BetOnline

QUICK FACTS

Established in 2001

Located in Panama

cs@BetOnline.ag

One of the very few sportsbooks accepting players from any country in the world (absolutely no country restrictions)!

They are a privately-owned company whose CEO is Eddie Robbins III.

BetOnline donated 20,000$ to charity in 2009 after accepting a bet from the summit of Mount Everest. Technically, the bettor could not place the bet from the top of the mountain, but he was still able to do it from a very high distance above sea level. Details: https://www.betonline.ag/everest/mount-everest-winners.

 

They started out as BestLineSports, where their unique selling proposition at the time was to provide the best odds in the business.

The company moved into one of the nicest buildings in Panama in 2006.

The official domain is BetOnline.ag, where the “ag” part stands for Antigua-based websites. This is done for legal reasons; BetOnline.com still exists and can be used to create accounts, but wagering is done on BetOnline.ag.

 

pros

Great initial bonuses: This may be the best sportsbook regarding bonuses. They are awesome and very generous. A 50% signup bonus may not blow your mind, but its 2500$ limit should. Many bookmakers impose a limit that’s lower than 200$-300$; we are talking about 10 times that figure! Just to make sure things are crystal clear, if the amount of your first deposit is 5000$, you get a 2500$ bonus. As usual, you should read the terms and conditions (you must use a specific promo code and meet the 10x (ten times) rollover requirement, which is higher than normal).

Great reload bonuses: BetOnline also scores big when it comes to reload bonuses. Many sportsbooks don’t even offer one. The key things to know are that it’s a 25% reload bonus of up to 1000$ that comes along a 6x (six times) rollover requirement. Not all deposit methods apply so make sure you choose one that is accepted if you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity. Also, you cannot cash out within the first 30 days following your deposit.

Bet refunds: BetOnline wasn’t done yet with respect to sportsbook bonuses. You get reimbursed if your first live in-play bet loses (the most you can get back is 25$) and also if your first mobile sports bet loses (this time up to 50$).

Numerous propositions: If you like prop bets, you will be served well with BetOnline. Want evidence? Prior to Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals, I counted 65 NBA player props. There were also some game props (largest lead over/under 17.5 points, total made 3-point field goals, etc) and series props (total games over/under 5, where will the NBA Finals finish, etc). On MLB games, you get between 5 and 12 proposition bets depending on the match. Some examples that you don’t typically see on other sports betting sites: over/under 4.5 strikeouts by a starting pitcher, over/under 2.5 hits+runs+RBIs by a specific player, over/under 3 runs+hits+errors by both teams in the first inning, etc.

Above-average odds: Their lines are a bit more favorable to the players than the norm, but they are not in the elite tier yet. BetOnline’s baseball money lines are great with 10-cent juice (i.e. -105 vs -105), but we are moving to 20-cent lines on run lines and totals with 30-cent lines on team totals. Even a major sporting event like the NBA Finals had 20-cent lines, which is a bit disappointing. However, the money lines on Game 6 of the 2017 NHL Finals were Pittsburgh +123 versus Nashville -136, which corresponds to 13-cent lines (the juice on totals was only 11 cents). In other words, BetOnline beats several bookies in terms of low commissions but they don’t match the likes of Pinnacle and 5Dimes yet.

Market diversity: BetOnline offers odds on a wide variety of sports, including futsal, softball, snooker, pool, darts and eSports.

Big wagering limits: Betting limits are fairly high in general, though not the highest in the industry. However, players are allowed to place another bet on the same team by waiting one minute in-between bets. If the line changes, players are allowed to re-bet immediately without having to wait 60 seconds. That’s a nice feature for bigger gamblers.

Putting up lines swiftly: BetOnline tends to post odds earlier than most sites, which is nice if you like to take advantage of early lines. For example, you are very likely to find some NFL lines on Sunday evening for next week’s games.

cons

Trying not to honor bonuses: They are very strict regarding bonus rules. I very strongly advise that you read all of the fine prints before making your deposit. You may even want to ask them via their live chat if you are eligible for a bonus (based on your deposit method and depending on your situation, especially if we are talking about a reload bonus). If so, copy-paste the conversation and save it somewhere. Or ask via email so that you have written evidence. If the promotion says you need to enter a specific promo code upon making your deposit, then if you forget to do it the chances are very high they will refuse to honor the bonus. They are very picky. I am aware that reading bonus rules is very boring, but trust me it is worth it in terms of financial gains.

Hiding costly fees: I have read some complaints online about hidden payout fees. Again, inquire about such fees before requesting a withdrawal and make sure you have a written record of their response. It’s the best way to get them to comply in case of a dispute. Here is a nice tip: BetOnline is offering a 50$ discount on withdrawal fees on Fridays. So if your favorite method is not free of charge, wait until a Friday to place your request.

Weak client support: Taking good care of customers is high on BetOnline’s list of priorities, which is why they get each of their employees to take some training lessons before landing the job. However, several players have complained about customer service which has not always been very effective addressing the issues presented to them.

METHODS OF WITHDRAWAL
METHODS OF DEPOSIT
PLAYER EXPERIENCES

 

 

STORY 1

The following story is not related to BetOnline’s sportsbook, but rather its live casino. I still believe it is relevant since we are talking about the same company. BetOnline was caught in a pretty embarrassing scandal after a player posted a YouTube video showing one of their live blackjack dealers pulling a trick known as “dealing seconds” or “second deal”. In plain words, instead of dealing the player the very first card from the top of the shoe (as is the rule), the dealer slightly slid the card up and grabbed the second one. That’s an old cheating technique that raises a flurry of questions: why did the dealer do this? Was he acting on his own or following orders from BetOnline? See the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3-OssVlvgc

The article below also mentions there are strong indications that Brent Beckley, one of the co-founders of disgraced AbsolutePoker and who spent 14 months in jail, has landed a job at BetOnline!

SOURCE: https://www.casino.org/news/betonline-live-dealer-false-dealing-rumors

ANALYSIS: These stories put a blemish on BetOnline’s reputation. Does it mean you should avoid this sportsbook at all costs? Certainly not, but my job is to present you all the relevant information I find regarding sportsbooks and that’s what I’m doing here. It’s up to you to determine if those stories disturb you or not.

 

STORY 2

Here is a statement written by a commenter on BettingBrain.com: “Very shady 50% bonus promotion. They calculate the rollover on the deposit+BONUS and you can’t withdraw for 30 days. Their TERMS say “Bonus subject to 10x rollover”…very shady."

SOURCE: https://www.bettingbrain.com/sportsbooks/betonline/

ANALYSIS: Almost all sportsbooks calculate the rollover based on the deposit amount + the bonus amount. Nothing shady about that. The 30-day hold is not ideal, but I don’t see it as a big negative. All in all, what I found here does not bother me at all.

 

 

STORY 3

One more user comment found on BettingBrain.com: “Great service to help you deposit money, then they turn into complete D students when it comes to payout. Also, they have a super sneaky fine print that says when you use promo bonus dollars, it requires you to bet the initial bet amount over 10 times until you can get that money back. This means most people would just be putting the balance amount down time after time just to get to that amount, and then of course they will lose it on one of those. Your legit money gets tied in with the bonus dollars, so don’t think you’re getting anything back until you’ve bet over 10 times that initial deposit amount. DO NOT USE BETONLINE."

SOURCE: https://www.bettingbrain.com/sportsbooks/betonline/

ANALYSIS: As I said earlier, please do your homework before sending money to a sportsbook! I know we are all busy and want to do things quickly, but take the time to read the conditions associated with bonuses. You will get rewarded for the time spent doing it. That person should have known about the 10 times rollover before he made his deposit.

 

STORY 4

Here is what a poster on BigCoinGambling.com had to say: “I've been a member of Betonline for some time and they are an interesting site to play on, one of the major negatives for bitcoin depositors is that Betonline will charge you high fees on both deposits and withdraws through bitcoin, be sure to inquire with their live support to see if you can get withdrawal fees waived somehow."

SOURCE: https://bigcoingambling.com/sites/betonline/

ANALYSIS: Good to know, and a nice tip about asking them IN ADVANCE about their fees. Sportsbooks in general tend to offer much more generous terms when you inquire about them before you make your deposit. Once they have your money, they won’t care about you as much. That’s the harsh reality (which is not related to BetOnline in particular, but relates to all online bookmakers).

That being said, they seem to have removed all fees with respect to bitcoin deposits/withdrawals after receiving a lot of criticism from players (https://forum.bitcoingambling.io/threads/betonline-eliminate-2-bitcoin-withdrawal-fee.170/). Their website does not clearly mention this method is free of charge, so double check by asking them.

 

STORY 5

I share the pain of the guy who posted the following story on BettingBrain.com: “Their payouts are VERY fast. I have done the pay back CC, and express checks. HOWEVER, I am not a big fan of their bonuses because the 30 day wait til withdrawal isn’t readily noticeable. I deposited $200 with the 50% bonus, met the rollover requirement and put in for a withdrawal. It was denied because I hadn’t met the 30 day limit. Lo and behold, my account was at 11,000$ when I put in for the withdrawal and once denied, proceeded to lose it all. COMPLETELY my fault, but had the withdrawal gone through, I would have scaled back my wagers. I was so mad I found a different book that honors withdrawals daily which allows me to cash out and not bet above my head…"

SOURCE: https://www.bettingbrain.com/sportsbooks/betonline/

ANALYSIS: Ouch. The guy had met the rollover requirement, but needed to wait a few extra days before withdrawing his winnings. Instead of waiting patiently, he went on to lose his whole 11,000$ bankroll. Lesson learned: stay disciplined.

 

STORY 6

BetOnline accused a guy named Greg of cheating at poker and confiscated a whopping 65,000$. He filed a complaint and provided a lot of details about his situation on a discussion forum. A few more players followed up with similar stories.

SOURCE: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/28/internet-poker/unofficial-betonline-bol-discussion-thread-1127225/

ANALYSIS: The original poster acted perfectly. His message was clear, he provided a lot of evidence, saved all live chat sessions and emails and he remained polite. That’s the way to go when you have a dispute with an online casino. He and other players requested BetOnline to show evidence of their claims, but the casino never sent hand histories where the players supposedly cheated. All players ended up getting their funds back, but that was perhaps the biggest black mark on BetOnline’s history. It happened in 2011 so that was years ago, but it’s still worth noting.

 

STORY 7

A regular poster on Top100Bookmakers.com wrote the following review: “BetOnline had some problems in the past. They had to close down their business and players had to wait for their money. But BetOnline came back and did pay out their players. Now they have grown to a steady American bookmaker which also has some part of the business in Europe. They offer good odds and very good service."

SOURCE: http://www.top100bookmakers.com/comments/betonline.php

ANALYSIS: This seems like a good assessment of BetOnline’s current situation.

 

STORY 8

Let’s now quote a guy posting on BettingBrain.com: “Just want to make a warning to anyone about to use betonline. There is a history of hacking where people will enter their accounts and see large amounts of money gone or pending bets they did not make. Since usernames and passwords are in plain text and in view for customer service reps, it is assumed that employees are making these bets. This happened to me, and yes, I’m a little sour, but thought I’d inform some."

SOURCE: https://www.bettingbrain.com/sportsbooks/betonline/

ANALYSIS: Now, that’s the kind of story that can get me more worried. The poster says “there is a history of hacking”, but that’s the only occurrence of such claims I ever saw about BetOnline on various discussions forums. And I follow a lot of them. I’ll keep my ears open, but until I hear more similar stories from different sources, I remain confident about their trustworthiness.

 

STORY 9

A player from Russia got his account closed and his money confiscated by BetOnline. After looking at the whole thread below and reading between the lines, it seems to me like the player was sharing information with friends sitting at the same poker table as he was. That’s a form of cheating (called collusion) because he was getting an unfair advantage over other players. Casinos have ways to monitor this type of activity.

SOURCE: https://www.askgamblers.com/casino-complaints/account-b1265102

ANALYSIS: Some people cheat and when they get caught, they go online to complain and to try to get the bookie’s reputation. Please, don’t be that type of person.

 

 

 

 

 

BOTTOM LINE

This book is more focused towards North American sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and US college sports). As a result, it’s not surprising to note high popularity among US players.

Some bookies can be categorized as being more intended for either beginners or more experienced sports bettors, but in this case I believe BetOnline is good for both types of players. Their bonuses are outstanding, but please read the fine prints and ask their customer clerks about your eligibility BEFORE sending money; otherwise they will find ways to avoid honoring the bonus.

Some of the stories reported above are a source of concern, including the live blackjack cheating scandal, the likely hiring of Brent Beckley and how they wrongly accused a guy of cheating at poker while retaining his $65,000 bankroll. Granted, the reports have gotten better and better over the past few years.

I like how they focus on long-term relationships with their clients through their generous reload bonuses (as opposed to other bookies who only make good up-front offers). They have higher than average odds, large betting limits and several prop bets on the menu.