UPDATE: bet365.com has discontinued accepting players from USA. You however can still join Bodog.

Let’s face it… when it comes to choosing a sportsbook that is worthy of money there are really only four things that I need to evaluate. First, I need to know if I will be paid. Two, I want to know my transactions are secure. Third, I want to ensure that I can bet on anything I really care to bet on at any given moment, in other words, selection. And lastly, I want a quick easy to use interface. This one isn’t necessarily a deal breaker, but can make my frustration level of life sky rocket when it isn’t user-friendly. That is all it really takes to make an educated decision in the online sportsbook selection process.

My exposure of sports books isn’t the broadest, but I can tell you what I have learned from my own person personal experience and site usage. This will go a lot farther for you the readers than some of the short breathed, descriptions of the sports books other sites output.

Introduction via Intertops

Before I even knew of the watchdog groups, so I could make an educated decision on which sportsbook to join, the first one I joined was Intertops, a nice little site. Why little? Well as I began place bets on more and more sports, I soon realized they had a limited selection of sports in which to place bets on. Not to mention after the first few attempts to place bets, I increasingly got frustrated with the user interface. I couldn’t find the simple things, namely the withdrawal form. As time progressed, which wasn’t very long, I knew it was time to move on.

Bullish about Bogdog

At this point I had been hearing more and more from the media on Bogdog and this became my next stop. The interface was really easy to use with only some very minor issues that I could seriously live with. But once again, it became apparent Bogdog was still lacking something. It came to me when I decided to place a bet on an upcoming NASCAR race. I am one to always want to throw in some long shots, especially in NASCAR because you have a lot of variables in this sport. You never know when an engine will blow, a bad tire will go flat, or the front runners get taken out in a massive wreck. When I tried to place a bet on my man Martin Truex, I realized he had not odds which meant I had to take The Field. There had to be a place I could get odds on Truex.

IBAS for Security

At the same time, I was in the process of developing this site for other sports bettors. I found out the watchdog group you need to look for when selecting a sportsbook to join was IBAS or Independent Betting Arbitration Service. The sports books who are participants of this service basically surrender any betting conflicts to IBAS and must follow through with the final outcome as decided by IBAS.

bet365 a Slice of Heaven

So, this took me over to my listing of IBAS participating sports books. I visited everyone of the sites, but in the end decided on bet365. And it was a great choice. I have been with bet365 for more than 4 months now and all I can say is, “I love it!” Yes, once again there are some navigation issues with the site, but I have come to the realization this is to be common place no matter which sportsbook you join. The key factors that really stand out for me at bet365 are the number of drivers in NASCAR that have odds. Obviously, this was one of my factors for joining. But as I the WorldCup rolled around this past summer, I began to realize the real adventure in bet365— in-play, live betting. During the games, which I caught a decent amount given that the games were played during work hours here in the US, live betting became a favorite of mine. If there was way to make a game all the more interesting, no matter how bad the game was, this will do it.

So to wrap up this little piece, if you want the best online sportsbook gambling experience, take it from me and join bet365.

As I forge on to explore other sports books out there, I will continually update all of you here at the site, so stay tuned and bookmark the site. I definitely have my eye on one other book out there, so I will be giving it a run as soon as football season begins in about a month.

~Mavrick~