Online sports betting has gained significant traction, especially in this year’s Olympics. Betting on sports over the Internet involves predicting the outcomes of matches and placing wagers on those predicted outcomes, but things are done online. The market size of online sports betting is estimated at over $48 billion in 2024.
However, despite the popularity of online sports betting platforms, only some websites that set the scene for this exciting activity are credible. Some are fly-by-night and after your money without giving you what you need in return. This article teaches how to avoid fraud in online sports betting, from choosing a website on sports betting licensed in Germany and other parts of the globe to how you can get help. Let’s begin the discussion.
How Online Sports Betting Frauds Work
Online sports betting frauds are illegal and unscrupulous activities that defraud or cheat either you, the player, or the online betting platform itself. These are against the governing rules in Internet gambling.
They basically work by taking advantage of the excitement and vulnerability of the bettors. Fraudsters may start luring them into unrealistic odds or bonuses. Then, they will disappear in thin air after deposits are made, just like when transacting with a seller on Facebook, and they suddenly block you when you make the payment or receive the item you did not order.
Other frauds are phishing schemes that stealing your personal and financial details, delaying payouts, manipulating results, double standards and vague terms and conditions, social media scams, and more. Fraudsters make this happen by also using technology versus technology to gain unfair advantages. You must outsmart them.
Common Types Of Online Sports Betting Fraud
Learning about how Internet sports betting frauds work is already scary, but what’s more frightening is the fact that there isn’t just a singular type of these frauds but a spectrum. Here’s the list.
Account Takeover
One of the most common Internet sports betting frauds that affects websites and apps. It happens when an evil third party accesses a user’s account. Simply, this occurs when they successfully steal their login credentials through a perfectly engineered setup or phishing scam. If this happens, you can lose your funds or have your personal information stolen for their illicit use.
Bonus Abuse
This happens both ways, from the sports betting operator’s end and that of the player’s. For the former, an operator can take advantage of the thrills of the bonuses to lure customers into shelling out and pouring their money without actually granting them the bonus. In other words, it’s a real scam.
On the part of the bettor, it happens if they exploit the terms and conditions of the bonus. The fraudster, a bettor, searches for an offer, and takes unfair and undue advantage. For instance, they may open multiple fake accounts.
Credit Card Fraud
Believe it or not, credit card fraud also exists in online sports betting. This fraud is common and involves stealing the credit card details of the bettors. Once the fraudsters can extract the credit card details from their victims, they use them for deposits, withdrawals, personal online shopping purchases, buying travel tickets, and the like.
Tips To Avoid Online Sports Betting Frauds
Fortunately, you can avoid those online sports betting frauds and scams. Simply follow these tips:
1. Prefer Only Established And Approved Platforms
Several sports betting websites will disclose information about their licenses and approvals. When they do, you can verify them with the gaming commission’s platform if you want to be sure.
2. Don’t Fall Victim To Tempting Ads
Advertisements are mostly art. While they are produced with the collaboration between the advertiser, business, and consumers, there are ads like pop-up ads, email spams, and text messages that offer nothing but scams, such as links in text messages that phish out your information when clicked.
3. Read The Fine Print Carefully
If an online sports betting website has bonuses but does not share terms and conditions, they’re more likely scams. Many Internet sports betting platforms offer incentives and bonuses that can be cloaked as sales pitches but are actually frauds. Be sure to carefully read the fine print to avoid falling victim. There’s a line that separates credible bonuses from scammy ones. Reading the terms and conditions will also warn you if your winnings can hold the possibility of getting frozen.
4. If It’s Too-Good-To-Be-True, It’s Fraud
Scams often cloak behind too-good-to-be-true promises. Some paid handicappers offer money-back guarantees and free picks if you make a losing wager. The “prizes” are enticing, but they are, of course, scams.
How To Bet On Sports Responsibly
Another strong and effective way to avoid online sports betting fraud is to bet responsibly. Below are the tips:
- Make sure sports betting is legal where you are. Do your homework and research. This is helpful when traveling and need to learn about the betting boundaries there. The last thing you want to happen is to use a betting website only to discover that it isn’t operating legally.
- Sometimes, being saved from scams is simply all about understanding online sports betting terminologies.
- Be familiar with betting statistics. This way, you won’t regret your decisions in the end only because you’ve interpreted the figures wrong.
- Set limits. At times, people fall victim to fraud not because the site is a scam but because they only failed to set limits on their betting and went for the “sky is the limit” mantra.
- Avoid high-risk betting. Never borrow money for gambling, never gamble if you are emotionally distressed and mentally stable, and never gamble if you’re drunk.
- Get help. There are institutions you can phone if you need people to guide you through the right track or if your loved one is losing themselves in gambling.
Knock On Wood, Fraud Should Not Happen To You
Online sports betting frauds are real, and you can’t do anything to vanish them because they’re already there in the first place. Like a bruise on your skin, you can take measures to resolve it. Knowing how these frauds work and implementing the right tips, you can have a fraud-free online sports betting lifestyle.
