Interesting topic, and by reading the replies, it makes me wonder.....Is it just a matter of time? I hope not.
Made my way into offshore wagering in 1997 with betmaker.com after hearing one of their reps discuss the industry on a local radio station. Frankly, I was pretty much convinced I was an idiot, as here I was sending western union funds to a guy I didn't know in a far off land.
Made several deposits to the company before requesting a payout, and when I did, all went smoothly.
Since then, I've played with WWTS, Sportingbet, Olympic, Grande, English Sports, and First Fidelity. The ONLY time I've even come close to a complaint was a few years back, when I made a withdraw request from ESB the day after the super bowl, and they told me I would have to wait several days because of the large volume of requests. Ended up getting paid two days later than I had hoped. As it was, probably turned out to be a blessing, because it kept me from ever playing with them again, so I feel rather fortunate.
As with the others, I have made numerous payout requests with each, and have NEVER!!! experienced a payout issue (knock knock).
I mainly play with 1- First Fidelity, because I have for almost five years without any complaints, and 2 - Olympic (Pretty new with them, but a reputation goes a long way in this business).....Would love to add Pinny to the list, but they don't deal with PPATM card, and whenever I inquire about Western Union, I get a different answer.
Dealing with offshore books, there is no way to guarantee your money is 100% safe ANYWHERE!....However, if you do your homework, and you stick with those that have been around for awhile without incident, you can greatly reduce your risk.
Deciding between, say an Olympic and an Uncle Joe The Bookie.com which just opened for business should be a no-brainer for anyone who has done their homework. And, say what you will about the RX forums and such, but these places have saved countless numbers of dollars to those who otherwise would be jumping into this hobby completely blind and uninformed.
I have only been scammed once....This was many many years ago with a Phone only offshore book that scammed me for about 500$.... I stupidly went on holidays for 3 months & left a balance there...when I got back they disputed my balance...I lost about 500$
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