Note: This post was originally published in 2012, but the things that were posted nearly 2 years ago hold true to this day. Oddsmaker.ag is not a safe gambling site.
www.oddsmaker.ag (previously oddsmaker.com) is high profile scam site that poses as a legitimate online bookmaker. As of February 24, 2012 their website claims they are licensed by the Government of Curacao Netherlands Antilles which is false.
Of course where, if anywhere, they are licensed wouldn’t be a major concern if they were actually reputable. However, reputability and integrity are traits you won’t find within the oddsmaker.ag operation who is accused of unjustly confiscating more than $200,000 from their account holders in 2011, and just this past week stole $45,000 from a single account holder.
As you’ll learn in this article, the $245,000+ in thefts over the past 14 months are only a fraction of the cumulative amount oddsmaker.ag and their parent company Gametech Solutions (formerly Futurebet and iGaming Software *IGS*) have stolen from online gamblers over the past decade.
Before covering the latest oddsmaker.ag scams I believe it’s important to cover their parent company’s full history so you can see how this elaborate scam site has reached the level of exposure it has today.
Oddsmaker.ag Origins
The parent company behind oddsmaker.ag is Gametech Solution, which from 2002 until 2008 was known as Futurebet. They were then known as iGaming Software (IGS) before rebranding to their current name in mid-2010.
The reason for the name change is because their reputation as Futurebet was so poor the change was needed in order to find new clients (or perhaps better stated: to find new victims). In any case: getting on track here – the company started in 2002 as a licensee of World Gaming.
After “claiming” (not sure if it was true or not) that World Gaming stiffed them for $1.5 million they broke away from this group in 2003 and started their own sports betting and online casino software. This software was first used to launch their flagship gambling site BetonUSA.com.
Futurebet White Label Issues
A short time after launching BetOnUSA.com, Futurebet had an innovative idea to offer gambling affiliates their own self branded online gambling sites. This involved the affiliates paying an upfront fee between $25,000 to $75,000 (price determined by what features the affiliate wanted) and then Futurebet taking 30% of the net win as a royalty for providing the hosting, support, payment processing, betting odds and wagering, which allowed the affiliate to focus exclusively on marketing.
Although due to excessive processing fees, marketing fees, and support fees (added after the systems were sold) the results for affiliates were disappointing, it wasn’t until 2005 that the real scams started. Perhaps for reason that sales of $50,000 to $75,000 white label systems had slowed, Futurebet began slow paying and then eventually no paying players using white label skins.
In some cases excuses just carried on for months about payment processors, lost checks and wires, and in other cases Futurebet used “gotcha rules” or claimed “professional play” to confiscate balances. A handful of skin owners paid players out of their own pocket hoping Futurebet would reimburse them but in most cases this never happened and either the skin owners or players using the skin were stiffed.
Poker Site Failures
Once things slowed on the sports betting and casino fronts, Futurebet turned to scamming poker players. As covered in this Gametech Solutions Warning by OPS in late 2005, Futurebet became a white label provider of Ongame Poker Skins.
In short order they sold many rakeback providers their own custom solution, and through advertisements on 2+2 these skin owners were able to attract many high value players who raked thousands of dollars per month each.
Unfortunately for players a short while later Futurebet stopped paying licensees, who stopped paying affiliates, who stopped paying rakeback. The news Futurebet was in default on payments was all over gambling forum 2+2 and OnGame (to save their reputation) booted Futurebet from the network on October 5, 2006.
The fallout from Futurebet leaving Ongame was widespread, and Futurebet poker site (one of the most popular sites with 2+2 forum posters for rakeback) PokesPoker closed stiffing players for over $1 million dollars in unpaid cash out requests and account balances.
A month later (November 2006) Futurebet purchased the Dobrosoft network which powered only a small number of sites including PokerHost and PokerWorld. They then renamed this network the Digital Gaming Network and signed on well over 100 skins, the majority of them affiliates who purchased a Futurebet or IGS white label solution.
Skipping ahead Futurebet, by then named IGaming Software (IGS), would eventually stiff most players and skin owners of the Digital Gaming Network, before declaring bankruptcy March 2009. The same group then started Gametech Solutions in 2010 and now provides white label skins for the Merge Poker Network, as well as white label sportsbooks and casinos using their own Gametech Solutions software.
Oddsmaker.ag Established
As mentioned earlier in this article the original flagship site of Futurebet was BetOnUSA.com. All the time between scamming white label affiliates, players using the white labels, and bankrupting online poker networks, Futurebet continued to operate their flagship site BetonUSA.com.
However, before long this gambling site had such a poor reputation it was blacklisted on nearly all sportsbook rating guides. Futurebet then created a new flagship gambling site called oddsmaker.com (now oddsmaker.ag) as a means to a fresh start.
The first thing Futurebet did before starting marketing Oddsmaker in February 2007 was sell off all their deadbeat online gambling sites to Jazette Enterprises (AKA Domain Holdings) who ran websites such as sportsbook.com, playersonly.com and others.
Jazette, who is a shady operator themselves, used a strategy of hand picking accounts that never cashed out before, or had cashed out but shown high profitability and then just closed the accounts of anyone with a large balance. The accounts that were closed were stalled, ignored or told to contact Futurebet (who by this time no longer responded to inquiries) as Jazette claimed they had no knowledge of these specific player accounts.
Equipped with fresh proceeds of their major asset sale to Jazette, and with a marketing list built up for years that consisted of BetOnUSA.com clients, and former clients of failed white label skins, Futurebet gave Oddsmaker one of the largest marketing pushes the industry had ever seen.
Free Bankroll Scam
As covered in this Oddsmaker Warning by SBS, the first of many scams by Oddsmaker.com and Oddmaker.ag started right out of the gate and involved a no deposit bonus. What Oddsmaker did was send postal mail to their entire contact list that offered a $50.00 free bankroll.
This offer had a ton of strings attached and also required players to reach a $1500 balance in a limited number of bets, using no underdog wagers or parlays. It was structured in such a way 95+% of clients would never meet the requirements and those who did would often make a mistake by violating a fine print term included in the lengthy terms and conditions attached to this promo.
Of the very small percentage of clients who reached a $1500 bankroll without violating the terms, most of these players were flat out stiffed.
This free bankroll scam had some brilliance behind it; because, very few bettors were successful in their attempt to reach the required bankroll and therefore were unaware Oddsmaker had no intention of paying winners.
From here Oddsmaker had a marketing list of clients who already had an open account and were familiar with the betting software. They then used this list to solicit large first time deposits via amazing bonus offers such as 100% up to $2,500 cash bonuses (or similar) for high rollers and 50% up to $250 free for smaller players. Of course they were able to offer such bonuses because in most cases they just flat out stiffed anyone who won.
Losing Bettors Love Oddsmaker
In the minds of many unsuspecting sports betting fish (squares) Oddsmaker.com is hands down on the best online betting sites in the industry. This is because no other sports book offers as many bonuses and promotions as this group, and they are marketed all over the web and therefore must be legit.
Reality check: This how the scam grew. You see most sports bettors deposit, wager and keep wagering until they go bust. If you never make withdrawals or are losing far more than you cash out, of course the betting site will treat you well.
The reality however is Oddsmaker can afford the massive bonuses and promotions other sites can’t, because Oddsmaker has no intention of paying winners. If you’ve lost $5,000 with them, they might give you 20% back when cashing out because this is profitable long term.
However if you have a positive net career win and a $3,000 account balance, there is next to chance this group will pay your cash out request (perhaps the only hope under these circumstances is your betting activity reflect you might have just gotten lucky).
Oddsmaker Excessive Marketing
As far oddsmaker.ag being advertised all over the web, as reported by SBR this group spends over $1 million marketing per year to find new victims, and has one of the highest paying affiliate program in the online gambling industry.
This is an elaborate scam from a toxic company who has been robbing players for more than a decade. You can read about their recent $200,000 in 2011 thefts, and $45,000 stolen from a single player in this SBR thread. Please understand all reputable industry watchdogs including Sports Betting Sites, Sportsbook Review, Bookmakers Review and Casinomeister all rate oddsmaker.ag either F, Scam, or Rogue.
Please Avoid Oddsmaker and Futurebet
I strongly suggest avoiding Oddsmaker.ag, BetonUSA.com, and other Futurebet associated gambling sites such as Topbet.com if you care at all about the money you’re depositing into these sites.
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