Sports Betting Customer Service
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From time to time throughout your online sports betting journey, you’re going to need help. Maybe you’re having trouble getting a particular feature to work, or you’re interested in taking advantage of a promotion you don’t quite understand? Or maybe it’s something more serious like account security issues or technical glitches that are causing you problems?
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Whatever the case may be, you’re going to want to get help as quickly and effectively as possible. When something is wrong, or you’re looking for important information, you don’t want to be sitting around for days waiting on a response. You also don’t want to get a response that doesn’t really help solve your problem or answer your question.
In the early days of online sportsbooks, the customer service quality and number of options were weak. Thankfully, over the years, the sportsbooks got with the program, and now many of the top sites have robust and effective customer service teams. Not only have we seen an increase in the quality of the help you receive, but we’ve also seen an increase in the number of options available. It used to be an “email-only” world, but now you’ll see things like phone support, live chat, and even social media help.
In this guide, we want to walk you through a few things that we feel are important to help you get the help you need when you’re having an issue with an online sportsbook. We’re going to talk about where you can generally find the customer service options, the most common types of service that are available (and what you need to know about them), and finally, some tips to help you get the most out of your customer service experience.
Where to Find Customer Support
As every sportsbook is laid out a little differently, it can be tough to give you blanket advice about where you can go to access their customer service options. Ideally, they’d be easy for you to find, but sometimes they just seem to be hidden enough that we struggle to locate them. That all being said, there are still some fairly common places that an online sportsbook puts the links to access their customer support. Below are some places to look and ways to go about finding the customer support for an online sportsbook.
Use Google
The easiest way to locate the customer support team for an online sportsbook is to use Google. All you need to do is type in the name of the site, and then something like “contact” or “help” or “support,” and the link you’re looking for will most likely be one of the top options.
For example, we tested this with SportsBetting.ag (even though their customer service is awesome and really easy to find). We Googled “sportsbetting.ag support,” and at the top of the page, this is what you see.
It’s that easy. Without even having to click on a link, you see their phone numbers and support emails. Google is your friend when you can’t find something online.
Check the Website Footer
If you don’t want to use Google for some reason, you can always look in the footer of a website, and you’ll usually find their support options. For those that aren’t familiar with the term “footer,” it’s the area at the bottom of a webpage that is usually the same no matter which page you are on. It will usually contain links to most everything that you need on the site.
Let’s take a look at SportsBetting.ag’s footer to show you what we mean. Here we’ve highlighted their support section in green.
As you can see, they even have a dedicated section of the footer for customer support. Here, you can get to their main help hub page, their live chat help, and their contact methods page.
Additional Options
Typically, an online sportsbook is going to have a lot of different places that you can access customer support. Sometimes this could be a link in the top-right corner of the website, a tab that follows you around on the right side or bottom of the screen that says “Live Chat,” or it could be a link from the site’s banking page. Online sportsbooks are notorious for having their help links easiest to find on the banking pages.
With one of these above options, you should be able to access the support options offered by a site.
The Most Common Methods of Help
Finding the customer support options is only the first step of the battle. The next step is figuring out which option is going to be best for you. Usually, you’ll have at least a couple of alternatives, if not a bunch. If you only have one choice, well, it looks like that’s the one you’ll be using! But if the sportsbook gives you several options, you’ll need to pick which one is the best for you.
Overall, if you’re able to communicate with a live person, you’re going to have quicker and better results. That way, if there is a misunderstanding of your question, you can correct it right away and continue on to get the information you’re looking for. If there is a misunderstanding with, say, an email, you’ll have to wait to get your response back to see the issue. Then, you’ll have to correct it, send in another email, and wait again for that one to be responded to.
Additionally, personal preference and time constraints may come into play. If you’re pressed for time and just want to know the issue is being taken care of, you might want to opt for the non-live options like an email or a contact form. While these are not the quickest options, they require the least amount of input from you. You don’t have to wait for an agent, explain the situation to them, and hang out online or on the phone while they try and fix it. You can rocket off a quick email and then check back later when you have more time.
Also, some people like to keep a paper trail record of all of their correspondence. If you’re using phone support, this isn’t going to be possible. But if you use email or a live chat function, you’ll have a paper trail of everything that is said and promised to you. This all depends on what you’re trying to get help with.
Let’s take a quick look at the most common means of customer service offered at online sportsbooks.
Contact Form
The earliest form of customer support that sportsbooks offered was the contact form. It’s a blank form hosted on the company’s website where you fill out your basic contact information, and then you put in your request. When the company responds to your issue, they will email you back, and then correspondence will take over there.
This is usually the quickest way (at least for you) to get your request out the door. It’s not the quickest for getting an answer or your issues resolved, but it requires the smallest time commitment from you. If you have documents that you need to attach to a request, you might not be able to do that through a contact form. You may have to use a different method (email) or use the contact form to figure out how they want you to submit any documents you’d like for them to see. The better sites that have contact forms usually will allow you to upload files as well in certain formats.
One of the best ways to contact an online sportsbook if you aren’t looking to use a live option is through email. Email allows you to state your whole case and attach supporting documents (if necessary) very quickly. Additionally, it gives you a timestamp track record of when you contacted the site. This is important if it’s a serious matter that you’re dealing with. You don’t get that with a contact form unless the site sends you an automatic email that says they have received your request.
If you’re not looking to chat with someone and if having a paper trail is important, we would recommend using email support over a contact form if the option is available.
Live Chat
One of the easiest ways to get things taken care of is through the live chat function (if available). This is usually a little chat window that you can open on the bottom of the screen that will connect you with an agent to help solve your problems or answer your question. This is a great option because you’re able to fix any misunderstandings or answer any questions they have for you in real time.
With email, every question they have to ask you is another email back and forth. For each one you send, you usually have to wait another couple of hours or a day for a response. With live chat, though, you eliminate this wait time.
Also, most live chat support functions give you the ability to email yourself a copy of the chat transcript. This is great if you’re looking for a paper trail of what you and the sportsbook discussed.
Phone
Probably the most effective option you’ll get at some online sportsbooks is phone support. When you can call someone up and talk to them, you’re going to get the best service possible. Additionally, if the sportsbook is giving you the runaround, it’s really hard to do over the phone.
In our experience, if you have serious matters that just aren’t getting handled, the phone is a great way to go. Keep in mind, though, that there won’t be a track record of your discussion like there is with live chat or email. You can keep a journal log of who you talk to, when the call is, and what is discussed if it is important.
Probably 99% of the time you’re contacting them, it won’t be something that requires a long track record of the discussion. If you’re calling and asking them for details on a promotion, you aren’t going to ever have to prove that at all. But if you’re dealing with something more serious like a lost or delayed cash-out, you may want some sort of record of your conversations in case you need to elevate things to the next level.
Social Media
A new trend we see in the world of online sportsbooks is social media support options. Many sites will let you tweet your questions to them or contact their team via Facebook. This method is ideal for simple questions like the details of a promotion or where to find something on the site. For more serious inquiries, though, or things that involve your personal account, we would not recommend utilizing this option.
Tips for Getting the Most out of Customer Service
While we wish that every sportsbook had the best customer service under the sun, it’s just not the case. Even some pretty awesome sportsbooks struggle a little bit in the customer service department. Just because they aren’t completely on top of things, though, does not mean that your experience should suffer. You should still be able to get everything you want and need.
We put together a few tips to help you get the most out of your customer service experience.
Escalate the Issue If You’re Not Getting Adequate Help
Typically, the first person you’re going to talk to when you reach out for help is one of their lower-level customer service representatives. At some sportsbooks, this person is awesome. They’re intelligent, speak great English, and have the means and tools to get your issue resolved. But not every site is like this.
Some sites clearly take the “budget” route when it comes to their lower-level customer service representatives. Sadly, you get what you pay for. These representatives may have issues with a language barrier and might not be trained properly or equipped to get your issue resolved.
When you run into this problem, you may need to escalate your issue to someone who can actually help you. If you’re having trouble with the agent, ask to speak with a manager. Sometimes they will tell you this isn’t possible, but don’t take no for an answer. Kindly let them know that they are not adequately helping you resolve your issue and that you would like to speak to someone else higher up about it.
Hang Up and Get a New Agent
Another option that you could try prior to escalating your issue is working with a different agent. How do you do this? Simple. Just hang up the phone or close out the chat and reopen it. Probably nine times out of ten, you’re going to get a different customer service agent who may be of better help.
We’ve had a lot of experiences where there was a big difference between how helpful each different agent was. The first we talked to was pretty much worthless, and the next one was basically Superman. If you’re really struggling with the agent you are working with, say goodbye and reopen the chat or call back and hope to get someone else. If you get the same person, then you should look to escalate the issue up the chain.
The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease
If you’re having a problem with an online sportsbook, the chances that others are having the same issue are high. Typically, online sportsbooks will handle the problems in the order that they come in. Except we’ve found a little way around this to get to the front of the line. It doesn’t always work, but it works a lot.
Be persistent. Be the person who contacts them the most and is continually checking up on your issue. Don’t take no for an answer. We are not saying to be mean or rude because that is not going to get you anywhere. There’s a difference between mean and persistent. Persistence means you’re checking in with them daily to see the status of your issue. You can do this while still being polite. Remember, the agents are people, too, and from a purely selfish standpoint, you aren’t going to get your issue handled quickly if the agent hates you.
Be Firm When You Need To
Sometimes it does become necessary to let the sportsbook know that you mean business. Again, this can still be done respectfully. If you don’t feel like they are taking you seriously or if they aren’t getting your issue solved, you need to let them know that it’s unacceptable.
What does this entail? Well, it depends on a lot of different factors, mainly how serious the issue is. If they are messing with your money and are clearly in the wrong, then you may need to seriously escalate things. This might be threatening to take the issue to the regulatory board that oversees their site. Do keep in mind that once you play this card, though, it may be a rough road dealing with the site directly. But if the issue is that serious, this might be a road you take.
If your cash-out is a couple days late, this would be heavily overreacting. If your cash-out is two months late or if they’re refusing to pay you altogether, then this might be the course you need to take. For most issues, though, just being stern and letting them know you aren’t going away should be sufficient. We just wanted to be clear that we weren’t telling you not to get on their case when it’s necessary.
The key is doing everything in escalating steps. First, you give them a chance to fix things. If they don’t, you remind them how important it is to you and give them another chance to fix it. If the issue is still not fixed, you try escalating it to a higher-up within the company. If that still does not get it done, then you start looking into things like bringing the issue public in gaming forums or even contacting the regulatory board.
Just make sure that you don’t go 0 to 100 when it’s not necessary. You’ll end up having the reverse effect of what you’re trying to get accomplished. Remember, this isn’t about ego. It’s about getting done what you need.
Keep Good Records
This tip is as much about protecting yourself as it is about getting the best help you can from a sportsbook customer service agent. If you’re trying to get something accomplished, and you don’t have your ducks in a row, it’s going to be hard to get the help you’re looking for from the sportsbook. It will also be hard to press them if you don’t have the documentation that you need to back up your claims.
For example, let’s say you’re having an issue with a delayed cash-out. Which of the next two responses do you think is going to get the best help and be taken the most seriously?
Response #1
“Hey, yeah. My cash-out is late. I requested it a while ago, and it’s supposed to be here, and it’s not. I need you to help me get this fixed.”
Response #2
“Hi, I am having issues with a cash-out I requested on 9/24/18 at 7 am. It’s been 13 days since I requested the cash-out, and I was told by John G. in customer service that the cash-out would take a maximum of 4 business days. That means I should have received my money on 9/15/18. I contacted support on 9/16/18 and spoke with Angelo P. who told me that there was a delay and that I should have my money by 9/23/18. It is now 9/24/18, and I do not have my cash-out. I have documentation of all of this if you need it. Can you please look into this now for me and help get the situation fixed?”
I can guarantee you that response #2 is going to get a lot more help from customer service.
If you want to get better help, have your records in good order. This also is going to protect you if the sportsbook claims that what you’re saying isn’t correct. What if they claim you didn’t put your cash-out in that early? Or what if they claim you never talked to customer support and brought the issue to their attention?
Well, if you don’t have any documentation, it’s going to be your word against theirs. (This wouldn’t be an issue at a reputable sportsbook, but you should still keep records just in case.) But if you’re able to produce emails, screenshots, and chat transcripts with times and dates on them, it’s going to be really tough for them to claim anything different.
In Conclusion
In a perfect world, you’ll never need to contact a sportsbook’s customer support team. Everything will go as planned, and you’ll never have any issues or problems that you need help with. But in reality, you’re going to have things you need assistance with from time to time. Even with the best-run and most well-equipped online sportsbook (or any type of company), you’re occasionally going to run into times where you need a helping hand.
Hopefully, this guide has given you the tools and information to get the help you need. Feel free to check back if you ever are having some trouble getting help from a site.
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Often, I write information about how to make money as a sports bettor. Some professional bettors are able to turn a long-term profit, but there’s no doubt that it’s hard to do.
But learning how to beat the bookmakers isn’t the only way to make money in the sports betting world. The bookmakers are the ones making most of the money, so you could consider starting your own bookmaking business.
The problem with this is that the legal issues and cost often make it difficult or impossible.
But there’s another way you can make money in the sports betting world. What if you were able to sell sports-betting tips and advice to others?
If you want to know how to start your own business selling sports picks, I’ve compiled a guide to help you get started.
Mcafee Customer Service
The profit potential can be big. For most bettors, it can offer the chance for far greater profits than betting on games.
If you can find 100 people willing to pay you $100 a month for picks, you can make $10,000 a month. Or you can make the same if you can find 1,000 people willing to buy picks for $10 a month.
The number of sports bettors making $10,000 a month is small, but if you know how to market your services, you have a real chance of making money with less risk than betting on games.
Models
One of the first things you need to do is decide which model you plan to use to sell picks. The three main models are:
- Subscription – In the subscription model, your buyers pay a set fee, usually on a weekly or monthly basis, and receive a set number of picks each term. This is a good model for ongoing income, because once you get someone signed up, you just have to keep them happy to keep the money flowing.
- Package – A package is somewhat like a subscription in that you sell more than one pick at a time. But it’s usually a one-time fee for a package of picks. A common package is for all of the NFL games for the week or all of the MLB games for the day.
- Individual – Selling individual picks is just like it sounds. You sell your pick for a particular game. This can be by the game of the week or by offering a series of games where your customers can pick the individual games they want picks for.
Of course, you can use more than one model, or a combination of models. And these aren’t the only ways to sell picks. These are just the most common.
One model isn’t necessarily better than another, and once you build your customer base, you might want to offer multiple options.
You can have different levels of subscription models and different size packages. A subscription model could have a silver, gold, and platinum level, where the silver members get 5 games a week, the golds get 10, and the platinum members get 20.
If you sell packages, you can sell a set package with specific games, or you can sell a package of credits, where your customers can pick a set number of individual games they want picks for.
The model you use is up to you and depends on how you want to run your business. I suggest starting with one model and expanding from there.
I prefer the subscription model, because if you do a good job keeping your bettors happy, you can predict your income from week to week or month to month, and you only have the marketing cost of acquiring the customer the first time.
Marketing
The thing that makes or breaks your ability to make money selling sports betting picks isn’t your ability to pick winners. The most important thing is your ability to market your services and acquire paying customers.
You can use a wide range of marketing options to build your business. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:
- Social Media – It seems like everyone is on social media of some sort these days. People spend a great deal of time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a host of other media platforms.
The biggest issue with building your sports betting customer base on social media platforms are the cost and the terms. Some social media outlets avoid gambling-related ads and services, and the ones that allow gambling ads have a competitive market that drives the prices up.
- Print – Print advertising is available in a wide range of options, including newspapers and magazines. Just like with most forms of advertising, you need to keep a close eye on your costs, but if you can figure out the formula for making more than you spend, print advertising is plentiful, so you won’t run out of places to advertise.
- Radio – Radio isn’t one of the most popular forms of advertising, but many sports bettors are radio listeners. They listen to games and sports talk radio, so if you can buy radio spots during games and/or on sports talk shows and stations, you can reach your target market.
You can find thousands of radio stations that are looking for advertisers, so you have plenty of options.
- Television – Sports bettors watch games on television and follow sports news on stations like ESPN. You sometimes run into the same challenges as social media, as television stations can be afraid of running gambling-related advertising.
- Pay-Per-Click – You can run pay-per-click ads, also called PPC, on the internet. Search engines like Google and Yahoo sell ads where you only pay when someone clicks on your ads. Read the terms and conditions to find out if they take gambling ads.
- Your Own Website – You should create your own website if you want to sell sports picks. But creating a site is only a small part of the battle. You still need to get potential customers to the site. You can drive traffic to your site using the other forms of marketing listed above and learn some basic search engine optimization (called SEO) strategies to get search engine traffic.
In order to succeed, you need to be able to get potential customers to your site. You need to explore these marketing options and any others you run across to see if you can profitably get new customers.
When you figure out how to acquire new customers for less than what they pay you, your new business has a chance to grow and create a long-term profit.
If you continually need to find new customers, it can be costly, so try to maximize the value of each customer you get. You can maximize the value by increasing the amount they spend on their first purchase and by getting them to continue spending money after their initial purchase.
Delivery
The next thing you need to consider is how you plan to deliver your picks. You have a few different options, and the technology available today makes it easier than ever. Here are the most common options:
- Email – Email is the best way for most pick sellers to get started. All you need to do is get your buyer’s email when they sign up, and then add them to your list. You can get email list software that makes it easy to manage your list and still sends emails for free.
- Private Website – You can also set up a private area on your website that people have to log in to access. You can post your picks to the private area, and each of your buyers can have a separate login and password to access the picks.
- Answering System – You can record your picks on an answering machine or through a cell phone voicemail system. This becomes complicated when you sell different picks and packages, and how do you keep someone who drops your service from continuing to call and get your picks? You can find ways around this, but this isn’t the way I’d get started.
- Fax – Fax delivery is not as popular as it once was, but some people still use it. Even if your buyers don’t have a fax machine, some of them can receive faxes as email now. I don’t recommend using a fax delivery system, because email and a private website are easier to set up or have set up, and most people who bet on sports at least know how to use one or the other.
If you don’t know anything about setting up websites and private areas online, I suggest using email to get started. If you can get a private area set up, it can be better than email, because you don’t have to worry about your emails not getting delivered or being put in a spam folder.
You can also offer a combination of both email and a password-protected section of your site, so your buyers can use whichever method they prefer.
Pricing
A big decision needs to be made about how much you plan to charge for your subscription, picks, and packages. If you research the prices charged by current pick sellers, you can find prices ranging from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars.
To some degree, the less you charge, the more likely someone is to try your services, but this isn’t 100% accurate. People decide to spend money for a variety of different reasons, and sometimes it takes just as much effort and money to get someone to buy at a lower price as it does at a higher price.
You need to charge enough so that you can afford to advertise to get new customers, but you don’t want to charge so much that many people can’t afford to buy. This is something that many businesses struggle with.
In business, you want to be profitable and maximize the profits, but finding the right mix is challenging. The best thing to do is test as many options and price points as possible to learn where you can make the most profit.
Most people don’t think anything about spending a few dollars a day on coffee, or cigarettes, or the lottery, or something else. Most of us have something we spend money on without thinking about it.
If you spend $3 a day on something, that adds up to around $90 a month. This is a decent estimate of what you might be able to charge your customers, if you can convince them it’s a good deal. I see many pick subscriptions and packages around $100 a month.
Of course, I see many at much higher prices, too. Part of your price strategy involves your target customers. If you target the average weekend sports bettor, you might charge $49.99 a month. But if you target high-end bettors, you might be able to charge $499 a month.
One way to offer something for almost everyone is by providing different subscription levels, or packages with different prices and services attached. An entry-level membership might cost $19.99 a month and provide five picks a week.
The top-end subscription might cost $199 a month and provide 20 picks a week and advanced analysis for some games.
You can set your prices at whatever you want, because there’s no industry norm. But you should set them at the point where you can maximize your profits, whether this is from many people at a low price or fewer people at a high price.
One thing to remember is that it’s difficult to raise your price for your existing customers. But just because you have some customers paying one price doesn’t mean you can’t charge more for the same service for new customers.
Do You Have to Be Good at Picking Winners?
Most people think they have to be good at picking winners to sell picks. While it helps if you’re good at picking winners, the truth is that if you do a good job marketing, it doesn’t really matter.
It doesn’t matter if you consistently beat the sportsbooks, because no one is going to buy your picks just because of this. Everyone that tries to sell picks claims that they can beat the books.
You can find all kinds of outrageous claims and fuzzy math to back them up. I’ve seen all kinds of supposed proof, and after a while it all seems like a sleazy sales pitch.
And once you learn how some sleazy operators work, you’re probably never going to buy a pick again. But you don’t have to operate like them.
Here’s an example:
If you can use effective marketing and advertising to generate a stream of paying customers, you can simply flip a coin when you make your picks. Or you can give half your customers one side of a game and the other half the other side of a game.
Let’s say that you can get 400 customers to sign up for a game-of-the-week package for $49 a month. The first week, you give 200 of them one side of a game, and the other 200 the other side of the game. You do the same thing the second, third, and fourth week.
After the first week, 200 customers received a winning pick, and 200 received a losing pick. After the second week, 100 customers received two winners in a row, 200 customers have received one winner and one loser, and 100 customers have received two losers in a row.
After four weeks, you have 25 customers that have received four straight winners, 100 customers that are 3 and 1, 150 customers that are 2 and 2, 100 customers that are 1and 3, and 25 customers that have received four straight losers.
The 25 customers that have received four winners in a row are likely to continue, and the 100 that are 3 and 1 are also likely to continue. You could offer anyone else that doesn’t continue their subscription a half-off deal for the next month.
If you can keep acquiring new customers for a reasonable amount of money, you can build a profitable business model and never have to make a real pick.
I don’t recommend doing business this way. The reason I showed you this example is so you can see why marketing is more important than being able to pick winners.
Of course, it’s best if you can pick winners and learn how to become a good marketer. If you can consistently give your customers good service and winning picks, you can build a solid business that can give you a good profit for years to come.
Do You Have to Be Sleazy?
You just read an example of a sleazy pick seller. A person who runs a business like the one in the example is dishonest, and an argument could be made that they’re a thief. They don’t offer any true value to their customers.
But the sleaze factor doesn’t stop here in the pick selling business. Many sellers make outrageous claims about how great their picks are and how they guarantee winners. They can run a different scam much like the one in the example by offering a money-back guarantee on their picks.
Bovada Sports Betting Customer Service Phone
You pay for a pick and supposedly get your money back if it doesn’t win. They give half the buyers one side of a game and the other half the other side. When the losers try to get their money back, they get offered a free pick or a series of free picks instead.
Let me be clear about this: you don’t have to be sleazy to sell sports picks. Most people aren’t going to believe anything you tell them anyway, so why make untrue and outrageous claims?
Set up and run your business in a different way. Try being honest and try to give true value to your customers. Most pick buyers are so used to getting screwed that if they find a seller who gives good service and is honest, they can be turned into lifetime customers.
It’s up to you how you set up and run your business, but companies that don’t offer any real value to their customers tend to fail. It doesn’t always happen fast, but eventually they tend to crash and burn.
It costs so much to acquire new customers that you can’t afford lose too many of them once you have them. When you run your pick-selling business ethically and continually offer value, you have a good chance to survive and thrive. It’s not a guarantee of success, but it gives the best odds for long-term profits.
Conclusion
If you want to create a way to make money from the sports betting business, consider starting your own pick service. Use this guide about how to start your own business of selling sports picks to get started.
The key is figuring out how to be an effective marketer and offering good service and value to your customers. If you can do these two things, the rest will take care of itself. In this guide, you learned how to pick a model, price your services, and deliver your picks, and the best marketing options to get started.
Now all you need to do is take action. Either build a website or find someone to build one for you, offer a subscription service or package, and start driving traffic to your site