The Safest Online Betting Sites for 2022

How Do You Know You Can Trust Our Sportsbook Ratings?

You’re here because you’re wise and cautious about who to trust when it comes to real money betting online. Odds are you’re also skeptical about us and wonder why you should trust our recommendations and ratings.

Here are some things you should know about our company that may help you trust us more.

Our team has decades of combined experience with online sports betting and online gambling.

We never accept bribes or payment in exchange for positive reviews or higher rankings.

Our reviewers are experienced and active sports bettors. We never recommend sites that we wouldn’t be willing to use ourselves.

Take a look at our in-depth reviews. You’ll see that each review is unique. That is because we take the time actually to try the site out and investigate it for ourselves.

Our reviews also include both the positives and the negatives. We don’t hide information from you or try to sugarcoat it.

The best way to know you can trust us when we say that these are the safest betting sites online is to take one of our recommendations for a test drive.

Once you have a positive experience with one of our recommended betting sites, you’ll be able to verify what we told you about each site. That allows you to see for yourself just how accurate our online gambling reviews and rankings are.

How to Recognize the Safest Online Sportsbooks

We want to empower you to find the safest online betting sites for yourself. That way, you can feel confident about the sportsbooks you choose to use, whether it’s one of our recommendations or not. So, here are some details that will help you recognize betting sites that are safe.

Licensing Information

It’s crucial that you choose to use a licensed online betting site. Licensing organizations have specific standards that they hold betting sites to, and those standards are designed to protect consumers. There are several different licensing organizations throughout the world.

Malta Gambling Authority – The MGA is one of the stricter licensing organizations. They have several standards, including requiring sites to submit to third-party auditing.

United Kingdom Gambling Commission – The UKGC is the gold standard for online gambling licensing. Some of their requirements include strict age and identity verification standards.

Curacao e-Gaming – Curacao e-Gaming is a more operator-friendly licensing organization. Many online gambling sites choose a license from Curacao because it is less expensive and there are fewer standards. However, several reputable betting sites are licensed in Curacao.

It’s essential to understand that you do not need to limit yourself to betting sites that are licensed in your country.All of these organizations authorize sites to operate internationally.

Some licensing organizations, including the UKGC and MGA, don’t allow their clients to accept players from the US because the US doesn’t have federal gambling laws. As a result, you will notice most USA sites are licensed in Curacao or elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Established Company Reputation

The online gambling community looks out for each other. When people have a terrible experience with a betting site, they visit forums and websites to complain and air out their grievances. As a matter of fact, consistent complaints from several customers exposed the Absolute Poker scandal in the early 2000s.

So, when you’re looking for safe sportsbooks, we recommend taking some time to check out online forums and other websites. Here are some things to keep in mind when you research.

Remember to take complaints with a grain of salt. Sometimes disgruntled players complain because they lost. Look for patterns with several customers complaining about the same thing instead of individual complaints.

Another thing to consider is whether the site responds or resolves the issue. Sites that are willing to address customer concerns are far more trustworthy than sites that ignore them.

It takes time to establish a reputation. That is why it is important to consider how long a company has been in business. Maintaining a positive reputation for a year is not nearly as impressive as maintaining one for a decade.

Many reliable betting sites are owned and operated by the same corporations. For example, BetOnline and SportsBetting both have the same parent company.

It is crucial to consider the company that owns the site, not just the site. A new online sportsbook may be trustworthy if the company that operates it has a well-established positive reputation.

As long as you know how to interpret the information you find, online forums can be an excellent source for learning about a site’s reputation. Sometimes, that is the best way to find safe sports betting sites.

Timely Payouts with Reasonable Limits

When looking for the safest betting sites, it is crucial to find sites that properly manage their finances.

The most significant indication of poorly managed finances is a site that refuses to pay its customers or delays payments. On the other hand, sites that pay customers efficiently are more likely to be trustworthy betting sites.

Online gambling withdrawals do take time. The site has to verify your identity, check your history to ensure you weren’t cheating, and make sure you have cleared rollover requirements.

So, it’s reasonable for sites to take 1-2 business days to process and approve your transaction. This process may take even longer in the US because of complex online payment laws.

If it takes more than a week for a site to approve your transaction, that is a red flag.

Security Measures

It’s imperative that the betting operator has security measures in place to protect their customers’ personal and financial information. For example, the site should have SSL encryption to protect your information from hackers. You can quickly check to see if a site has SSL encryption by checking for a padlock icon in the URL bar.

Secure betting sites do not always publish information about the security measures they use. Making that information publicly available would make it too easy for hackers to access.

However, you should check the site’s terms and conditions page to see what kind of information you can find. Look for statements that describe their commitment to protecting customers with security protocols.

Reputable Software Providers

Most online sportsbooks use software created by a separate company to facilitate the betting aspects of their site. Typical software providers include BetRadar, SBTech, BetConstruct, Digitain, and Pinnacle.

The software provider a sportsbook uses will affect your betting experience, including the betting markets you have access to and the odds for each wager.

Finding out which software provider a specific site uses can give you information about the company. For example, BetConstruct works primarily with sites licensed by the UKGC or MGA. Therefore, most of their betting markets focus on European sporting events.

MyBookie uses software from Digital Gaming Solutions. It’s a reputable software provider for several legit US sports betting sites.

Then, you can do some research on the software provider to see what kinds of companies they are doing business with. If several other sites that use the same software offer safe online sports betting, you can probably trust the site.

Additional Betting Site Features

Once you have found a safe and trustworthy betting site, you want to make sure it has all the features you’re looking for. Here are some additional betting features to look for.

Wide Variety of Betting Options – Make sure the site has both domestic and international sports and several different types of wagers.

Sports Betting Bonuses – You can get rewarded for betting online. Many sites offer free bets, deposit bonuses, and enhanced odds to reward their customers.

Mobile Compatibility – Look for betting sites that allow you to conveniently bet while you are on the go with mobile betting apps.

Live Betting – This feature allows you to place your bets during the game with up-to-the-minute odds.

Early Cashouts – You can save money when you know your bets aren’t going the direction you want them to with early cashouts.

Bet Builders – Props builders and other bet builders allow you to create your own betting scenarios.

There are plenty of safe online sportsbooks that offer features like in-play betting and early cash-outs, as well as action on dozens of sports and hundreds of markets. If there is anything to takeaway from this, it’s that you don’t have to sacrifice quality and variety to bet online safely. 

Safe Mobile Betting

The convenience of smartphones makes it possible to enjoy sports betting anywhere. If you plan to bet on your phone or tablet, it’s crucial to find the safest sports betting app possible. You also need to take some extra precautions to protect yourself when you’re betting in public.

With that in mind, here are a few examples of things you can do to stay safe while betting on a mobile device.

• Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks because they’re more open to hacking. Use a private network or mobile data instead.
• Be mindful of the people around you. For example, you don’t want other people overhearing your account information if you need to call customer service.
• Make sure your device has a lock feature, and never leave your device open and unattended.

These simple precautions can protect you in a variety of situations. But the most important thing you can do to bet online safely is choose a safe betting app. Check out our app recommendations for more information on mobile betting.

How to Avoid Blacklisted Sportsbooks

Sometimes the best way to find the safest sports betting sites is by avoiding the unsafe ones. However, scam sites are very good at looking legitimate. You might end up using an untrustworthy site for months, and you would never know it until a specific issue comes up – when it’s too late.

So, here are some things to watch out for.

• Refusing Payouts – The most common way scam sportsbooks take advantage of customers is by collecting their money and then refusing to pay when the customer wins. If you see complaints of a site refusing to pay out, avoid it.
• Rigged Games and Odds – Some betting sites trick their customers by offering rigged games or odds. That is not always easy to identify, which is why it is wise to compare odds on multiple betting sites.
• Predatory Terms and Conditions – Blacklisted sportsbooks often sneak unfair rules into the terms and conditions. These rules make it impossible for you to win and give the site the right to refuse to pay you.
• Identity Theft – You have to trust sportsbooks with your personal information. That often means sending them a copy of your ID and other documentation. Secure betting sites protect that information, but blacklisted sites do not.
• Viruses or Malware – Some sites may try to convince you to download their software or app to your device. These downloads may include viruses, adware, malware, or spyware. Make sure you use antivirus software to protect yourself.

Now that you know what to look for, you’ll be more likely to recognize blacklisted sportsbooks. Trust your gut, and choose a different site if something feels off. You can always compare your intuition with our list of known scam betting sites to make doubly sure.

We have also created a blacklist of known scam sites that you should definitely avoid. Check out this page for more information.

Internet Safety Tips for Safer Online Betting

Choosing to use the safest sites to bet on sports is just one of the ways you can protect yourself. There are several internet safety tips that can protect you even more while you bet online.

• Choose a strong password. There is a reason every internet site requires you to create a password that is at least eight characters long and includes numbers, letters, and special characters. More than 80% of data breaches are caused by poor password security.
• Don’t use the same password for every site, and change your password regularly.
• Use multi-factor authentication or two-step verification. That way, even if a hacker gets ahold of your account, they won’t be able to log in and access your information.
• Monitor your accounts regularly. Some bettors only want to bet on specific sports, like football. That is fine, but you still need to log in and check your account during the off-season. That way, you can catch unauthorized transactions before it is too late.
• Never click on suspicious emails. Hackers are very good at making emails appear like they come from a betting site or other official source. If you are unsure, don’t click any links. You can always contact customer service to find out if an offer is legitimate.

Start Betting Online Safely Now

Betting online can seem intimidating or insecure. Many people worry about their information getting stolen or not having access to their money.

Unfortunately, those concerns can be more prevalent for online gambling than other online activities. But as long as you use trusted betting websites and common-sense internet protection practices, you have nothing to worry about.

It is absolutely possible to bet online securely. The reputable online sportsbooks we recommend go to great lengths to protect their customers. Check out these recommendations to start betting online for real money today.

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