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Aces Gold. While many players were surprised, most professionals and other
gaming companies weren’t – any sportsbook that books irresponsibly, offers
“unique numbers” or unreasonable bonuses is always at risk of going under.
Although the industry has matured and companies with deep pockets like
Pinnacle Sports continue to pull away from the pack, as the end of the NFL
season approaches you should ask yourself an important question: How safe
is my money?
The sad reality that some players risk being slow paid or not paid at all
has still not been completely eliminated from the offshore industry. For
those of us that have followed offshore gaming since the beginning, the
only surprising thing about the recent failure of Rich Coast Sports is
that it happened during the regular season. The fact is that there is a
greater risk of failing sports books going out of business in the two
weeks after the Super Bowl than during any other period.
This has been a rough year for some sports books. Many that are
publicly-traded have already issued profit warnings to the markets citing:
“the NFL sports betting margins in the US have been adversely affected
recently as a result of a large number of favourites winning” or
“adversely affected by a run of poor trading results on professional
American Football”.
Books that cater to recreational players were hit particularly hard, since
the favorites covered at a 58% clip this season. Given many books have
chased the traditional “dog and under” sharp players to routinely take
positions on sides against the public, it has left them exposed to this
run of results.
The possibility that your money could disappear when a sports book goes
under is a frightening thought. However, with just a little planning, you
can greatly mitigate the risk and ease your mind. Start by making an
inventory of the sports books you use then ask yourself: Which of these
has ANY chance of going under?
Questions to ask yourself when evaluating these companies, include: How
long have they been in business? Are they offering uncharacteristically
large reload or sign-up bonuses? Perhaps they offer an increasing number
of no juice games or free half points? Are they putting out “unique
numbers” (a sure sign that they are gambling and not booking the games)?
What are the forums and gambling press saying?
The safest bet is to simply avoid playing at any place you fear losing
your money. If you choose to play at an unsafe book, keep your balance as
low as possible – only enough to make bets you know you will make.
After the Conference Championships are concluded on January 22, there are
two weeks before the Super Bowl. How much do you need at each book? You
want enough money to bet on the game and perhaps on props as well. If you
have already made your Super Bowl bets or aren’t making any bets at a
certain book, withdraw your money.
Most books in trouble will try making payouts in the weeks before the
Super Bowl as they are still collecting deposits and don’t want to do
anything to prevent those from drying up. If you wait until after the
Super Bowl, your odds of collecting from a failing sports book drops
drastically.
There’s another reason to keep less money at individual sportsbooks and
that’s all thanks to payment processors like NETeller. Your money at
NETeller is flexible since you can have it credited at most gaming
companies almost instantaneously. At Pinnacle Sports, NETeller payouts are
made seven days a week and the money is usually in your account within a
matter of minutes. If your sports book cannot offer this same level of
service, it may be another sign to lower your balance to avoid
disappointment.
While you’ll want to keep a healthy balance at books you play at
regularly, lesser-played books are best kept with balances sufficient for
only a few bets. If you see an opportunity, you can always re-deposit.
It’s one thing to make a conscious decision to risk money at a weak book
with a balance you can afford to lose. It’s quite another to get
blind-sided when your withdrawal request is denied and the sportsbook’s
website disappears. Spend 20 minutes to ensure your accounts are in order,
and you won’t have to worry on Monday, February 6.
You can however rest assured that your money is safe at Pinnacle Sports.
Established in 1998, our low margin wagering offers players up to 60%
better value on NFL sides than other books. This means we are a
high-volume, low-margin shop that always tries to balance action on games.
With low minimums and the highest limits online, we attract both novices
new to sports betting and seasoned pros alike.
Whether it’s the Monday after the Super Bowl or any other time, you’ll
always receive lightning-fast NETeller payouts at Pinnacle Sports. If you
don’t believe me, try us at pinnaclesports
We still have playoff games before the Super Bowl. Which teams do the wise
guys like? Read below…
Washington (+9) at Seattle
The Redskins’ offense was flat last week. They won, but managed only 136
yards of total offense. Washington forced three turnovers, including a
51-yard fumble return for a touchdown. The Bucs had over twice as many
yards, but were one for three in the red-zone. Everything that could go
wrong for Tampa Bay did, although the Redskins still looked lackluster.
Washington will need a perfect game to beat the Seahawks, which boast the
top scoring offense in the NFL at 28.2 points per game.
Our opener of Redskins +9 (-113) saw heavy two-way action. Washington is
clearly the public team, with twice as many wagers on them as on Seattle.
Overall, the larger bets have been on the Redskins, but we are still
relatively flat on the game. The sharps are split on this one and have
played both sides, with some buying Washington to +10 and others Seattle
to -7.5.
New England (+3) at Denver
Tom Brady is now 10-0 as a starter in playoff games for the Patriots. In
addition to his playoff streak, the Patriots won the final four regular
season games that he started and played the entire game (many Patriot
starters were rested against Miami in week 17). The Broncos are coming off
a bye week and could benefit from the return of cornerback Darrent
Williams. How much does that bye week matter? Since 1990, home teams off a
bye week in the playoffs are an impressive 40-10.
We opened with the Patriots at +3 (-112). Once again, the public likes the
underdog by a 2:1 margin and the wise guys are split. There has been a
moderate amount of point-buying, which makes a 3-point Denver win a bad
result for us.
Pittsburgh (+9.5) at Indianapolis
Despite being the only team in the AFC to make the playoffs six times in
the last seven years, the playoffs have been a general nightmare for the
Colts. In the last seven years, they are 2-3 in Wildcard games and 1-3 in
Divisional/Championship games. This Indy team has something those past
Colts teams didn’t – the #1 defense in the AFC, allowing just 15.4 points
per game.
This game opened with Pittsburgh at +10 (-111) and saw light volume. A few
of our winning players took the Steelers early at +10, but the sharps have
mainly avoided this match-up. We have taken slightly more Steelers action
that has caused this line to drift down to +9.5.
Carolina (+2.5) at Chicago
This game features the #1 and #2 defenses in the NFC. Chicago allows only
12.6 points per game, while Carolina gives up 15.2. The last time these
two teams played, the Bears recorded eight sacks on Jake Delhomme en route
to a 16-3 win.
From a bookmaking perspective, this game is almost a mirror of the New
England-Denver game. We opened with Panthers at +3 -111 and took heavy
two-way action. The wise guys were playing both sides buying off of the
“3”, setting up another reverse-middle situation for us. The line on the
game has now settled at Carolina +2.5 (+105).