Betting Offshore

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To the uninitiated, offshore betting can seem a bit mysterious.  Here, you will find answers to the most common questions customers have about using an online betting site.  We will also cover the pros and cons to opening up an account, plus point you in the right direction should you want to get started betting sports.

You only have a few options if you want to make a wager.  If sports gambling is legal in your area, you have the option of finding a physical  sportsbook or casino.  If those options are not available, you are left with using a local bookie or online book.  You best option by far is to take your action offshore, and here’s why.

Why to Choose Offshore Bookies for Sport Betting

Availability & Convenience

When you use an online betting site, you basically have access to wager sports anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection.  Games are available to bet on 24/7 and you can always call in wagers should you not have online access.

Placing wagers at a casino requires you to physically go to someplace to make your wagers.  This is fine for casual betting, however, it is incredibly inconvenient if you bet with any kind of frequency.

Most local bookies have moved online and are just as easy to access as offshore books, however, they come with their own pitfalls, which we’ll cover below.

Payouts/Deposits

Our most common questions about betting offshore usually concerns how payouts and deposits will work.  This area probably has the biggest learning curve for someone who have never bet online, but it’s dead simple, and once you’ve done it once, you’ll be set for life.  Your best source on payouts and deposits is going to be the book where you end up choosing to open an account.  Every site is a little bit different, but most allow for easy deposits/withdrawals using credit/debit cards, checks, wires, bitcoin, litecoin, or certain person-to-person money services.

Bitcoin

I would urge anyone that is serious about betting on sports to look into bitcoin to fund their accounts.  You can learn a lot about it with our primer for using bitcoin to fund your sportsbook account.  Bitcoin offers unparalleled security, privacy, and transaction speed when it comes to online wagering.

Flexible Limits

The majority of casinos and local bookies have either very low maximums or very high minimums.  Unless you are in Las Vegas, you will find it difficult to place wagers over $500.  With local books, many times you must wager at least $100 or more (while also being capped at a lower number than you might want).  The key here is lack of flexibility.

With the option of taking your bets to an online offshore site, you are going to have a lot more flexibility.  Most shops start out with something like a $5 or $10 minimum bet and cap you off at around $2,000 by default.  With that being said, almost every book will also increase your limit upon request, making it no issue to place wagers of $10,000 and up.

Betting Offshore Bonuses & Promotions

Something local bookies and casino sportsbooks don’t offer are bonuses.  Most of the time you are looking at a 20%-100% deposit bonus, with varying degrees of other bonuses for account reloads.  Many online books also offer free contests where you can win a ton of cash, plus season promotions.  They are also able to offer specials like reduced juice at 5Dimes, which is one of our favorite bonuses ever as it gives you a built-in discount on almost every wager you place!

We’ve created our go-to guide for the best sportsbook bonuses to help make your decision easier when choosing an offshore account.

Security/Accountability/Privacy

One of the biggest drawbacks to using a local book is that you are betting almost entirely on credit.  This is one of the reasons people get into trouble with gambling.  It is too easy to bet more than you are comfortable with when you have no skin in the game.  Offshore betting takes that out of the picture by forcing you to deposit money before you can make a wager.  This makes it much easier to manage how much you actually have going in and out.

There is also the element of having to meet someone in person in order to pick up or drop off money.  This can be uncomfortable or even dangerous as you may have large amounts of cash on your person.  The same could be said about using a casino, where you’d need to carry a large bankroll into and out of the book, always worrying about who might have seen you with that much cash.  Using an online book, you’ll never have to worry about that.

An added bonus to online wagers is anonymity.  Offshore books do not share their records with anyone, keeping your privacy intact.

Vast Number of Wagering Options

Online sportsbooks give you the option to bet almost anything you can think of!  Whether it’s game props, futures, parlays, straight bets, teasers, pleasers, or anything else you can dream up, you will have that option at an offshore site.  Even local books that use sites to allow you to place wagers tend to restrict your access to more exotic wagers.  Most casinos will offer a few popular options like season win totals or futures on major events, but the options are not nearly as diverse as you will find online.

What Are the Best Sports Betting Sites?

Now that you know why you should bet sports offshore, where do you go next?  There are thousands of places to open and account and it’s really hard to know which ones are reliable.  The good news is that we’ve taken the guesswork out of choosing an online book by only reviewing the top online sportsbooks.  We wouldn’t recommend using any other sites.  These are the established and most trusted offshore options out there.