are advised to proceed with extreme caution when choosing to play at any newly opened sportsbook, and can always write to SBR with feedback or for dispute assistance.
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