Is BetUS Legal In The USA For USA Players? No, BetUS has since pulled out of the United States market. They used to accept Americans and still do, provided they have an account, however if you do not currently have an account you will not be able to get a new account. Online sports betting is legal in the United States, and it is fully regulated in a few states so far (i.e. Nevada, New Jersey, West Virginia). This aspect is naturally taking longer to roll out than most states’ brick-and-mortar sports betting ventures.

Update (September 2020) – We are pleased to report that BetUS has undergone a total relaunch since we reported the issues outlined on this page.

The old team has been kicked to the curb, with new management and new investors in place to breathe new life into the brand. BetUS may have been established in 1994, but it’s most certainly a new beginning for the online sportsbook. Everyone involved is determined to build a new reputation. We aren’t quite sold on the bold claim of BetUS being “America’s Favorite Sportsbook”, but we are excited about the revised platform.

Read our BetUS review to discover why we now consider this sportsbook a premier destination for US bettors.

BetUS has a notorious history in the offshore industry and has taken players for hundreds of thousands of dollars at minimum since their inception in 1994. The book has a terrible reputation with US-based online sports bettors and has been one of the major offshore targets for their vitriol in the last decade plus.

In this article, we go over just some of the scams and tactics used by BetUS’s management over the years. There have been so many problems and complaints regarding this sportsbook that we could write three separate articles on their poor business practices and deception.

From reneging on bonus offers, changing terms and conditions on the fly and confiscating winnings from players with little explanation – this book is truly shameless.

Enticing Bonus and Website

We almost feel like a broken record when writing about these scam sportsbook articles, because we keep warning players about the same things over and again.

Like we’ve said about other scam sportsbooks in the past, appearances can be deceiving. BetUS has one of the nicest looking websites which offers a sleek and professional look[1] Their betting engine is excellent, and they have a large array of betting options, including live betting and mobile wagering.

On top of all that, they offer a litany of different deposit bonuses based on the amount players wish to deposit. The bonuses could go as high as $5,000 depending on how much a player makes with his first deposit.

But, BetUS does not stop there. They offer frequent reloads and VIP membership rewards program, as well.

Wow, it sure sounds like we’re shilling out BetUS to sports bettors, but that could not be further from the truth. BetUS touts to their players that they have the “the biggest bonuses in the business” which may be true, at least on paper.

However, players that win will realize they will have a hard time collecting their money from BetUS. All these bonus amounts and promotions do not cost the book anything unless they actually have to pay. Something that BetUS seems to pride itself in not doing.

Is betus legal in texas

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Last updated: February 2021

Even A Scam In The Heyday

Many online betting sites that were once industry leaders in the early to mid 2000s are now closed, and some have run off with player funds. Don’t get us wrong, there are still many active in the industry, but the UIGEA and the US DOJ’s crackdown on online sports betting seriously hurt the business.

Before the UIGEA passage in 2006, the online gambling world was growing at an exponential rate and online sportsbooks had been taking in hundreds of millions of bets each year. Oddsmakers who played it safe and understood the industry has a much better chance of being successful back then compared to today. That’s not to say that there were not still excellent options for US players now, but they were much better 10 years ago.

Even back then, circa 2004, BetUS was known as a scam sportsbook with a poor reputation. SBR first began reporting on BetUS in 2002 and had complaints of the book slow playing players. Even in this time of quick and simple payment processing for US players, (Neteller, other e-wallets) BetUS was regularly weeks or months late with withdrawal requests to players.

This news article on The RX details a situation where a player had $25,000 in funds in limbo with BetUS and had to settle for a deal for 2/3rds of his balance out of fear of losing the whole thing.[2] It also goes into the history behind BetUS and the two brothers that were once a part of NASA Sports but now both ran separate sportsbooks. One went on to run BetUS and the other BetOnSports.

The article did not have much nice to say in regards to the two Rizzo brothers, Joey and Tommy.

An anonymous sportsbook owner stated, ‘In this business, your word is your bond, if you say you are going to do something, you do it. THESE guys did not honor their word with me. After that, I wanted nothing more to do with them. The last thing I wanted was to have someone accidentally affiliate myself or my company with them.’

Players were forced to forfeit some of their winnings due to supposed non-recreational play and winning too much from bonuses or free plays – even though there were no restrictions on how much they could win via their bonus. Management also accused players of syndicate play or non-leisure play, another charge that came with almost no evidence.

Bettors were forced to negotiate for their fairly won balance with BetUS – because if they did not – they risked getting stiffed for the amount, even their original deposits. Players settled for substantially fewer amounts than they were entitled to receive. One player reportedly settled for $40,000 despite being owed a small six figure sum.

Scam Copycat Site

BetUS once owned and operated a domain at “bestsportsbookreview.com” which was designed to be a Sportsbook Review knockoff site. The site, not so shockingly, heavily promoted BetUS and picked them as their top recommended bookmaker.

The site was run directly from the sportsbook themselves and had a fake affiliate or advertiser as a cover up to their true intentions. This is a disgusting way to do business and without a doubt misled thousands of players into depositing at BetUS.

More Problems and One Dastardly Scam

In the next several years, forums and watchdog sites were full of complaints from players who had funds suck at BetUS or felt the wrath of management. This included altering bets after the wagers had been settled, voiding bonuses and winnings from bonuses and much more.

However, there was one tactic pulled by BetUS that might be the worst display of behavior we’ve ever seen from a rogue online sportsbook.

This story broke via SBR, and there was a lengthy discussion at Covers Forum in regards to BetUS’ scam[3][4]. A handicapper named John Morrison, the man behind the “John Morrison Chase Betting System” was working with BetUS.com to scam players. We assume the two had a lucrative affiliate type deal where Morrison received a large percentage of the players’ losses to BetUS.

Referring players to an online sportsbook for a percentage of the profits is perfectly respectable and how many webmasters make their living today. But, if that was all John Morrison and BetUS we would not be talking about them.

Things took a turn for the worse when players discovered that BetUS was offering alternate lines to John Morrison referred clients. For instance, if Morrison’s service pick was New York +7, BetUS would offer a line of +5 or +5.5 to those were referred by Morrison.

SBR verified that the alternate lines were only on picks that were released by Morrison’s service and always hurt the players that followed and paid for the picks. Because of BetUS’s line movement in relation to this play, bettors were being charged an effective price of -140 for their wagers as they were at least 1.5 points off the market price.

This despicable scam is a massive breach of players’ trust and highway robbery for a criminal tout in John Morrison and criminal sportsbook, BetUS.

The Future for BetUS?

BetUS is still receiving loads of complaints from players from lack of payment to bait n’ switch bonus scams and everything in between. Thankfully, for players, complaints are becoming less and less common as BetUS has absolutely spoiled any shred of dignity they had in the offshore industry.

Avoid BetUS at all costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is BetUS safe?

No and there are much better sportsbooks to use in the US. There are many examples of BetUS scamming their customers and we recommend visiting one of our top US Sportsbooks.

What is an alternative to BetUS?

We strongly recommend using proven betting providers with good reputation. At SBO.net our team prepared a list of the best sportsbooks for US users based on factors like licensing, reputation and bonus

Are US sportsbooks legal?

US sportsbooks are legal, but they are only permitted to take bets in certain states e.g Nevada. Many states across the US are currently reviewing their gambling laws so it’s becoming more common to bet legally.

What should I know before I start betting online?

Despite most sportsbooks being trustworthy, there are some that are an exception to the rule. We recommend you do a small background check before you start betting. The key things to look out for include licensing, reputation and customer service. These are all thing our team consider before recommending sites.

Refrences

[1] www.betus.com.pa – BetUS Homepage
[2] Angelciti / BetUS Saga More Insatiable Than… – The Rx Forum
[3] Sports Betting & Handicapper Scam: SBR investigates – SBR Newswire
[4] BetUS and John Morrison scam exposed – Covers Forum

patespates
I got a paper mailer from Betus.com and it offers a 60% deposit bonus and 60% reload bonus.
I attempted to read the terms and conditions but they were very long and difficult to understand.
60% bonus for sports betting sounds like a great deal. I might not be a good enough sports better to overcome a house disadvantage but I am certainly good enough to win with a 60% bonus.
Has anyone done this promotion? How does the bonus work? How does the reload work? Are there hidden conditions? Does this site pay out?
I have heard some bad reviews of this site but very little specific instances. Prompt payment is nice but I am more concerned with simply getting paid. If I have to wait a bit that doesn't bother me.
Should I use this site? I am thankful for any help you can give!
RictorRockets
Hmmm..well..I only went with BetUS.com because the Golden Touch people recommended them. Their site is very nice and easy to use, and the staff is friendly...I never played with the long enough to get a sense of if they were particularly bad or not, past the whole idea that the whole online casino industry seems rather crooked to me. I really take a dim view that I can't get my money back at any time I want without giving up my winnings if I don't hit a certain play through limit. And that they add the bonuses INTO the playthrough limit, even though it's not 'real' money per se.
So yeah, I guess I'm a bit soured on the entire industry...but I never found BetUS to be particularly bad. I would definitely get multiple opinions on that though.
ElCapitan
Allow me to help you out here as I have used them several times over the past few years (along with other online sports books). There are a few things to understand:
  • The bonus will be given to you in Free Play money - meaning you will bet it just like cash but it does not translate into free cash. If you win, only the winnings are deposited in your cash balance. Let me explain. Let's say you deposit $500 and they give you 60% bonus. Your account will look like $500 cash and $300 free play. So you make a Free Play bet at -110 and you win. Your free play balance goes down to $190 (minus the amount you risked) but your cash balance would go up to $600 (plus the amount you won). If you lose, obviously just your FP balance would decrease. So you basically can do this until your Free Play is gone and you only have a cash balance left.
  • All monies will have an associated rollover requirement with them before you can withdraw, usually between 6-10X, depending on what you negotiate. This is an 'amount wagered' requirement. So if you deposit $500, they give you $300 in free play and you must meet a 6X rollover that means you must WAGER (not win or lose) $4800 before you can withdraw money otherwise you usually forfeit the bonus. They have all kinds of requirements on what counts and what doesn't toward this rollover, like baseball only counts half, so it's best to establish that with a rep up front so you don't end up having a 20X rollover just because you like to bet MLB.
  • Betus has now implemented a wait time policy to go along with the roll over requirement. I believe it is 60 days now before you can make a withdrawal.
  • Their odds suck. There are tons of other online sportsbooks that offer much better odds.
  • In the past they were slow playing customers but I believe that has been resolved. If you do request a payout, however, they will make you fax in documents and try to drag it out as possible in the hopes that you keep betting and lose. They will pay you eventually if you are persistent.
  • Their fees for withdrawing can be pretty high especially if you are a small bettor.

They do have some pluses, though:
  • It's pretty easy to deposit there, especially if you are in the US. They accept all major CCs and usually can get them to go through no problem.
  • You can bet on just about anything
  • They have many, many different kind of bets
  • Their site is easy to use and understand

I'd recommend you check out some others first thought before you commit. You may not get a 60% bonus but the rollover requirements usually aren't so steep and the odds will be better.
BetPhoenix.com
BetJam.com
BetusRebateWager.com
Matchbook.com
Are all ones I have used. There are many others. If you are just into placing straight wagers (sides/totals) you really will not beat Matchbook in terms of odds because it is a betting exchange. The downside is that the interface can be a bit confusing and you have to pay a bit of attention, especially if you are making offers.
Hope that helped!
ElCapitan
Oh yeah, if you decide to use Betus, talk with a rep online and ask what they can give you. Don't just sign up and deposit. Always talk to someone.
patespates
Thanks for the help. I will call them to get some more specifics. I only bet NCAA and NFL football on sides and totals so this still might work well for me but I will certainly ask.
Caffiend

Has anyone done this promotion? How does the bonus work? How does the reload work? Are there hidden conditions? Does this site pay out?


SBR rates them a C, and lists several complaints about hidden or vague conditions. Most seriously, they're unclear on which bets count towards rollover requirements.
Less serious, but very irritating they've been known to collar people for non-recreational play with high rollover remaining. ie, limiting someone to $100 bets with $45,542 rollover left or a $50 limit with $97,740 left.
Caffiend
Betus

Thanks for the help. I will call them to get some more specifics. I only bet NCAA and NFL football on sides and totals so this still might work well for me but I will certainly ask.

Legal
Correlated bets won't count towards your rollover, so make sure you're only one one side per game. You might consider not betting a side and total on the same game to be on the safe side.
petro
BetUS is a well known semi-rouge casino.
See; http://forum.sbrforum.com/sportsbooks-industry/625831-betus-warning-video.html
It's not only this guy but almost all casio mediators have had serious problems with BetUS.
I would avoid this casino and move to greener pastures. :)
JIMMYFOCKER
Stay away, known scam artists.
Switch
Despite trying to contact them with no avail, they have blatantly taken proprietary games, such as 'Blackjack Switch', and installed them on their site without any contact to the inventor or offering any sort of payment for taking the games.
My view is that if they are unwilling to pay a fair price and resort to stealing proprietary games then how safe is the money that you deposit ?
I wouldn't even deposit $1 with a 10,000% bonus with this type of organisation. In my opinion, it's this type of business etiquette, rife in online gaming, that causes so many delays and problems for legalising online gaming in the US.
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