I see the informative thread about sportsbooks to stay away from was moved to the RR. I feel this is a very important type of thread to have here so that newbies or anyone in general dont deposit their hard earned money into fraud sportsbooks. I will start off listing the most obvious of the sportsbooks to stay away from, please add to this thread.
STAY AWAY FROM....
1. Sportsbook.com
Five Star,
First, thanks for the support in the now 'rubber-roomed' thread.
Initially, the thread was moved, because Wil had indicated someone made a 'farce' out of the thread (I think he was referencing GDEAD and namecalling - but GDEAD merely used the :happyass: icon at the bottom of the page. Not really sure what the use of that icon is for anyway). Understanding why the thread was move, I began another thread with a similar title. That thread was immediately merged to the one in the rubber room and I subsequently found myself on post review.
To Wil's credit he did respond (very early in the morning - indicating quite a long day on his part) to my email requesting an explanation for my being placed on post review (I did note a ban would be preferred to selective editing/posting of what I write).
Essentially, the explanation was (and I'm just paraphrasing the response - Wil is welcome to clarify) that only posters who actually had an issue with a sponsor in question could begin such a thread (so, five star, unless you have had a personal experience, I am unsure how long this thread will last). Wil noted I could begin a thread with a title along the lines of 'Sportsbook.com incorrectly grades parlays' (or something similar). He further noted I wouldn't be able to stand in a restaurant and notify incoming customers of the bad food or service ('see how long that would last' I think was the quote). Ultimately, if I wanted to address the sportsbook.com situation in the manner I had chosen to express myself then I should 'spend 100s of thousands of dollars to start a forum similar to the RX'
BTW, I would give Wil further credit in noting that RX is indeed a business. Certainly, they are willing to help out posters in disputes. But, worrying about the state of the online indiustry as a whole does not seem to be priority.
I think what was most upsetting in Wil's response is the insinuation that somehow I was unable to make an informed opinion/response about any sportsbooks (sponsors or not), unless I had a personal experience with them. It seemd as though only experience, not information, is the only tool one should use to arrive at a conclusion. It makes me wonder if I would be able to start a thread titled "DON'T have underage oral sex with someone in the State of Georgia". I will openly admit that back in 1986 (when I was 17) I was living on a military base in Mannheim, Germany with my family and have no personal experience of underage oral sex in Georgia.
I have long been a proponent of 'less is more' when it comes to government intervention. However, I was shocked over the course of the last 10-12 hours to begin to feel a change in attitude as it relates to the online industry. If we are unable to openly express our opinions and make warnings about verifiable missteps by sportsbooks, it might well be necessary for the government to do so.
Finally, Wil did take me off of post review. For that, he has my thanks (and my respect for being a military veteran). I realize this is a business, and the RX has the right to determine what (and in what manner) things are said. Hopefully, I've said this the "right" way.
So, after all of this, I would say "While I haven't ever posted at sportsbook.com (thanks to many board members and their warning), I would recommend anyone thinking about sending this operation cash read every article you can find on them before doing so"
