Written by Roberto Castiglioni
Friday, 10 December 2010 06:31

How to Choose a Gambling site

Learning how to choose a Sportsbook, Racebook, Poker room, Casino site requires patience, careful research and reliable information sources.

Web sites and chat rooms are plastered with gambling operators ads, making an educated and unbiased choice nearly impossible.

First and foremost, one must try to understand which operators are financially solid, and which aren’t. This is where web sites like TheOnlinewire.com and its trusted Sportsbook Comparison page come into play. We don't accept advertisement ads; we make our reviews independently, regardless of the relationship with a gambling operator.  Unfortunately, the same transparency doesn’t exist everywhere, and you should be especially wary of sites that claim they don’t accept advertisements. That claim is simply not true as everybody in this industry accepts advertisement money or affiliate deals. Period.

We have chosen alternative ways to sustain our business, primarily through our paid Directory listings. In the interest of full disclosure we need to say that gambling operators listed in our comparison pages pay us a referral fee when readers registers with them.

We want our readers to choose a sportsbook operator that will pay them on demand. That is why we keep our eyes and ears open when it comes to helping our readers choose a reputable sportsbook operator. And thanks to our privileged information network within the industry and our direct contact with bettors, we are able to spot and report on operators experiencing financial issues before anyone else. In the past, this has caused other web sites to accuse us of “jumping the gun”. We like to see it differently, because we’re here to make sure our readers are fully aware of any potential problems.

Because we use financial stability as a determining factor in our selection criteria, readers can pick and choose their next online sportsbook, poker room, racebook or online casino among those we’ve listed in our comparison pages with the utmost certainty that their hard-earned money will be in good hands.

Other factors to keep into consideration when choosing a gambling web site are:

Location: there is no such thing as a safe gaming jurisdiction. We at TheOnlinewire.com are the only web site operators who has ever succeeded in having a regulator (the Panamanian Gaming Commission) honor its guarantee to players when the crooks behind BetPanam ran with the money. Sadly, we have failed with Antigua because the regulators in that area protect the crooked operators. The notorious con man Eddie Hadeed lives well in Antigua, despite stiffing hundreds of players out of millions of dollars.

Costa Rica, where most offshore sportsbooks are based, doesn’t even have a gaming commission per se; it is the government who issues gaming licenses for a fee. We have come across and been directly in touch with the Maltese gaming commission, the Curacao gaming commission and the U.K. gaming commission to mention a few. If a sportsbook goes bust, they will stick to the rules and (maybe) assist you with your insinuation into the failed operator’s bankruptcy proceedings. You should realize that unless your future sportsbook is located in Panama or on the Isle of Man, you will be on your own if things go south. However, you should also bear in mind that we are usually able to provide independent assistance when readers find themselves dealing with complex situations.

Bonus offers: new sign up and reload bonuses tend to be more generous at the beginning of NFL season and before March Madness. Occasionally you will spot good bonus opportunities before other major events like the Kentucky Derby.  However, excessive bonus offers may be a major warning sign. The Golden Rule is the usual one: don’t choose an operator when the deal seems too good to be true.

When evaluating which bonus offers are excessive and which ones aren’t, some considerations should come into play: the sportsbook time in business. The older the operation, the more likely to be a financially viable one it is. Newer gambling sites offering huge sign up and re-up bonuses are a recipe for disaster. Today’s cost of operation is so high and the business environment so challenging that the mortality rate of newly established gambling operations easily nears 100%. Two easy ways to choose the safest bonus offers are to consult our comparison pages and to regularly visit our Offers directory which features selected bonus offers eclusive to our readers from trusted operators.

Once you have chosen your new sportsbook, racebook, poker room, online casino there are a couple of simple and effective instructions to always keep in mind.

Everybody makes mistakes and gambling operators aren’t an exception. It’s prudent to take note of your plays by taking screenshots of your wagering account when you enter them. It takes only few seconds, but it may become the determining factor in a dispute resolution process when the dispute concerns a misgrading or a bet voided for an alleged bad line. So don’t be lazy: always take a screenshot when you bet. It is added security for you.

In the unlikely event you raise a dispute with a gambling operator, try not to get too personal. It is a dispute like many others in life and it should be treated in a civil manner. If you feel you are better off delegating the resolution process, please feel free to contact us. We will do our utmost to assist you.