Anyone Want To Bet If BetOnSports' Customers Will Get Their Money Back?

from the what-are-the-odds? dept

Thu, Aug 10th 2006 7:18pm — Mike Masnick

Following the arrest of BetOnSports' CEO as he passed through the US on his way back to Costa Rica, the site shut down while it dealt with its legal problems. With so much attention, the payment processors who worked with the company have bailed on them, saying they won't process payments any more. For the most part, that doesn't matter, since no one can use the site any more. However, for existing customers who already had bets in process with the site, there's a lot of money hanging out there -- and the company can't even give it back. The company claims it wants to give back the money, but is finding it difficult with the various payment processors not cooperating. Of course, given that some in Congress are trying to say that anyone doing any kind of betting online deserves jailtime, perhaps some of those who are out some cash on these bets should just be happy they're not going to jail and let the money go.

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38 Comments

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wulfman (profile), 10 Aug 2006 @ 8:44pm

betting
the government is a bunch of hippocrits they dont care if you gamble all your money away on the state lotteries. they dont care if you gamble all your money away in nevada they dont care if you gamble away all your money in indian casinos. no they want to tax it. its not about gambling its about TAXATION. we in the US should revolt againsd this crap. gambiling is legal where the web sites are located. they have no right to hole this person. GET A GRIP you government boneheads.
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dorpus, 10 Aug 2006 @ 10:26pm

Gambling on Unlikely highway events?
Surely, even bored American motorist has played the game before of betting on which chain stores will appear at the next highway exit.

I drove through rural Alabama on I-20 to get to Atlanta today. In the middle of the Appalachian mountains, where fog created a milky haze between trees and road signs overrun with kudzu vines, I stopped at a decrepit gas station to get breakfast. The station was so poor, they didn't even have real twinkies -- just fake "sponge cakes" in unlabelled plastic wrapping and coffee that tasted like burnt plywood.

As I pulled out of the gas station back onto the highway, there appeared a Starbucks store one block from the gas station, which wasn't there when I pulled in.

No, that had to be an apparition.
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dorpus, 10 Aug 2006 @ 10:54pm

See what you're missing in Alabama?
Looked a lot like these pics.

http://www.jjanthony.com/kudzu/sculptures.html
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Von, 10 Aug 2006 @ 11:16pm

Regulation!!!
Gambling for the Government is all about regulation and oversight.

You have about as much chance of getting fair gaming from these off-shore websites as you do dropping your money in a slot machine at an Indian Casino!

Both have ZERO oversight and the gambler has ZERO guarantee that you even have a CHANCE to win.

Nevada gaming is HUGELY regulated with gaming inspectors in every casino with full access to all areas and all records ... and the same with state lotteries.

Offshore gaming should be illegal until such time as OUR government has a way to guarantee its legitimacy ... which will probably be never!
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Lotso, 10 Aug 2006 @ 11:55pm

Von...
How about letting adults decide what they can do with their money? If adults want to take the risk, let them.

Government of the people, by the people, for the people.

It seems pretty clear that plenty of us "people" think it should be legal and are willing to risk the loss. For those that aren't, they can keep their wallets (and mouths) closed.

My 2 cents,
Lotso
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Lotso, 11 Aug 2006 @ 12:32am

So true...
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy."
- Ernest Benn

Love my country... Fear my government...
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Stan, 11 Aug 2006 @ 3:17am

Online Gambling is legitimate - leave people alone
Von above states that you have no idea if the online gambling site you use is legitimate...

"Both have ZERO oversight and the gambler has ZERO guarantee that you even have a CHANCE to win. "

But he goes on to say that the gov't lottery and regulated Las Vegas gambling are safe.

Okay, most of the online gambling sites are poker rooms, where you play against other people. You can also chat with them during the game, and in huge chatrooms. Everyone ponies up their money, and your winningsand losses are tallied up, and you can cash out your account whenever you want. If they started jerking around with peole everyone would be talking about it in the 24 hour chatroom.

But the real bottom line is the government has no business telling people how to run their lives. No one's being hurt. Why isn't the government catching the criminals, child molesters and illegal aliens instead of messing with law abiding citizens.

S Chicago
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Lotso, 11 Aug 2006 @ 3:38am

Stan is right...
Good point, Stan!

As it stands, the government is doing all of this to "prevent" anyone from getting hurt. However, this has been going on for a long time now and... Well... Who's been hurt?

The government, in their zeal to "protect" people from losing their money due to collections without payouts, just caused that exact thing to happen in this case! Didn't they?

Uncle Sam, oh Uncle dear, I thought that we were kin.
I've found the knife you said you'd lost. It's in my back again!
-Mel Osborne-
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dude, 11 Aug 2006 @ 4:34am

Wanna bet...
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wolff000, 11 Aug 2006 @ 6:33am

Can't Control An Honest Man
There are 2 reasons this kind of thing happens one has already been stated, taxes. The government can't tax these sites so they shut them down and make them illegal. The other is control if all the laws that don't need to be laws were taken off the books most of the population would be law abiding citizens there fore the government would lose control. The people in this country need to learn that. They don't care about our safety our well being just keeping the power they have. Our government has not been for the people by the people in over a hundred years maybe longer. if we want these laws to go away we have to make them go away ourselves. The revolution is now and we are all on one side or the other. If you aren't helping fight the hippocrasy then you are assisting it perpetuate.
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Ryan, 11 Aug 2006 @ 7:05am

so what if it's rigged
Ok, lets assume that all online gambling is rigged or fixed, and there's no way I can win.

why should you or anybody else care if I still choose to participate? It's MY money, I can do what I want with it. Stop trying to legislate against stupidity.

If an idiot wants to do something that won't hurt anybody but himself, let him.

I don't wanna hear the "kids can gamble online" argument either. If you're dumb enough to let your kid use your credit card to gamble you have 2 options:

1.) Report it stolen and send your kid to jail
2.) Pay the bill and chalk it up to bad parenting.

You can't legislate away personal responsibility and common sense. It won't work. It's the first step toward totalitarian government... letting them tell us what's best for us.

This is what happens when you sit people down in a room and say "ok make laws."

It's time we Americans closely examine the back of the barn wall... It looks like it keeps getting re-painted.
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pocket_2s_all_in, 11 Aug 2006 @ 7:09am

tax it
i say let the government tax it and open it up. then the land based casinos will start offering the same thing and we'll be able to regulate the US land based casinos. i'm tired of driving hours up to AC. let me gamble in my home
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Aug 2006 @ 7:51am

your all criminals
i think all of those morally bankrupt scumbags who gamble online should all be put in jail!
all 100million+ of them!
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Raven, 11 Aug 2006 @ 8:10am

Re: Von...
I completely agree...I think the larger issue here is that the bastardized democratic form of government we are holding on too should allow adults to spend the money they earned the way they see fit. This government should never have had a mandate to make personal values a matter of law, it needs to be re-organized and its power needs to be severely cut back.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Aug 2006 @ 8:14am

Re: Re: Von...
we don't have a democratic form of government. it's a republic. if it was a true democracy, we'd get to vote on every law. (i wish this were the case) but instead, we vote on a person to cast votes for us. and that's where the problem goes wrong. sure they'll say i'll vote this and i'll vote that. but when it comes down to it, it's their job they are worried about, and whoever can get them the most money will get their vote counted, not the country bumpkins that ellect them.

and it would sure be hard to tax an online company residing in a foreign country
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Clay, 11 Aug 2006 @ 8:24am

Re: your all criminals
(sigh), If you ever expect to be taken seriously online, you should stop using "your" when you mean "you're". In the future, just use "ur" in every case. It will save us all the time of wondering whether you're an idiot or your brain just stopped working.
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safusa, 11 Aug 2006 @ 8:27am

Taxes
The only reason I can see that they have a problem with it is, they can not get their percentage. It is all about money in their pockets. How many times have they passed a tax saying the money was going to go to education, or roads to only finds its way into the general fund, or someones pocket.
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Erstazi, 11 Aug 2006 @ 8:53am

Confused...
Maybe I missed something, maybe I am just blind. Is online betting illegal in the nation? or is this just Washington state? Last I knew, it was just Washington state. I need to start reading national news more!
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Erstazi, 11 Aug 2006 @ 9:01am

Re: Confused...
"The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act aims to update the Wire Act, which makes it illegal to place bets over the telephone, for the Internet era. The new law would make it explicitly clear that gambling using the Internet is illegal in the US, but it also seeks to target offshore gambling sites that are aimed at American users. Such sites are specifically forbidden from accepting credit cards, electronic funds transfers, or checks from US players. Penalties for violations have been raised from two to five years in jail, where your only gambling will be with cigarettes."
I guess this answered my question! Thanks google! (:

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English Assassin, 12 Aug 2006 @ 3:42am

And from the outside.......
This a is UK owned and run betting site (based in the Bahamas).

Over here the move is viewed as yet another "dictat of empire" as the good old USA seeks to impose its own laws on the rest of the world.

Not necessarily my own opinion BTW (I agree, it's probably about tax) - just how its percieved.

The fallout (hopefully not literally) fom this sort of thing goes way beyond the US own borders - just wish your legislators were a little less parochial.
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Raekwon, 14 Aug 2006 @ 7:54am

Makes me sick
I can't stand that we adults in America can't decide what to do with what little remains of our income after the demonocracy we live in gets there cut at every other end. Taxed when I make it, tax me every year in April, Tax me when I buy something. How the fuck am I supposed to survive? Now if I'd like to risk a little of my money and perhaps win some more, shouldn't I have the right to spend my $43.75 post tax income anyway I want? They've really already gotten their cut of any money made in any legitimate job. I really used to be proud to be an American, I can honestly say this is no longer the case. And for all those out there that will say, "then leave," or "good riddance;" you're just showing your ignorance. All is for power, all is for money. America is an Evil Corporation, they are the largest evil corporation in the world.
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Martin, 14 Aug 2006 @ 11:57am

Re: Makes me sick
daasa
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Poor Canada, 14 Aug 2006 @ 12:17pm

Betonsports: What is it all about ? really ?
The answer to the question: Will we get our money back as betonsports customers ???

I Hope, but I think I'll lose my 800$ US I had in my account. Good thing though that I had processed a payout of 1500$ the day before the site closed when I had no idea this story was about to happen. If only I had knew...24 hours before...I could really care less about this story as I probably should.

It makes me sick, that I'm a canadian and have to pay for a restraining order apparently against the US?? No guess what, it's against North America, you bunch of idiot. Don't you know, Catherine HANANANAway, that there is a country just north of the border of the US !! But that's right you probably don't know that

Anyway, I feel bad for all of the US customers and the rest in Canada that will lose whatever they had in their accounts...
Betonsports is shit.... They say they can't refund the money to the customer because of Neteller or Firepay refusing to do business with BOS. Couldn't they just sent the clients checks?? I requested payouts in the past by checks and not necessarely using E-wallets. It's just a lame excuse not to give our money back. And then, the US government said if BOS don't refund customers they could take this money ???!!!! There's the proof of the real purpose in all of this by the US government: Get their share in something they feel they have not found a way yet to get control over.

Catherine, is this really about shutting down gambling. If it is, well why don't you sue all of the based land casinos.. It's not ok to play poker on the internet but it is to go in a 'real' casino and do so. Come on !!!

Maybe the US government is more trying to counter attack the founder Gary Kaplan of BOS who was arrested in 1993 in NYC but was clever enough 8 years later to create an offshore web site. Hey US gov: feel like you got screwed by someone clever ??

I hope the US will sue every other gambling websites if they want to proove me the real reason of the present prosecution
Go after Bodog, Sportingbet, on and on
But as of today, all of them are well in operations. That is really logic !!!

A classic case of the US trying once again to be the 'king of the world' and imposed their moral values over other countries

Nice going USA, and sorry for all you bettors out there, we've been ripped.
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Craiger, 16 Aug 2006 @ 2:35pm

Sports Gambling
A good majority of the betting on these websites is on professional sports. If the US government had something similar to Canada (Proline in Ontario), I'm sure that most people would not have created on-line accounts betting with non-US companies.

I find it hard to believe that professional sports generates billions of dollars, but the US government hasn't capatilized on this.

It's funny how they don't want to abolish alcohol and tobacco (because of the profit they receive), despite the extreme health care costs and societal problems. They have led us to believe that gambling is the 'root of all evil'.

Give your head a shake.

Glad to be Canadian.
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Aaron, 16 Aug 2006 @ 2:38pm

I want my money
I had $16k on BOSpoker.com... I wasnt placing sports bets.. I want my money back!!
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Bilbo, 17 Aug 2006 @ 7:54am

Betonsports
I'll guess that people losing money due to the stupidity of their government is a fine reason for them
to

VOTE THE REPUBS OUT OF OFFICE

Need more reasons?
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Gitto di Parcana, 22 Aug 2006 @ 1:59am

I just got my money refunded!
Hey guys, I just received the balance I had with BOS. US$28,355 (out of US$36,000 in total). The processing company (Partullo PLC) kept US$7,645 for administrative fees. I am glad I got "lightly" fleeced. It could have been a bigger loss.

Hope you get your money soon!
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eric, 22 Aug 2006 @ 6:49pm

Re: I just got my money refunded!
How did you get your refund, did u call them or they called you also are in the us?. I'm still waiting to here some good news...
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Aaron, 23 Aug 2006 @ 1:36am

Money back
??? Did it just come in the mail?? or did they call you?? whats the deal? so it looks like theyre taking out 25%... please fill me in i had $16k on BOSpoker.com
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Andy Mucha, 24 Aug 2006 @ 5:50pm

Re: I just got my money refunded!
I called BOS on 8/14 and they took my # and email so they could contact me. I called BOS on 8/17 and they said it would be sent in a cashiers check. Did they call or email you to confirm an address?

Now the BOS # is not in service. Let me know any other contact info.
Thanks,
Andy
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zerocage, 24 Aug 2006 @ 8:02pm

Re: Re: I just got my money refunded!
It must be a scam...I can't even get an email anymore from them! I wish the person that "got paid" would respond!
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Poor Canada, 25 Aug 2006 @ 3:46pm

Re: Re: Re: I just got my money refunded!
Hey Zerocage,

Don't be fool by the one that says that he got his money back (28K)
Here is what happened to me which is TOTALLY honnest and I can forward you this email has a PROOF.

I wrote an email to the customer service, this address is on BOS web site.

They told me nobody has received any funds at all. They told me (i'm from Canada) they were looking at several opportunities regarding players residing outside the USA like myself. They told me they will contact me once one of these opportunities become viable. Also they ask me to provide them with my account number and name so that they will put me on their payment list.

That is the most I can get, which is the truth !!

People writing they got their money should send me some evidence !!! but that's right, nobody got their money back....
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eric, 6 Sep 2006 @ 6:00pm

Re: I just got my money refunded!
Any non-us customers heard anything new from BoS, I would think they would take care of you guys before us in the U.S. All I'm being told is that their working w/ the DOJ and hopefully in 2weeks-3months we should be paid. Are they giving you any reason for with holding you money since you dont live in the U.S.?
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Martin, CANADA, 10 Oct 2006 @ 2:58pm

Re: Re: I just got my money refunded!
I'm a non us customer of BOS. My 800$ balance was transfer to betcris.com

The only thing is that this money is now subject to the roll over rules of this site...
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anonymous, 6 Nov 2006 @ 6:50am

i hav bos shares i dont play just invest so do u t
i am so clueless n i h8 it when i dont get good service i did get an e-mail but it didn't say much...an some1 enlighten me (i am british)
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Anonymous Coward, 5 May 2007 @ 4:31pm

THE US GOVERNMENT FUCKED ME AND MY MONEY IN BETONSPORTS CAUSE THERE GREADY FUCKS. ITS THERE FAULT MY MONEY GOT STUCK IN THERE. AND THEY WONT EVEN HELP US CUSTOMERS GET IT BACK. FUCK THEM AND FUCK YOU 2
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BIG R, 19 Oct 2007 @ 1:52pm

my money
I want my fucken money back from these scumbags, I hope they all rott in hell. I hope US government rotts in hell for sticking there gready nose where it shouldnt be. If i want to bet Ill bet, its my fucken money. whoever wrote this article can go to fucken hell, i should be happy i dont go to jail??? for wat, SUCK MY FUCKEN DICK U FUCKEN HERBS how i know why terrorist bombing happens u fucken cock suckers
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Lotso is crazy, 19 Aug 2008 @ 3:51am

Re: Von...
LOTSO SAID: "How about letting adults decide what they can do with their money? If adults want to take the risk, let them.

Government of the people, by the people, for the people.

It seems pretty clear that plenty of us "people" think it should be legal and are willing to risk the loss. For those that aren't, they can keep their wallets (and mouths) closed."

OK, then how about you "decide" to buy gas at a service station that has diluted it with water to make more money? Hey, Lotso, you "decided" to buy gas there. It was your risk.

There's a reason stuff is regulated. You don't want ecoli in yr burger, you don't want water in yr gas. Same goes for gambling.

You obviously do not care if gambling is legitimate because you have no interest in it. However, your lack of interest does not eliminate the need for it to be regulated.
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