A Betcoin.ag Sportsbook player has filed a complaint against the bitcoin sports betting website.
The player created his account with Betcoin recently to play poker. He funded his account through player-to-player transfer: he told SBR that a friend who recommended him to Betcoin transferred him the funds.
The player claimed that his friend was on a good run in the sportsbook section of Betcoin.ag, and shared one of his plays with him. He bet the sports play, which won, and increased his balance by approximately 6 BTC.
Shortly after the wager was settled as a winner, Betcoin Sportsbook accused the player of circumventing their wagering limits – the player’s friend had his wagering limits reduced on tennis.
He shared a copy of his live chat with Betcoin over their decision to not pay the account winnings:
(07:27:25) Betcoin Sean: the day after he (the player’s friend) got limited, you turn up in sportsbook and bet 6 Btc on a game that you dont even remember. $1800 on a single game with the same betting pattern like your friends account. How does that sound to you? Suspicious?
(07:28:05) Player: I knew he was doing well betting, but I don’t believe or aware he was doing anything illegal first off
(07:29:48) Player: I told you I don’t know nothing about it, he told me it was gonna be a good bet so I bet it, all I remember is winning. I took his tip and won
(07:31:08) Player: I don’t claim to be an expert sports better I am a gambler though and bet what i was told was a good bet
(07:41:57) Betcoin Sean: I have just told you that your betting practice is the same as you friends one [sic] (07:42:10) Betcoin Sean: and he was identified and his account was limited
(07:42:32) Betcoin Sean: and the day after this happens you start playing from your account with the same stakes
(07:42:36) Betcoin Sean: he was doing [sic]
(07:43:33) Player: I went allin, he told me it was a good bet so I bet everything I could seems like the right play.
Betcoin does not accuse the player of wagering on the same device or IP address as the friend as the chat progressed. At the conclusion of the chat, Betcoin indicates they will void the player’s wager and return the stake to him, as originally his entire 12 BTC balance was confiscated.
SBR researches Betcoin’s terms and conditions
The problem with this confiscation is that there is nothing in the Betcoin terms and conditions that prohibits players from having more than one account. Betcoin, like other bitcoin sportsbooks, require very minimal information from players – a username, e-mail address, and password. No personally identifying information changes hands aside from the e-mail.
Had the player intended to circumvent wagering limits (which is not listed as being against the rules, and some online sportsbooks allow players to wager the same game multiple times up to the max per wager) then opening his account through a player-to-player transfer would not make a whole lot of sense, and would be inconsistent with the usual patterns users follow who intend to circumvent limits.
While traditional online sportsbooks do not allow more than one account, the nature of depositing with an anonymous currency and registering at a website that does not even require your real name makes outlawing multiple accounts near impossible to effectively enforce. Players who showed up as having a duplicate IP range would have little recourse to prove their identities when they weren’t asked to send documents in the first place.
To accept a bet and then refuse to pay winnings also violates one of the oldest industry standards – “you book the bet, you pay the bet”. Allowing a player to risk his funds with the potential of a loss but not a win constitutes a freeroll, and is a practice seen at scam sportsbooks who are on the SBR blacklist.
SBR has asked Betcoin support to speak on the complaint.
source : www.sportsbookreview.com