There are licensed and unlicensed sportsbooks in the United States, and they both have their advantages and disadvantages. The main difference between these two kinds of sportsbooks is how much they charge and whether or not they follow the state laws which regulate the betting industry. Licensed sportsbooks follow all state regulations, limiting the amount that a bettor can bet, the types of bets that a sportsbook can make, and how they can transfer money between sportsbooks.
An unlicensed sportsbook does not follow the guidelines set forth by the commission, which regulates the sports industry in the United States. Often, an unlicensed sportsbook will be the sole provider of online betting, meaning that they will allow a sports bettor to place a bet, but they will not cover any of the costs associated with that bet. This scenario is commonly seen in online gambling settings where players want to win their stakes but do not want to pay for the actual payout, allowing them to keep making trips back to the site to place further bets.
The U.S. Department of Justice has taken a very dim view of this general sportsbook trend, and in recent years, the government has sent cease and desist orders to more than half of the online betting sites that we’re offering this service.
These sites were found to be illegally conducting gambling activities. In some cases, the conduct described did not even involve gambling. The unlicensed sportsbook circumvented the law by re-entering into a legal move but did not have the proper documents to back up the re-entry into the legal action. This matter would be illegal in the eyes of the law, and therefore, the Department of Justice sent cease and desist letters to these sites.
As more states begin to enact principles similar to German law, there will be less competition among unlicensed sportsbooks. Some speculate that because more states are making it illegal for unlicensed sportsbook operators to operate, the European-based betting services will move their operations over to the U.S. This occurrence is because they do not face the same problem as the German-based sportsbook operators.
Most licensed sportsbooks operate throughout the world and offer their services to individuals and licensed sportsbooks in many different countries. The idea that an unlicensed sportsbook could move its operations from one country to another might seem strange, but many legal sportsbooks have done so in the past. One day an unlicensed sportsbook may be able to run its sportsbook activities in every state, meaning that bettors from all around the world would be able to enjoy their betting activities.
For now, however, the best way to protect yourself against unlicensed sportsbooks are these helpful and realistic tips that the Singapore online sportsbook company 88Probett mentioned on the infographic below:
