BetOnline Review

Although best known for its sportsbook, www.BetOnline.ag is an all-in-one gambling site that also offers casino and poker games. It occupies the number three spot in our overall US ranking and is considered trustworthy by US players.

They have had no significant bad press, other than around 2011 when the launch of their poker site caused one problem after another (more on that below).

BetOnline.ag has been in operation since 2004 (though its roots go back to 1991) and is currently licensed in Panama. If you're wondering about the strange Betonline.ag domain, the site started out as BetOnline.com, but switched to .ag in 2012 due to increased pressure from the Department of Justice (the DOJ seized many .com gambling domains in 2011).

They and many others took a precautionary measure and changed domain names.

Is BetOnline Legit?

Of course, there may now be a more favored group for US players, and they are by no means a scam. Don't take the word of a few disgruntled players who may knock BetOnline because they lost their money and weren't satisfied with the outcome. Really, it's amazingly unexpected.

They are also trustworthy when it comes to paying out winnings. They also offer unlimited betting and casino games. We'll dissect all of this later in this review, and it's some really exciting stuff.

The Good Stuff

They Welcome US Gamblers

BetOnline accepts customers from every state in the U.S. and is one of the very few online sportsbooks to do so (in fact, I was unable to find any other online book with a similar reputation). They get an A+ from me for credit card accessibility, which is something a lot of US based online sportsbooks struggle with. Reports from several gambling forums suggest that they have a really high success rate for credit card deposits.

Great Banking Options

Since 2006 and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, US players have had a real problem when it comes to funding their games and collecting their winnings. BetOnline seems to have the best banking options of any online gaming site in the US market.

Quality Sportsbook

The Bad Stuff

We prefer to deliver the bad news as early as possible. So that's what we're going to do now. You can go ahead and familiarize yourself with the possible deal-breakers. In this case, I'm really not sure if there are any deal-breakers, but if you don't know what's potentially bad, then you really can't know what's good, right? So, just for the sake of completeness, here goes. And as a bonus, this part isn't too long. In fact, the launch of BetOnline Poker in 2011 was, shall we say, less than perfectly executed.

Lying to Customers

They claimed to be operating on their own network, when in fact they were part of the Action Poker network. Starting a business by deceiving your customers is a rather unusual choice. (By the way, Action Poker is now called Chico Poker).

Poor Customer Service

Security Concerns

Initially, it was possible for customers to use the same Internet connection to run multiple accounts, which is a rookie security mistake. Two accounts shouldn't even be able to play if they share the same Internet connection.

Confiscated Money

A number of individuals took to the forums to express their dissatisfaction with BetOnline confiscating their funds. The total amounts involved were staggering. Several individuals complained on the forums about BetOnline confiscating their money, and the amounts involved were in the tens of thousands of dollars. Darby was one of the more reputable names among the chroniclers of the early days of online poker, so his tort is not ignoble; it is simply part of the long-running bad history of bad online poker sites.

BetOnline Poker is a different story now. It has taken steps to improve its standing among players, and we consider it one of the best options around for players in the U.S. because it has a solid reputation. Their sportsbook and online casino have always been good, and that's why we recommend them. They're one of our top picks for a reason.

Currently, we have two BetOnline complaints: one regarding the quality of customer support and the other regarding banking fees. The support has shown some improvement, but still needs work in terms of response times and a friendlier approach. Also be aware that they charge a 6% fee for card deposits on top of the withdrawal fees (most US sites allow free card deposits and at least one free check withdrawal per month).

Deposits and Cashouts

As mentioned in the intro, when it comes to depositing funds into your online gambling account from the United States, BetOnline has much more success than its fellow US-friendly online gambling sites. BetOnline allows you to make deposits using a good selection of US friendly banking methods, and these success rates are much higher than what we've seen with card deposits at other online gambling sites that cater to US players.

Deposits

BetOnline accepts credit and debit cards from Visa, Mastercard, Bitcoin, JCB and Diner's Club. (Apparently they also accept Amex deposits, but you have to have deposited at least five times before you can use Amex). In addition to accepting cards and some other payment methods, BetOnline uses a "secure payment system" that allows you to send money securely via Visa (and, as you'll see, several other methods).

There is a fee for card deposits. BetOnline is the only US site besides Bovada that charges a fee at all for card deposits. Visa is $50, while MasterCard is $50 or $100 depending on the issuer. Both can take 7-10 days to clear if they're not returned.

Despite having one of the best credit card acceptance rates in the US betting market, some of you will still be declined when trying to use your credit card to fund your betting account. If this is the case, you will need to try to fund your BetOnline account using one of the other payment methods listed above, or find some other roundabout way to access your credit funds that is legal and gets past the payment security protocols that are now in place.

Cashouts

Another option is to request a withdrawal to your credit card, which is almost unheard of in the US market - but you can only do this after you have made five deposits and have had your account for at least one month.

Some US friendly sites will cover the cost of at least one check withdrawal per month. But not BetOnline. They charge $25 per standard check or $50 if you want it delivered within seven business days.

Betting

BetOnline focuses its sports betting markets on US customers. In terms of selection, this means you'll find the NFL, NBA, MLB and other popular American sports leagues well represented in the BetOnline lineup. As a mixed martial arts fan, I've often been disappointed with BetOnline's MMA betting options, which typically cover one or two fights per event. However, there's no shortage of betting options for sports like football and basketball.

A range of betting options and props will satisfy the needs of most sports bettors. Live betting options, as well as the betting interface, may leave something to be desired, but the props and betting choice satisfaction elevate this sportsbook above some of its peers.

BetOnline is faster than many of its competitors (for example, Bovada, the largest gambling site in the US, is much slower) and those who take at least a modicum of seriousness when it comes to betting appreciate this.

When it comes to betting limits, this sportsbook appears to be in the lower half of the US spectrum. Their $1 minimum seems to cater to the smaller bettor, while their $25,000 maximum, which is only available on NFL lines from Thursday through Sunday, allows some of our sport's high rollers to make sizable bets. Basketball betting limits range from $5,000 on totals to $10,000 on sides, while wagering on NHL games is capped at $3,000. Overall, if you stick to the big sports, you can expect decent limits, but smaller markets may only have a maximum of a few hundred dollars.

BetOnline has secured and maintained a strong place in the American gambling scene, not only because it is a trustworthy site, but also because it really works hard to cater to its target demographic of sports bettors. With not only seasonal promotions, but also local tie-in betting lines, BetOnline has cultivated a sportsbook that we feel is one of the best in the country.

Sportsbook Bonus

In addition to the deposit bonus, there are also live and mobile betting bonuses ($25 and $50 respectively). These are not like the deposit bonuses. They are more like insurance policies: you only get the bonus money if you lose. So if you place a live bet and lose, you'll be reimbursed with a $25 bonus. If you make a mobile bet and lose, you'll get a $50 bonus (again, this is how these bonuses work in theory).

Casino

BetOnline Casino has existed since 2009 and is powered by Rival Gaming software; it offers these quantities of different types of casino games:

• Nine styles of blackjack along with 13 different table games;
• 19 regular slots along with 37 three-dimensional slots;
• 17 variations of video poker;
• Blackjack, roulette and baccarat dealers live;

Rival Gaming is one of the top casino software brands in the US market, along with RealTime Gaming. What we consider the best casino software (from the likes of NetEntertainment, Cryptologic and Microgaming) is only playable at non-US online casinos. This leaves US players with the unplayable software of several non-top tier brands or with rivals.

Casino Bonus

Casino customers are eligible for two bonuses at the moment they sign up:

1. A $25 live dealer bonus (get $25 of free play at live dealer tables)
2. A 100% slots bonus (deposit between $100 and $5,000, and get a 100% match bonus with a 50-time rollover requirement)

In addition, people who play at the casino can earn a high-roller bonus on a monthly basis; this consists of 25% reload bonuses on deposits of $25 or more and a 10% rebate program based on how much people have played at the casino. If such programs do indeed give away a large number of bonuses, I would say that they do so quite generously. I think this is nice, but I can't help but sigh when the structure of the promotion makes it very clear that the house edge is key to making promotions like this work.

Poker

BetOnline Poker is a decent option when compared to other US poker sites. It has good player traffic, and the general skill level at the tables is on the weaker side (typical of all-in-one gambling sites where many players find their way to the poker tables from the casino and betting games). And when you consider that it's one of the fastest US operations at processing withdrawals, there's a lot to like about playing poker here. Trustedpokersites.com ranks BetOnline as one of the top US poker sites, and I happen to agree.

I don't like the quality of the software, especially the graphics. My minimum requirement for a poker site is that it works without glitches and is somewhat user friendly. BetOnline meets that requirement, but the graphics are still a turn-off. I wish they'd put a little effort into fixing the most obvious bugs. On the other hand, a lot of people seem to get along just fine with the site.

Poker Bonus

A 100% up to $200 bonus goes to new depositors (no bonus codes required). Released in five stages, this bonus has an average effective rakeback of around 20% (this is quite useful to know as it allows us to compare bonuses between sites and see how easily they clear).

When compared to other online rooms in the United States, the process for clearing bonuses is of average difficulty. Bovada and America's Cardroom have the same. Notably, among US poker rooms, Full Flush Poker has the easiest to clear bonus that is of at least some play interest, coming in at around 60% effective rakeback. BetOnline has the same bonus but gives you twice the time to clear it (120 days). Only Full Flush seems to have no unpleasant surprises in store for players.

Rake

Customer Service

BetOnline's customer service can learn a lot from sites like Bovada. For example, at Bovada you get a quick and professional response to your questions. At BetOnline you have a very good chance of getting a rude and/or arrogant answer. BetOnline's customer service does a decent job most of the time, otherwise they wouldn't be successful. But they are far from providing an excellent customer experience.

They have improved since their worst days, but there’s still work to do.

The company offers phone support as well as live chat support and four different email departments (General, Poker, Casino, and Skill Games). In addition, customers who have made a deposit (i.e., those playing for real money) have access to live chat support. However, both email and live chat responses are on the slow side. I have no experience with their phone support.