European Archives

Aug 23

American Sportsbooks that accept PayPal

By Arjan | American Betting Sites, European, Sportsbetting, Sportsbooks | No Comments

For the most part, PayPal has been everyone’s first online wallet. Its the most recognized name in the industry, and its very convenient for protecting your information when buying or selling items online. However, this is not without a few major flaws which keep sportsbooks from accepting PayPal as a deposit or payout method. On top of imposing very strict anti-gambling clauses in their terms of conditions, PayPal employs a bunch of idiots in their fraud department who for whatever reason are unable to recognize false-claims. This makes PayPal a dangerous payment option, especially in an industry where you are not always dealing with the most honest customers. Only certain European sportsbooks that are verified vendors accept PayPal.

Although most sportsbooks are very safe, the majority of people do not feel comfortable sharing their credit card or banking information online. And thats perfectly fine. Which is why I am going to tell you how you can still use PayPal to deposit and withdraw from your online American sportsbook accounts even if that is not an accepted payment method.

Understanding Cryptocurrencies

Lets get this out of the way first; no sportsbooks accept PayPal. If you ever run into a sportsbook that does, avoid it at all costs. This is a red-flag that they are running a sketchy operation, and you should not take that risk as there are other viable options available regardless of where you live. You are likely dealing with an illegal bookmaking operation, which is incredibly dangerous.

The work-around I am going to describe today can be used by anyone, but its especially convenient for American users who generally are limited in their payment transfer options due to governmental gambling restrictions. With the rise of cryptocurrencies over the past year, many mainstream sportsbooks have begun to accept Bitcoin as a deposit and payout method. Bitcoin is a difficult concept to grasp for some, so for the sake of this article I will keep it simple. Think of Bitcoin as another currency; its value compared to the US dollar will go up and down from day to day, hour to hour. Its safe and stable, so you do not need to worry about any crashes that could come at the moment you purchase Bitcoin. In fact, Bitcoin is actually safer than most payment transfer methods as its non-refundable. As soon as you send the Bitcoins to someone else, thats it.

Its also untraceable and anonymous, making it a great option for Americans looking to fly under the radar with their gambling activity. If anyone inquires about the nature of your PayPal activity, all you need to tell them is that you were experimenting with cryptocurrencies. Simple, right?

The Work Around

I will go into more step-by-step detail in the next section, but what we are going to do is acquire Bitcoin via a method of your choosing, then fund our sportsbook account with that cryptocurrency. Once we want to withdraw, we will receive our payout in Bitcoin, which can then be sold for PayPal.

As mentioned above, we know that Bitcoin is non-refundable, and PayPal is. For some unexplained reason, PayPal refuses to hire competent individuals to run their fraud department. The people they staff seem to get off on awarding disputes to the wrong party more often than not. Its an absolute circus, but thats a rant for another day. Because of this, its pretty much impossible to find anyone selling Bitcoin that accepts PayPal as a payment method. But don’t worry, there are plenty of other ways to buy Bitcoins. The most notable method that Frostbet personally recommends is Coinbase – we will discuss this in the next section.

Now you might be asking yourself, when it comes time to request a withdrawal (which we will receive in Bitcoin), and we want to sell it for PayPal, doesn’t that put us at risk? The way Bitcoin-to-PayPal sales work is that the person performing the transfer will buy your Bitcoin for a small percentage below market value. This ‘commission’ is how they earn their money. I will explain how to find a trusted seller below. These individuals have built up a reputation, and would never tarnish all of the commission they earn for a one-time scam. Alternatively, you could also use Coinbase as described above to perform your transfers.

Lets get into the details!

Step #1 – Getting a Bitcoin Wallet

The first step towards using Bitcoin as a sportsbook funding method is to get a Bitcoin wallet. This will be the account that you can send and receive Bitcoins from. If you have an iPhone, this can be as simple as downloading an app. The one that Frostbet personally recommends is Bread Wallet (we have no affiliation to them. We just like their app since it has a simple interface which is important for Bitcoin rookies). You can find this in the app store.

When you download the app, you will be prompted to create an account. It is crucial that you write-down (on paper, and digitally) the information that the app tells you to write-down. In the event that something happens to your phone, you want to be able to recover your account. Bitcoin wallets do not use the traditional username/password log-in system. Instead, you will be given a Bitcoin address which will look like your 4-year old daughter just inputted gibberish on the keyboard.

Once your account is synced up, you are ready to purchase Bitcoins.

Step #2 – Purchase Bitcoins via Coinbase

Click here to create a Coinbase account. For the same reasons stated above, Coinbase does not accept PayPal as a transfer method. However, you can use pretty much any other option to purchase Bitcoins. This means that if you do not trust your credit card or banking information with your sportsbook, you can use Coinbase as a pseudo-middleman for your transaction. This is a company worth nearly one billion dollars, so there should be no reason for you to be skeptical of their authenticity.

You will also benefit from the fact that your payment will be processed through a known company, rather than using illegal payment processors. If you ever deposited funds into an American sportsbook, you will notice that your credit card will your deposit as purchasing outdoors equipment or camera parts from online companies. This does help keep your activities secure to a certain degree, but going through Coinbase will be the grand slam.

Aug 17

Pinnacle Review

By Arjan | European, Sportsbooks | No Comments

Widely regarded as the best sports-book in the world, Pinnacle is the premier destination for serious sports-bettors. Their reduced-juice lines make the house edge smaller than any other betting site on the market. This gives a massive advantage to each customer. A wide range of betting markets with very high limits make Pinnacle a must-try for anyone who considers themselves serious about becoming profitable sports-bettors.

Deposit Bonuses and Promotions

Pinnacle’s deposit bonus is the best one you will find out of any sports-book. They offer reduced-juice lines on every single betting market. This means that rather than having to risk $110 to profit $100 on football spreads and totals, you will only have to risk $107. We always advocate that every single number counts on your way to becoming a profitable sports-bettor, and Pinnacle gives you the perfect opportunity to do just that. You can now win a lower percentage of games while still generating a profit, making this the perfect option for new and experienced gamblers.

Now let’s be honest, a reduced-juice bonus is not as sexy as a 50% or 100% match on your first deposit. Most sports-books will offer between $200-1,000 bonus funds on your first deposit. While this is an awesome way to get a head-start with a new betting site, it will not last very long if you are not careful. You are also often required to roll-over the funds numerous times until you are able to withdraw them. You do not have to deal with any of this, as Pinnacle will give you their reduced juice promotion for life when you sign up using Frostbet’s bonus link. In the long run, this will be the best sign-up incentive any sports-book could ever offer you.

To gain access to Pinnacle with all of their reduced-juice lines, create an account using the button below:

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This promotion is still active today! (December 14th, 2024)

No offer codes needed – this bonus is applied automatically.

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Availability

Pinnacle allows nearly everyone to access their sports-book. There are very few countries which are not allowed to use this betting site. The two most notable regions excluded from accessing Pinnacle are the United States and North Korea. Incase you were wondering, Kim Jung-un was a -3000 favourite on the money-line.

Canadians and Europeans are the main regions allowed on Pinnacle. Many Asian, African, and Oceanic regions are allowed to use this sports-book as well. A full list of the permitted countries will be available on the side-bar.

User Interface

Pinnacle’s user interface is very easy to navigate. You can move between their sportsbook, casino, eSports, and mobile options using the horizontal menu bar on the top of the screen. While inside the sportsbook, you can use the vertical bar to switch between sports. In-play options are available on the top for easy access. Less popular sports are available at the bottom of the vertical menu.

Selecting a sport prompts a drop-down menu. This will allow you to navigate between leagues and betting markets. Moneylines, totals, and spreads will appear in the main area of the website. Working between wager types (straight, parlay, teaser) can be done using a right-hand prompt window that appears when signed on to your Pinnacle account.

Available Games

Pinnacle offers a wide range of available games across all of the major and minor sports. They provide lines on all of the top and mid-tier european soccer, hockey, and basketball matches. They cover every single North American league. You will also be able to find lines for some of the lesser sports including athletics, combat sports, and rugby.

Betting Markets

Pinnacle offers all of the main betting markets, along with many of the player and team props you will find at other sportsbooks. They are a

Livebetting

Quality of Odds

Deposit Time and Methods

Pinnacle offer a wide range of deposit methods, all of which are processed instantly in real-time. We will break down their deposit methods by their two main target audiences: Canada and Europe. Canadians have access to all of the standard methods including Credit Card (VISA and MasterCard), cheque, and direct bank transfers. They also have access to EntroPay, which will allow individuals who do not have a VISA or MasterCard to pay via credit card. You can purchase a virtual pre-paid card online using direct bank transfer or a non-mainstream credit card brand. This will also allow users to protect their information online to a higher extent, incase anyone was still skeptical about sharing their payment details with sportsbooks (although they are very safe to begin with).

One of the best transfer methods available to Canadians are their eWallet middle-man services. iDebit and InstaDebit allow you to instantly transfer funds between your bank account and sportsbook balance, without sharing any details with each other. These methods are very convenient, and should be taken advantage of when your sportsbook offers them to you. InstaDebit is free, while iDebit charges a small $1.50 fee (Pinnacle had the wrong amount posted in their cashier section, its not 1.25%).

Finally, Pinnacle also offers deposits via PaySafeCard, ClickAndBuy, and uKash. You can view their full list of deposit methods (for Canadian Dollars) below:

Next we will be taking a look at the deposit methods that are available for Europeans. They will have a lot of the similar options offered to Canadians, with a few added methods that may be very convenient to some. VISA and MasterCard can be directly accepted, while other non-mainstream cards can be used indirectly via EntroPay. Bank transfers are accepted, but cheques are not.

Pinnacle offer a lot more eWallet methods to Europeans as well. On top the middle-man eWallets iDebit and Sofort, which allows you to take funds directly from your bank account that are put inside your Pinnacle account instantly (seriously, instantly, like a matter of seconds), they offer NETELLER, Skrill, WebMoney and QiwiWallet. These operate similar to PayPal, allowing people to receive funds from other individuals, fund their accounts using bank and credit card transfers, and eventually send money to Pinnacle. This gives Europeans a lot of options that do not share any of their information online.

Finally, Pinnacle offer pre-paid methods including PaySafeCard, ClickAndBuy, and Moneta which are widely available at many storefronts. Here is a full list of the European deposit methods:

Pinnacle’s deposit methods are outstanding. They have low minimums, high maximums, little-or-no fees, and are all processed instantly in real-time. Full marks.

Withdrawal Time and Methods

If Pinnacle have not appeared to be one of the best sportsbooks on the market, they are about to get even better. Pinnacle are one of the few betting sites that offer one free deposit per calendar month. To put the cherry on top, they will also have no minimum limits for this deposit. Thats amazing.

Similar to before, we will break down the two main markets with regards to Pinnacle withdrawals (Canada and Europe). Canadians will be able to use nearly the exact same methods that they were offered for withdrawals. They can receive their funds free of charge once per month. All of their payment methods are processed instantly, with exception to bank-transfers which will take about one week and a half (which is much quicker than other sportsbooks to begin with).

Individuals who used eWallet middle-men iDebit or InstaDebit to deposit are encouraged to use those methods for payouts as well. Its just so convenient, its hard to justify passing them up. Funds will be transferred directly to your bank account in under 24 hours for free. That is simply outstanding.

Standard methods such as bank transfers and cheques can also be used. These of course will take a little over a week to arrive, but will be processed instantly by Pinnacle to ensure that they arrive at your doorstep or in your account, respectively, as soon as possible. This is important, as many sportsbooks like to delay the processing time even longer in hopes that some individuals will end up cancelling the withdraw altogether in order to have funds to bet with. Its a dirty tactic, and Pinnacle get full credit for being one of the only sportsbooks to hold themselves with higher regard.

Pinnacle are also one of the few sportsbooks that allow withdraw via EntroPay. It should be noted that you should have a plan on how you will extract the Entropay funds when they are credited to your account. This can be indirectly done using PayPal, or by making online purchases. Pinnacle also allow for payouts via PaySafeCard, ClickAndBuy, and uKash – similar considerations should be made for this methods as well.

The only deposit method that Pinnacle do not allow payouts to are credit cards. Many offshore sportsbooks allow customers to have their withdraws sent to the credit card that they used to deposit. This is not available for Pinnacle, as it the case for most sportsbooks that do not take American action. We will not be deducting points for this, but we felt the need to outline it incase anyone was planning on this.

Here are a list of payout methods available to Canadians:

Here are the withdrawal methods available for Europeans. While there are quiet a few of the deposit methods that cannot be used for withdraws, there are still a healthy assortment of available options. The eWallet methods include iDebit (which allows for quick transfers between Pinnacle balance in under 24 hours), NETELLER, Skrill, QiwiWallet, and WebMoney. Users who would like to receive a pre-paid credit card in return can use EntroPay (virtual), PaySafeCard, and ClickAndBuy.

Finally, Bank Transfers can be done to have funds sent directly to your account. This will be processed instantly, and the funds will be received in around a week and a half. This is much quicker than most transfer methods.

Customer Service

Pinnacle have a great customer support team, however their service methods are limited. As of now, they only allow for e-mail support. This is very inconvenient, as most customers would like to know that they could receive a quick response via phone or live-chat in the event of a problem. I will commend Pinnacle for responding to all e-mails in a very timely manner (you can expect to receive a response within 10 minutes, regardless of the hour). While this is great, it would be nice to see Pinnacle go the extra mile to implement a live-chat service.

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Frostbet’s Pinnacle Bonus

Frostbet readers can gain access to all of the bonuses and promotions mentioned in this review by using the button below to sign-up for a Pinnacle account. These will be automatically applied to your account upon your first deposit. You do not need to worry about a promotions code. Best of luck!

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This promotion is still active today (December 14th, 2024)

The bonus will be automatically applied to your Pinnacle account once you sign up using the button above (or by clicking here).

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Aug 15

Betfair Review

By Arjan | European, Sportsbooks | No Comments

Widely regarded as the best live-betting site in the entire world, Betfair has plenty of features to offer both rookie gamblers and expert bettors. With a wide range of available games, betting markets, and sign-up offers, Betfair is a must-try for every avid sportsbettor.