U.S. Customs

[eagle]

don't want to get personal- and don't think i use this forum for self interests. never gave a # to be reached very rarely even mentiond my company name. if you think i'm trying to pick up customers through this site, then you are very wrong. if it appears that i am, then i apoligize.

i'm only trying to set the record straight.never been to any of the books in the uk. have visited many books in the carib(costa rica, curacao, antigua, dominica, santo, dominigo, st. martin and st. kitts)and know that most of the operations are 100% legit and well backed.

i never said anything bad about the overseas books, never said they weren't any good. i just said the books in the caribbean were just as good if not better.

[Cons]

Eagle,

I only intended to make two things clear. First, that being based in the Caribbean doesn't add to a company's reputation as far as safety goes. It's impossible to say "We're safe and you can trust us because we're based in the Caribbean." But you could insert the World Australia or the UK and suddenly you'd have a point.

Having said that, I'm not saying it's a negative thing to be based in the Caribbean. For most books catering to US clients, like yours, I actually think it's the most sensible thing to do. Australia would provide you with the same weather and beaches, equal if not better telecommunications, but it would be a while from home, especially if home is the East Coast for you.

What I really respect though about people like you is your total dedication to this industry, while at the same time putting your own freedom on the line. It's quite possible that by landing on US soil you'll be arrested on the spot and won't see those Caribbean beaches for a loooong time. It's why I could never understand why Americans regard their country as the "land of the free..." "Home of the brave" - sure, but the free - I have my doubts. Especially after living in the state of Washington myself, and out of the four countries I have lived in, Washington seemed the most totalitarian and draconic place of them all. I'm not kidding. I still can't understand why the people there are so devoid of human rights yet still think they are free. Once they go abroad their eyes usually open up and they are no longer blind.

Good luck to you, and if you do in fact book soccer in an extensive way then maybe it's time you mentioned which book you're at. And if you even want to come to England, drop me a line and I'll pick you up at *****row and you can stay at my place. We can go on a tour of British bookies together...

[Cons]

*****row, H-E-A-T-H-R-O-W. Better. Why does it think of this as a "bad" word?

[boris]

I think the H-word is taboo because of the cretin that runs a (poor attempt at a) bulletin board/forum and tried spinning his crap on here.

[boris]

Eagle,
Thanks for the compliment around the patriotism, but the fact is I've been here long enough to hear plenty of people's cries about "XXXXX sportsbook won't pay, this one has shut down etc", and they all seem to have been US offshores, nowhere else. Coming from a population base such as the States, that's obviously more likely to happen, but the naivete of some people sending their money to some place they've never heard of other than some glossy ad in a magazine is unbelievable!
To your book (by the way is it on-line so I can take a look?), good luck in getting the reputation up to the standards of those on the left, if you reach that level then welcome aboard. To all those that get the endorsement (officially or unofficially) from this place, they've worked hard to get the nod from the guys here. But books in legalized major countries (not tiny islands whose economy rises exponentially during football season) do not require these endorsements, they've gone through a long legal process to get there.

By the way, NFL - real football? They kick it what, 5 times a game? Gimme a break!!!!

[Cons]

I agree. There's only one "real football," and that's the game that's played around the world, is the most popular game in the world, and holds all the audience records worldwide. In terms of audience figures, World Cup finals make the Superbowl look funny... And yeah, in real football, they kick the ball throughout the 90 mins.

[This message has been edited by Cons (edited 11-25-1999).]

[AussieVamp2]

eagle,

as far as believing turnover from the Carribean, we can't until we can see it and see it audited

something that obviously large public companies such as William Hill and Tabcorp are subjected to, so you can just go and grab the annual reports, or have them mailed anyway if you are a shareholder, to see exactly how many billions and billions of dollars they are turning over

[AussieVamp2]

Mad Dog,

What does WSEX have that other places don't? Only the interactive stuff, I think? Which is a different twist on spread betting - which of course is UK originated, and there are outlets elsewhere.

Obviously they have some US horse racing, which, as you say, people not in the US could care less about........

SOS as far as I see has US sports only plus of your standard vanilla kind with some if bets and reverse bet type stuff? Plus horse racing with a large US racetrack list, again, nothing that new or exciting, so your reasons for liking them in particular over anywhere else is?

[AussieVamp2]

MadDog - more on SOS

Was not particularly clear - but do they have toll free numbers for people not from the USA? Also, online betting seems to require a download? That is a huge pain, as you can only bet from one place, unless you are carrying a laptop around. Neither of these is good.

[AussieVamp2]

oh yeah, and luckily for them, some places are less prone to natural disasters than others, i.e. not in hurricane or earthquake rings of fire, etc., not that it can't happen

[Mad Dog]

AV2,

Let's compare the Antiguan books of WSEX, SOS and Premiere League and Carib (the 4 that I have accounts with) to the 3 Australian books of Megasports, DAS and Centrebet (2 of which I had accounts with).

Now I have already said that I just bet bases, football and hoops so I don't care if a book offers soccer, tennis, golf, horses etc. One thing I want is betting options. I want 1st half lines, 2nd half lines, 1/4 lines, props. With the 4 Antiguan books, no problem. Can I get these options with the 3 Aussie books mentioned? No I can't.

Also, I would like the ability to pick up my phone and transfer funds between books. 4 Antiguan books - yep takes about 15 minutes. 3 Aussie books - nope.

I would like the fees picked up when I send and receive money. All 4 books pick up the charge and SOS gives 1 free payout per month. Any of the 3 Aussie books pay the fees - nope.

Carib - 2 cent Tuesday
PL - 5 cent Friday
WSEX - 3% interest
SOS - 15% back on losses.

While I don't like the last 2 that much, I take advantage of the 1st 2 as much as I can.

Can you tell me the specials that DAS and Centrebet have right now (credit to Megasports they do offer a slightly reduced vig on some bets).

My point is that every bettor bets with a book for certain reasons. I'm not gonna detail all of those reasons for you, that's a choice each individual makes for himself. Do you really think I am better off having my money with the 3 Australian books?

I'm not knocking Aussie books. I'm sure for bettors that like soccer, tennis, rugby etc that they would be much bettor off with one of the Aussie books. But judging from the posts that I read, people here wanna bet mostly the traditional American sports (football, hockey, hoops, bases). In that sense, the European/Australian books just don't match up with the ones based in Antigua, Curacao and CR.

About SOS, I don't believe they have a number for Australia probably because they do not cater to that market. Do you have any idea what a toll free number from Antigua to Australia costs?

Boris,

"not tiny islands whose economy rises exponentially during football season"

That has to be one of the most ignorant statements that I have ever heard. Please tell me you don't actually think that way because you could not be more wrong.

[boris]

The only vision I've seen of some of these islands are on US TV shows which I'll care to ignore (sitcoms on holiday, that sort of crap), and live footage while the Australian cricket team has been over there. And first-hand accounts from numerous mates who have done the West Indies trip. And I still stand by what I said. Pick one of these islands with a big sportsbook, is the island/nation's Gross Domestic Product going to be drop dramatically if Big Brother Kyl was able to close a book down?

[AussieVamp2]

MadDog,

well there is your reason then, that is what I was interested in - 1/4 time lines? interesting, never seen those

Centrebet is certainly not particularly interested in the US market from what I can tell, so I wouldn't suggest them for that although NHL can be ok occasionally as they often round to prices like 1.75, etc., so can be a few cents better, and the usual pointspread shopping, although at 1.90...

We see Antigua etc. when the cricket team goes down there and gets harrassed

I would guess that for big punters, reduced vig is better than free money transfer though?

As far as money transfer goes - Boris says you can do it witht he Australian ones, never tried myself. DAS will put winnings/cash back on my credit card at no charge, btw.

Toll free number costs are not my problem
Now catering to one part of the world is ok - but will limit your turnover, won't it?
i.e. soccer betting by far the biggest apart from horse racing, and worldwide, so less likely to be problems due to government legislation such as ones relying on American custom.

Getting a cheque from centrebet never cost me anything, either, come to think of it.

[AussieVamp2]

Anyway, the point was not the betting options, which will obviously vary all over the place, but safety of cash on an overall scale.

Antigua etc. could be said to have some fairly 'liberal' legislation I have no idea what sort of probity and background checks etc., etc., bookmakers there have to go through, if they do at all? I do for Australia etc.

[reno]

When I read the scientific report that heading the ball in soccer causes brain damage--much like boxing--I started developing compassion for our Bettorsworld Members from non-USA countries who have played the soccer all of their lives. And when they make statements to the effect that soccer is "real football," I simply dismiss these statements as coming from someone who may have headed too many soccer balls.