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Topic: #1 RATINGS and REVIEWS of SPORTS BOOKS thread. Poster input appreciated. - page 41. (Read 89558 times)

legendary
Activity: 3878
Merit: 1061
Directbet- You say that your profit margin is small. How are you going to make it by getting competitive odds? Your profit becomes non-existent. Something needs to be changed to keep up with the top books.

The new books just breaking in have to have a good sized bankrolls to absorb losses at the beginning. It's the same as any other business. You have to be able to hold out until profits roll in. Most individually owned restaurants go under. It will be the same for the new bitcoin books.
legendary
Activity: 3878
Merit: 1061
Face it guys, DIRECTBET sucks. They should be rated a C AT BEST.

They used to be decent with 1.85/1.85 odds but now they're awful with 1.70/1.70 odds.

Our odds are dynamic and change constantly. They can go as high as 1.92 / 1.92, depending mainly on how reliable they are.

Generally, you will be able to find better odds as we get closer to the event start time as odds are more reliable at that time.

When odds are not reliable they are reduced. The other option we have is not to offer these bets at all, but based on customers feedback we have concluded that it is better to offer bets at reduced odds rather than not offer them at all. You might not like them and can skip them if you like, but others might find them appealing.
  
Our odds can never be as low as 1.7 / 1.7 before the start of the game, but they might get low in extreme circumstances during the game when there is a lot of uncertainty. However, usually when that happens, it is for bets that are not offered by other Bitcoin sportbooks anyhow.

While the theoretical hold may appear very high at first, we have been very transparent on our thread by announcing that our actual profit to date is just 3%, mainly because bettors have the advantage of picking only the bets that they like most which are in their favor. Out of that 3%, we give back 1% to our most loyal customers through our VIP program and other promotions, bringing our gross profit before expenses down to 2%.

This profit margin is the minimum required to cover our operational costs and pay out affiliates. Should the profit margin increase in the future we will be able to increase the odds.

That's said, we have several big winners here so it's certainly possible to profit with existing odds.

Bitbook was brave to offer unrealistic high odds and we have all seen the result. They went out of business and didn't have enough to pay all their customers.

While our odds may not be the highest, we offer the highest security for your Bitcoins, 10 BTC monthly bonuses to those who frequently bet on our website, a unique feature that allows you to negotiate better odds and a very high max bet size.
I posted positives in the post above so now I'll address something that I like, but feel you are overrating. No deposit is not as big with a bitcoin book as a cash book. Huge balances aren't needed with the ease of deposits and withdrawals of the bitcoin books.
legendary
Activity: 1288
Merit: 1010
Face it guys, DIRECTBET sucks. They should be rated a C AT BEST.

They used to be decent with 1.85/1.85 odds but now they're awful with 1.70/1.70 odds.

Our odds are dynamic and change constantly. They can go as high as 1.92 / 1.92, depending mainly on how reliable they are.

Generally, you will be able to find better odds as we get closer to the event start time as odds are more reliable at that time.

When odds are not reliable they are reduced. The other option we have is not to offer these bets at all, but based on customers feedback we have concluded that it is better to offer bets at reduced odds rather than not offer them at all. You might not like them and can skip them if you like, but others might find them appealing.
 
Our odds can never be as low as 1.7 / 1.7 before the start of the game, but they might get low in extreme circumstances during the game when there is a lot of uncertainty. However, usually when that happens, it is for bets that are not offered by other Bitcoin sportbooks anyhow.

While the theoretical hold may appear very high at first, we have been very transparent on our thread by announcing that our actual profit to date is just 3%, mainly because bettors have the advantage of picking only the bets that they like most which are in their favor. Out of that 3%, we give back 1% to our most loyal customers through our VIP program and other promotions, bringing our gross profit before expenses down to 2%.

This profit margin is the minimum required to cover our operational costs and pay out affiliates. Should the profit margin increase in the future we will be able to increase the odds.

That's said, we have several big winners here so it's certainly possible to profit with existing odds.

Bitbook was brave to offer unrealistic high odds and we have all seen the result. They went out of business and didn't have enough to pay all their customers.

While our odds may not be the highest, we offer the highest security for your Bitcoins, 10 BTC monthly bonuses to those who frequently bet on our website, a unique feature that allows you to negotiate better odds and a very high max bet size.
legendary
Activity: 3878
Merit: 1061
DirectBet : Here are your positives.

1. High limits on live betting.
2. You accept bets immediately with 0 confirmations.
3. You pay fast.
4. No deposit required.
5. You paid me in an Olympic event where two people won golds. I did bring it to your attention and you still paid. The rules were rightfully changed subsequently.

there are many good things. Get competitive with live betting and it will really help since it must be ignored if the hold remains as high as it is right now.
full member
Activity: 179
Merit: 100
nitrogen
+good odds, fast automated payouts (normally)
-no live betting, lower betting limits, only offering ml and high risk other bets (only over/under 3, 3.5 goals with high scoring teams for example)

anoni
+live betting, lots of betting options
-lower odds, slower payouts, lower betting limits

directbet
+live betting, high limits, lots of betting options, no deposits
-slightly lower odds

about the odds, I only bet European sports.
legendary
Activity: 3878
Merit: 1061
DirectBet - I don't want to keep harping on the negatives of your book since there are positives so I'm just answering questions at this point. It's been posted on the forums by players that both Anonibet and Nitrogen are "A" rated books. Player survey has stated that Anonibet and Nitrogen are "A" rated books. I take all surveys seriously but multiple backings of a book must be taken more seriously than 1 or 2. Also, you posted in your thread asking for players to respond to the survey. That is the Chicago way to vote. We use the dead, stuff the ballot box and bus them in to vote.
legendary
Activity: 1288
Merit: 1010
I didn't say that I reduced your ratings because of low odds. I'm saying that I'm almost completely ignoring your live betting on American sports because of low odds.

Then please explain why we are rated B. I went over your criteria one by one and proved you that we are as good or better than your top rated sportsbook.

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DirectBet- If there isn't one player that states DirectBet is better or equal to Anonibet or Nitrogen, why do you think you should be rated close to those two books?

I don't recall anyone here who stated that Anonibet is better than DirectBet or Nitrogen, yet you still gave them the top rating A, above all others.
legendary
Activity: 3878
Merit: 1061
Anonibet will be an "A". Nitrogen will be a "B+". All other books will be a "B" or lower. "A"s and "B"s aren't going to be thrown around easily. SBOBitcoin will most likely be the third rated book. SBOBitcoin still does things that are confusing. They keep changing the exchange rate and using a go between for deposits/withdrawals that isn't liked by players.
legendary
Activity: 3878
Merit: 1061
DirectBet- If there isn't one player that states DirectBet is better or equal to Anonibet or Nitrogen, why do you think you should be rated close to those two books?

What you say is informative about your book and is appreciated. The ratings are determined for the players by the players.
legendary
Activity: 3878
Merit: 1061
DirectBet- You can't just toss out hold because it isn't listed in the criteria. If a book does something outrageous, it has to be considered.

Our odds, on average, are not lower than your top rated Bitcoin sportsbook, and if you factor in our bonuses and other promotions, you will see that our real odds are actually better.

So my question to you is, why did you reduce our rating due to "Low Odds", when our odds are not lower than your top rated sportsbook ?
I didn't say that I reduced your ratings because of low odds. I'm saying that I'm almost completely ignoring your live betting on American sports because of low odds.
legendary
Activity: 1288
Merit: 1010
DirectBet- You can't just toss out hold because it isn't listed in the criteria. If a book does something outrageous, it has to be considered.

Our odds, on average, are not lower than your top rated Bitcoin sportsbook, and if you factor in our bonuses and other promotions, you will see that our real odds are actually better.

So my question to you is, why did you reduce our rating due to "Low Odds", when our odds are not lower than your top rated sportsbook ?
legendary
Activity: 3878
Merit: 1061
Great feedback on DirectBet. It would be nice if posters do this with every book.

When comparing hold, all markets must be considered. Some books cater to soccer bettors and others want a different market.

DirectBet- You can't just toss out hold because it isn't listed in the criteria. If a book does something outrageous, it has to be considered. If a book has a maximum bet of .1 BTC on full game World Cup Soccer, as well as American sports, that book is almost useless even if they paid 1 second after the game went final.
full member
Activity: 210
Merit: 100
Face it guys, DIRECTBET sucks. They should be rated a C AT BEST.

They used to be decent with 1.85/1.85 odds but now they're awful with 1.70/1.70 odds. Other books like betcoinsports and Nitrogen (releasing live within the next couple weeks) offer -110 or -115 at most for live options. Thus, this book will become worthless shortly. No one cares about having a max of a large amount, what people care about is basically not getting scammed by the book with odds which is EXACTLY what this book is now doing. 1.20 / 2.9 is just one of their crap odds again that will NEVER EVER become competitive.

With the odds you have now, I'd be willing to bet that within 90 days, no one will be using your "book" (more like scam) anymore.
legendary
Activity: 1078
Merit: 1000
I just checked your odds vs. Anonibet's odds for today's MLB.

In all cases except 2, for each game one of you was marginally better on one side and the other book was marginally better on the other side.

In one case, Anonibet was marginally better on both sides, and on one game you were tied on one side and they were marginally better on the other side.

However, both books were offering non-competitive odds on at least one side but usually both.

E.g., right now:

Pinnacle: cincinatti 2.31
DirectBet               2.16
AnoniBet                2.15

Pinnacle: ST LOUIS 1.704
DirectBet                1.650
AnoniBet                1.700


I randomly chose the first game in the Pinnacle rotation, but you or anyone else is welcome to post a complete comparison chart of all games  (don't want to spend more time on it myself - just want to make clear didn't chose that game to try to show a biased result).
legendary
Activity: 1288
Merit: 1010
You aren’t "safer than all other Bitcoin sportbooks". Bitcoinsports.eu used the same betting solution without depositing, as we all know it was outright scam.

Bitcoinsports.eu did take deposits - from investors. This was a big red flag as it indicated financial insecurity and the investors were the ones who suffered most of the losses, or those who kept betting despite not receiving their winnings.

We on the other hand don't take deposits or investments. We also provide a guarantee that you will receive your winnings within an hour (or else you get a free 0.02 BTC bet !), so you have control of your Bitcoins as much as technically possible.

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User can be sure his money is safe only having them in his wallet. In this connection, the faster after the event has finished I see money in my wallet, the safer is a sportsbook. With your payment speed you can claim the middle place of the BTC sportsbook's list as a maximum.

We settle bets within minutes of the event completion. Our settlement speed is among the top in the industry.

I encourage you to audit us. Try placing the same bets on various different Bitcoin sportbooks, then average the settlement time and you will see that we are as good or better than others. If you do, please post the results.

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Furthermore, you ignore the simplest safety measures – you haven’t even tried to set up SSL certificate on your website.

Since we do not use the "Account" concept, i.e. you don't need to login to place a bet, there is no need for SSL certificate on our website.

SSL certificate protects the data that is exchanged between your web browser and our website. In our case, there is no sensitive data that needs to be protected and no harm can be caused to you due to a lack of SSL certificate.
legendary
Activity: 1078
Merit: 1000
Also, things like the following sometimes occur:

Gogo ppp - "Why did your site take down Connecticut and Wisconsin for "NCAA BB 2013/2014" "Outright Winner", and only leave up odds on Florida and Kentucky?

This was done with more than 30 minutes before the start of the Connecticut game, according to your own site."

DirectBet - "Most likely these options were taken down temporarily as we did not have reliable odds."

You also mention sometimes not having "reliable odds" in your FAQ.

It's fairly safe  to say that 35 minutes before some of the biggest NCAA Basketball games of the year (the Final Four playoffs) , every sportsbook in the world except yours had prices for all 4 teams for the 2 games.
I can't understand how you could not get "reliable odds" in a situation like that.

It also doesn't make sense to me that you could offer a price on one of the 2 teams in both matchups (you were able to come up with "reliable odds"), but not the other team.


Thanks for your feedback.

The bet that you are referring to, which was temporarily unavailable, was for the outright winner of the competition - not for the actual game that was about to start. The odds for such future bets are usually less reliable and these special bets are not offered by all sportsbooks. We do offer them when we can.




"The bet that you are referring to, which was temporarily unavailable, was for the outright winner of the competition - not for the actual game that was about to start."

Agree. That is what I was referring to - Odds to win the NCAA BB Championship.

Gogo ppp - ""Why did your site take down Connecticut and Wisconsin for "NCAA BB 2013/2014" "Outright Winner"..."


Every other book I checked had odds available for all 4 teams to win the NCAA BB Championship. About 35 minutes before the Connecticut game was to begin, you removed the odds for Connecticut to win the Championship but left up the odds for their opponent Florida.
legendary
Activity: 1288
Merit: 1010
Also, things like the following sometimes occur:

Gogo ppp - "Why did your site take down Connecticut and Wisconsin for "NCAA BB 2013/2014" "Outright Winner", and only leave up odds on Florida and Kentucky?

This was done with more than 30 minutes before the start of the Connecticut game, according to your own site."

DirectBet - "Most likely these options were taken down temporarily as we did not have reliable odds."

You also mention sometimes not having "reliable odds" in your FAQ.

It's fairly safe  to say that 35 minutes before some of the biggest NCAA Basketball games of the year (the Final Four playoffs) , every sportsbook in the world except yours had prices for all 4 teams for the 2 games.
I can't understand how you could not get "reliable odds" in a situation like that.

It also doesn't make sense to me that you could offer a price on one of the 2 teams in both matchups (you were able to come up with "reliable odds"), but not the other team.


Thanks for your feedback.

The bet that you are referring to, which was temporarily unavailable, was for the outright winner of the competition - not for the actual game that was about to start. The odds for such future bets are usually less reliable and these special bets are not offered by all sportsbooks. We do offer them when we can.
sr. member
Activity: 593
Merit: 271

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10. Interface. Ease of use is important.

That's a matter of taste but we believe our website is very quick, simple and easy to use.


Of course, that’s a matter of taste but your designer seems to have a diseased imagination.

sr. member
Activity: 593
Merit: 271

Quote
5. Limits. In general, the higher the limits, the deeper the bankroll of the sportsbook. If a bitcoin book takes high limits and pays out quickly, it shows its strength.

We offer higher limits than the Bitcoin sportbooks that you rated A. You can net profit up to 7.75 BTC from each bet, so for example, if the bet odds is 1.5 decimal, you can bet up to 15.5 BTC while other Bitcoin sportbooks typically limit it to 1-2 BTC max. Furthermore, unlike other sportbooks, we never limit winning players.


With your ridiculous prices your limits are useless. Any normal bettor won’t approach your site. It’s not a big deal to take big bets on the sides which are priced at 1.70/1.70.
sr. member
Activity: 593
Merit: 271

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it doesn't matter how long the book is in business. All that matters is what practices they are taking to protect users funds.

I've explained it in more details here : https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.5985065

We are the safest Bitcoin sportsbook for the simple reason that we do not take deposits and keep hold of your valuable Bitcoins, except during the lifetime of the bet and only the amount that you elected to bet. This period of time is kept to the minimum thanks to the fact that we settle all bets within an hour. Your Bitcoins are kept safe in your wallet under your control at all other times.

We are different than other Bitcoin sportbooks, who take deposits and keep hold of your Bitcoins for no good reason. By doing so, your Bitcoins are left vulnerable to theft or loss, and there is always the risk that the sportsbook will disappear, taking your Bitcoins along the way, or spend them on their operational costs, or use them to pay winning players, essentially turning into a Ponzi scheme, or otherwise prevent you from withdrawing for various dishonest reasons, as happened countless of times in the past.

In fact, to date, there hasn't been a single Bitcoin sportsbook that we are aware of, which ceased operation gracefylly and honored all withdrawal requests.

Currently, none of the other Bitcoin sportbooks take the necessary steps to truly protect deposits in a similar way that Poker Stars is doing in the on-line Poker industry for its Poker players, and therefore your Bitcoins are not safe in any of them.

I'm not claiming that we are safe as a bank, but for rating purposes we are safer than all other Bitcoin sportbooks.


You aren’t "safer than all other Bitcoin sportbooks". Bitcoinsports.eu used the same betting solution without depositing, as we all know it was outright scam. User can be sure his money is safe only having them in his wallet. In this connection, the faster after the event has finished I see money in my wallet, the safer is a sportsbook. With your payment speed you can claim the middle place of the BTC sportsbook's list as a maximum. Furthermore, you ignore the simplest safety measures – you haven’t even tried to set up SSL certificate on your website.

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