
Now that sports betting is finally legal in New York, there are plenty of people who are new to the world of sportsbooks. It can be a wonderful world, but only if you know what you’re doing.
Every bettor needs to have a good understanding of every aspect of their sportsbook before they sign up for it. Here’s our brief guide to everything you need to know and do before you open your account with your chosen sportsbook.
The first thing you have to do is make sure that the sportsbook is secure before you sign up for it.
There are several different ways sportsbooks can prove they are secure, but the primary method is by being regulated. Every sportsbook based in New York should be legislated and regulated by the New York Gaming Commission.
If they haven’t passed the NYGC’s regulation, then chances are they aren’t trustworthy. The next step you need to take is checking the website itself. The website has to be fully certified and secured, and it’s easy for you to check that.
All you have to do is scroll up to the website URL, and see if there’s an ‘https://’ before the website address. You can then click on the little lock logo next to the URL, and you can see who issued the website certificate. For example, the DraftKings website certificate was issued by R3. If you were to sign up to DraftKings and put in personal details, like your SSN, your bank details or your date of birth, you can be sure your data will be secure.
This is the next step in the process, and arguably the most important. It can be easy to check if a sportsbook is legitimate or not, but figuring out if they’re reliable is a whole other question.
A reliable sportsbook is reliable in every sense of the term. If they promise quick payouts, then their payouts should be quick relative to the competition. They should honor all the successful wagers you place, and honor your privacy with the personal information you provide them.
Their bonuses should be achievable and have fair terms and conditions attached to them. A very important aspect every reliable sportsbook will have is customer service. Their customer service platform should be quick in executing any issues you may have, and quick in responding to you.
Having that healthy line of communication with the customer is the cornerstone of every reliable sportsbook. There is no replacement for care and effort, and you’ll notice when a sportsbook puts in the time to make their platform great for the customer to play with and use.
Now you know what to look for in a sportsbook before you sign up for one, you should follow up this knowledge with the next chapter we’ve written on Strafe.com. Check out our guide to opening a sportsbook in New York to get fully started on your sports betting journey!
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