Black market operators are the betting platforms that have sketchy terms, are known for delaying payments or providing non responsive support, and in the worst case scenario – either refusing to pay out your winnings or locking you out of your account and losing any money on your balance.
That is not to say everyone suffers the same fate at these offshore black market sites, but it is not a risk we recommend anyone taking. You are best off choosing a sportsbook, peer to peer betting app, social sportsbook or even prediction market that has the necessary permissions to run in the US, and is guaranteed to pay out your winnings.
Blacklisted US Betting Platforms
The following sites are NOT regulated in the US, so we recommend you avoid them.
- Bovada
- Betonline
- BetUS
- Bodog
- SportsBetting ag
- Everygame
- MyBookie
- BetNow
- Bet105
Why You Should Avoid These Platforms
You may have even heard of a few of the blacklisted sites – they have strong marketing campaigns in the US – but they are not licensed sportsbooks that you can trust.
While some users have made positive reviews or feedback about any of our blacklisted sites, and you may not necessarily get scammed at any of them, betting at these sites means you are taking risks.
Unregulated, dodgy platforms try their best to pass of as valid US sportsbooks, but they don’t provide you with fair sports betting. Sure, if you win a little here and there, they don’t mind paying you out, not in most cases anyway. But where you should be worried is with those 6+ leg parlays or high stakes bets that win larger sums of money.
These platforms may refuse to pay out bigger winnings, throwing all the same old excuses such as: your bet didn’t count, the bet settlement conditions were not met, they need to verify your ID over and over again, or that there was an error and they have to cancel that order.
Sites and apps that are not regulated in the US (or have the necessary US permissions) do not fall under the oversight of your state’s gambling authority. You can’t complain to anyone or open a dispute with an authority, and the maximum you can do is leave a scathing review on a forum to warn other players of the dangers.
Taking a look at these forums and reviews is really the best way to understand the dangers – just look at all the stories of people who were refused service, locked out of their accounts, and ultimately lost their money.
Black market sites may not have the same KYC and AML requirements – some don’t ask your SSN details – but the info they do ask for may be compromising enough if it isn’t properly encrypted. It becomes especially concerning when you want to deposit funds or withdraw money out of your betting account.
They may provide you with dodgy, obscure payment methods or use third party organizations to manage the payment services. Thus, you don’t know who has access to your banking details. Payments can be blocked, take much longer to arrive, and in the worst case they may not arrive at all.
Licensed US sportsbooks can do this too, but when DraftKings or any of the others limit your account, it is because they suspect you may be abusing bonuses, arbitrage betting, or breaching some terms and conditions. However, these limits can be disputed and appealed.
At unregulated sportsbooks, you don’t have the same opportunities to appeal a limit or a ban. Some former black market bettors even cited sportsbooks deliberately close their accounts when they want to cash out big sums of money. A licensed sportsbook can’t do that, and you will get your chance to appeal a ban and overturn it if the sportsbook made a false assumption about your activity.
A lot of illegal gambling sites do not have proper responsible gambling initiatives. They may target US bettors with sky high welcome bonuses or perks, and shower them with seemingly lucrative offers. But these are not as valuable as they seem, with strict wagering requirements, and the experience can become sour when you want to cash out.
A lot of unregulated sites don’t even provide you with safer gambling tools, as they are not obliged to look out for your interests. Sure, you may find a few responsible gambling tools like deposit limits or even self exclusion – but the sites are not mandated to work with organizations that promote well being and the dangers of gambling addiction.
You don’t run any of these risks when using a licensed betting platform, or a sports betting app that is recognized in the US. These are not the only dangers either. Another rare but potentially devastating concern is that a blacklisted betting site may disappear entirely.
Blacklisted Sites May Suddenly Disappear
It sounds ludicrous, but unfortunately it is a very real possibility for sites to suddenly exit the US without much forewarning.
Any veteran poker fans out there who have been playing for 15+ years can tell you about the big Black Friday 2011 government crackdown. The operators running PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Cereus (Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet), were suddenly blocked by the FBI. The sites went down amid allegations of criminal misconduct, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of players’ money was confiscated.
While the money was eventually released and players received full or partial compensation for the funds they held on any of the sites, players had to wait until 2013 for the initial payments to arrive.
Black market sites always run the risk of being exposed and blocked by the US authorities, and bettors should be wary of these possibilities.
Duty of Care at US Sportsbooks
Because the customer is king at reliable US sportsbooks, and dodgy black market sites are just after your money. Sportsbooks that are registered in the US are bound by player protecting laws to ensure that all your personal information is safely guarded, the betting products and bonuses are fair, that your money is kept secure, and you have the tools you need to control your spending.
US sportsbooks provide a fair business model. They will not refuse to pay you out, as they have a reputation to protect and gambling legislation to maintain. These platforms are transparent about their fees, juice, and the requirements for their bonus bets or bet settlement policies.
Signs A Sportsbook is Untrustworthy
It can be tricky figuring out which sportsbooks are legit and which aren’t, especially if you consider the US also has peer to peer betting, DFS apps, social sportsbooks and prediction markets – all of which are regulated differently.
It is pretty complex, but fortunately, there are some universal signs that a betting site or sportsbook may be questionable. Spotting these early helps you avoid the untrustworthy, potentially dangerous gambling sites.
All sportsbooks have bad reviews, even the biggest ones in America, no betting platform is immune to the occasional poor review. However, sites that continuously get bad reviews, and ones that target specific areas, are cause for concern.
Reviews relating to wrong bet settlement, refusing to pay winnings, deliberately slow withdrawals, or support teams not replying to customer queries are massive red flags.
This is a tell tale sign of an offshore, black market betting site. In states that have not legalized sports betting, you won’t find any brands like DraftKings, FanDuel, or any of the other big names.
But you may find some sites that claim to be US sportsbooks, and extend their services to states with no legal sports betting. You can’t trust these, it is far better to look for a social sportsbook or DFS platform that has the legal permission to cater to US bettors in states that have not yet legalized sports betting.
Unregulated sites may not offer secure and approved payment methods. This is one of the most dangerous aspects of using black market sites, as you don’t know who the books are sharing your personal banking details with, or worse, they may use payment services linked to online payment fraud.
US banks will block payments conducted with these methods, but they cannot overturn any transfers that you authorize. While it is rare, we have read of cases where players received partial withdrawals, or their deposited funds were not added in one sum, but rather in increments.
The majority of black market sites are not actually based in the US. They may be regulated in jurisdictions like Curacao, Anjouan or Kahnawake, which are real gambling authorities, but they are not legally allowed to operate in the US.
If a sportsbook is not located in the US, then you should immediately check out its credentials. Some, like bet365, are not based in the US but they have the legal permissions and local tethered licenses to operate in the US. These are trustworthy, but sites that have no physical presence or US permissions are most likely offshore black market sites.
In the US, there are no federal gambling authorities for sports betting, it is all done at a state-level. Sportsbooks can obtain tethered licenses, make tribal partnerships, or partner up with state-run lotteries to get the necessary permissions to go live in a state. The laws vary drastically from state to state, and so figuring out which platforms are legal in your state requires special attention.
Peer to peer betting apps, DFS products, social sportsbooks and prediction markets have different regulations. The sweeps-style or DFS products are not legally defined as sports betting, so these platforms do not need to obtain licenses. Prediction markets can only run with the permission of the federally run CFTC – obtaining Designated Market Contracts to legally launch their prediction exchanges.
Picking Reliable Platforms Instead
Why do people choose unregulated betting sites in the first place? The most common reasons we found by asking and reviewing your feedback (and the feedback of the greater US betting community), are the following:
- Because there are no legal sportsbooks in my state
- No US sportsbooks support crypto
- The bonuses are better at unregulated sites
- They have fewer KYC requirements
Our argument here is that while yes, you may be unsatisfied with the legal US sportsbook offering or options out there, you should consider the following:
- “Because there are no legal sportsbooks in my state”
Not all US states have legalized sports betting, but you don’t have to turn to the black market. There are alternatives such as DFS platforms, peer to peer betting apps, and even social sportsbooks. If none will do, then you can always explore retail sports betting in your state.
- “No US sportsbooks support crypto”
No, licensed sportsbooks cannot accept crypto deposits or withdrawals, as there is no legislation yet and no legal precedents. There aren’t many platforms that support cryptocurrencies, but you can explore federally-regulated prediction markets like Kalshi or Polymarket that have provisions for crypto betting-style products.
- “The bonuses are better at unregulated sites”
We would argue, it depends on how you look at it. They tend to have much larger offers than licensed sportsbooks, as these sites do not have the same taxation, compliance fees and operating costs as officially recognized US sportsbooks. The offers themselves are not as lucrative as they seem at first, as the black market sites tend to drown them in high wagering requirements, win caps, game/bet contribution rates. This severely impacts the probability of you converting any of the bonus into cashable winnings.
Another thing to note is the policy on withdrawing unused deposited funds. US licensed sportsbooks generally allow you to withdraw deposited money that you haven’t used. But black market sites may have conditions such as 1x or 2x rollover on all deposits (even ones that aren’t used to claim match deposit bonuses).
- “They have fewer KYC requirements”
Black market sites may have less KYC requirements – they may not even ask for your SSN or ID verifying documents. But the reason US licensed sportsbooks require this is to make sure you are eligible to gamble. They cannot have underage gamblers, or fraudulent activity on the site.
These are the issues that make black market sites very dangerous and unstable. At licensed sportsbooks, you are getting premium service and the security assurances to back it up.
Learn About the Vast US Betting Scene
USA is rife with sports betting options. There are more than enough legal and officially recognized options for bettors in any state.
The major US sportsbooks like DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, etc, operate in the majority of states that have legal sports betting. But if you are not located in one of those states, you can always turn to:
Betting apps with sweeps-style betting products, including major US sports coverage, parlay building, and even social features to amplify the experience. These do not offer real money bets, so they are available in many states that haven’t legalized betting yet.
Bet directly against your peers in DFS-style contests or trading conventional US sports bets. There are even options that are available in states without legal real money sports betting.
Prediction Markets
These p2p betting platforms allow you to trade contracts against your peers and stake your predictions with real money. They are available across the country and have a wide range of sports betting-style products to offer.
