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The Bone-Us ScamHow It WorksHow to play the Bonus Game This section is dedicated to those players that have joined Sportsbooks to receive a bonus only to learn later that their bonus will never leave their Sportsbook account. There are simply too many cases where a player unknowingly joins a Sportsbook by way of some special hook usually a bonus or improved odds then goes on the roll of a lifetime only later to learn the Sportsbook stop paying its customers. Sportsbooks have become quite creative with bonus programs, unfortunately many seem to think the correct spelling is "Bone-us". Be careful of any Sportsbook offering improved odds. Too often this type offer is an act of desperation or to overcome a tarnished reputation.
PART ONE How the "Bonus" scam works for the Sportsbook Take the example of a very large International Sportsbook now listed in The Sportbook Review Avoid List. They offered players a $25 free wager bonus for signing up with their Sportsbook with "no strings attached". A player would then sign-up and find $25 in their account, life is good so far. The player wagers the $25 and wins. The player now has $50 right, wrong, the player has $25. The Sportsbook has un expectantly removed the original bonus with absolutely nothing in writing explaining this would be the case. Now the player wagers his $25 and again wins and decides to take his $50 and move on. The Sportsbook refuses to send the player any money claiming "deceitful player practices", and then terminates the account. This actually happened in February 2000 during a review by Sportsbook Review. A more recent example involved a player who deposited $10,000 in a Sportsbook and received a $2000 bonus. The player followed all the stated bonus rules putting his entire deposit and bonus at risk through a series of bets that added up to over $14000. The player then requested his balance which now stood at $11,000. Not a bad deal, he gambled, lost a $1,000 but still gets to pull out more than his initial deposit. Imagine his surprised when his check arrived for $9,000. The Sportsbook, which is also now proudly listed in "The Avoid List", claimed the player had "simply joined the Sportsbook with the intent to defraud" pointing to a recorded conversation which the player was inquiring about the bonus. Whenever a Sportsbook is beaten they always fall back on "We were cheated".
TYPES OF SPORTSBOOK BONUSES Back end Match Play This tops our award for the top "Bone-Us". This bonus can only be used after the player has lost his initial deposit. It continually shows in the players account but can never be withdrawn and only be played after a player is wiped out. Even then, it is only a match play bonus allowing the player to wager it and if he wins he will have the exact same balance in his account. Avoid any Sportsbook with this type bonus. Front end Match Play Unfortunately this type bonus is becoming more popular as many Sportsbook are trying to get away from the straight bonus. This bonus you must wager and win as your first wager to be able to receive the bonus free and clear. Mathematically it is slightly less than half as valuable as a straight bonus. Straight Bonus
The straight bonus is the best bonus you can get. Its quite simple, the player receives the bonus credited directly into their account. To be able to withdraw the bonus the player must at some point have wagered an amount equal to their initial deposit. Some Sportsbooks however require the player to wager up to four or five times their initial deposit to earn the bonus free and clear. All the Sportsbooks recommended by Sportsbook Review offer straight bonuses. Currently, VIP Sports is the last major book that allows full withdraw after the initial deposit and bonus have been bet 1 time.
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