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  1. #1

    Default SBR John, or Bill Dozer, need attention on Bestlinesports.com

    I see they are rated a B- on your site, you may want to reconsider the rating, or do a background check to Veify the below article.

    Thanks,

    BB

    BetonSports tied to mob-linked website
    Financial Times

    Updated: 10:10 p.m. PT Aug 4, 2006
    BetonSports, the publicly listed UK internet gambling business, has been linked by US prosecutors to a website that employed associates of New York's Gambino crime family to collect debts.

    The website, Bestlinesports.com, used a father and son team in Broward County, Florida, connected to the crime syndicate once run by notorious mob boss John Gotti to gather wagers on sports events and deliver them to Costa Rica, where the website was based at the time, prosecutors in Florida said.

    Joseph "Boca Joe" Fafone and Joseph Jr Fafone were convicted on illegal gambling charges over their work for Bestlinesports.com. Prosecutors described the Fafones as associates of Frank "The Bear" Basto, a Gambino crime family member.

    Bestlinesports.com was one of a number of websites "belonging to or controlled by" BetonSports and affiliated people and companies, according to the indictment against BetonSports filed by the US attorney's office in Missouri.

    The indictment charged BetonSports, Gary Kaplan, its founder, and David Carruthers, its British former chief executive, with racketeering, fraud and other charges.

    Bestlinesports.com is also one of the websites placed under a Federal Court restraining order that has barred BetonSports from operating in the US since last month. A spokesman for BetonSports said the company had "a relationship a few years ago [with Bestline Sports], which was a basic landlord-tenant relationship". He was unsure whether the relationship continued.

    The Department of Justice has characterised the BetonSports case as part of a continuing effort to clamp down on illegal internet gambling. "This has been a priority for some time," a spokesman said. "This indictment is just one in a series."

    The Gambino family link to Bestline Sports was revealed in an investigation by the Broward County sheriff's office, codenamed "Operation Goodfellas", between 2000 and 2002.

    The Fafones were prosecuted after helping an undercover detective place bets through Bestline Sports by phone and on the internet, and then collecting debts owed to the website and delivering winnings. The father and son were described as agents for the website in the affidavit for the case. The conviction of the Fafones took place while Mr Carruthers was working for BetonSports.

    The prospectus for BetonSports' initial public offering in 2004 states that "David Carruthers joined BetonSports in June 2000 as chief executive officer and managing director of its UK subsidiaries".

    This is the second alleged connection to emerge between BetonSports and US mob figures. Last weekend it emerged that another online betting company linked to a separate New York Mafia family, Safe Deposit Sports, had rented office space from BetonSports at its headquarters in San José, Costa Rica. BetonSports denies it has any link to the company apart from once renting offices to it.

    In an interview in 2003 with La Nacion, a Costa Rican news-paper, Mr Carruthers denied BetonSports had any involvement with Bestline Sports beyond a subleasing relationship.

  2. #2

    Default Say no to Bestline....

    It was always known that longtime and senior BOS officials were associated with this book. The only question is to what degree? On a related note someone posted at another site that BestLine had gotten ahold of his brand new email addy when nobody else but BOS had it. It was brand new. Sounds like there is at minimum some sort of information pipeline between these two books, hate to think what the full extent of this connection might be.

    One thing for sure, I don't think it' an overly smart decision for players to be at BestLine these days. Just my opinion of course.

    SBR Founder Join Date: 9/15/2005


  3. #3

    Default

    We are going to check this out. We have visited BestLines and I think we know the scoop. But we will do some further due diligence and either reaffirm our rating or adjust it accordingly.
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  4. #4

    Default Rating all lies

    When you pay you have a better rating
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=348 http://www.bestlinesports.com/?ABID=...Aff=AF-SBRMARK SBR Rating B because they pay to have their rating at B

    if you click on the link: http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=348 it will redirect to: www.bestslinesports.com

    From A+ to B- they all pay sportsbookreview.com to have a better rating

    It's all about Money

    P.S:
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=26 5dimes.com
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=19 vip.com

    all those links come from sportsbookreview.com website. It's all about money my friend.
    SBR does not permit sportsbook ads, special promotions,
    enticements or call-to-action banners that encourage viewers
    to join a sportsbook wagering service. SBR does not recommend or
    encourage any kind of legal or illegal gambling

    it's all lies

  5. #5

    Default

    Its all about money?? Duh. Einstein, every business is about money. No shame in that. Do you work for free?

    Its a business that does its best to recommend the best books and make accurate ratings. By the level of success we have had so far I'd say we are doing a pretty good job, but always room to improve.

    By the way, welcome to the forum! Which book do you work for?
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  6. #6

    Default Rating all lies

    Hi SBR John

    i don't work for a sportsbook. I am student, i'm writting a article about online Gambling. i would like to know why you rating A+ to B-, all the sportsbook that give you money.

    specially bestlinesports.com they are related to organized crime and betonsports.com http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14191117/
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=348

    I would like to know about your rating.Guide..A+ to B- is it a part of business because almost all of them have a Click-tracker except www.betfair.com. can you please Explain.

    and I would like to know why you erase this statement from your website: "SBR does not permit sportsbook ads, special promotions,
    enticements or call-to-action banners that encourage viewers
    to join a sportsbook wagering service. SBR does not recommend or
    encourage any kind of legal or illegal gambling" you just erased it 5 mins ago do you have something to hide?

    http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...oes+not+permit

    and please explain to your unique Visitors that you accept money from all you A+ to B-

    Thank You

  7. #7

    Default

    Pam,
    If you are a student my first advice to you is to brush up on your English. Also, try to look at all sides of an issue even if you have your mind made up as in this case.

    As I said, SBR is a rating service. Are you familiar with Standards and Poors? They rate companies and charge for their ratings. We charge for traffic and we sell banners on our forum and lines products.

    As far as BestLines goes; I think our B- rating is sharp. They have decent customer service and have invested in a new facility. We are are going to continue to check them out though. Is there a connection to a crime family that would justify a lower rating? Possibly. But we want to get as many facts as we can before we hurt a business with a downgrade.
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  8. #8

    Default Conflict Of Interest

    SBR John
    By accepting money From A+ to B-, you are in situation of Conflict of interest by the law

    A conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust, such as a lawyer, a politician, or an executive or director of a corporation, has competing professional or personal interests. Such competing interests can make it difficult to fulfill his or her duties impartially. Even if there is no evidence of improper actions, a conflict of interest can create an appearance of impropriety that can undermine confidence in the ability of that person to act properly in his/her position

    You have to put on your website www.sportsbookreview.com that you accept money to put those rating , Otherwise your rating is illegal.

    Proof of ads from: www.sportsbookreview.com :

    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=26 http://www.5dimes.com/default.asp SBR Rating A
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=47 http://abcislands.com/ SBR Rating B+
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=19 http://www.vip.com/?skin=sports&CampaignID=54243 SBR Rating A+
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=21 http://www.bet365.com/home/default.a...liate=grm_2001 SBR Rating A+
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=348 http://www.bestlinesports.com/?ABID=...Aff=AF-SBRMARK SBR Rating B
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=466 http://www.betbet.com/ SBR Rating A-
    http://www.betandwin.com/ No Tracker because they don't Pay Advertisement SBR Rating C-
    http://www.betbug.com No Tracker because they don't Pay Advertisement SBR Rating C
    http://www.bet-at-home.com No Tracker because they don't Pay Advertisement SBR Rating D
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=373 http://www.betcom.com/ SBR Rating B+
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=432 http://www.betdon.com/ SBR Rating B
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=28 http://www.betcris.com/ SBR Rating A+
    http://www.click-tracker.net/?refid=20 http://www.betjamaica.com/default.aspx?ZID=N727 SBR Rating A+
    http://www.betlion.com/ No Tracker because they don't Pay Advertisement SBR Rating c-




    Thank You John

  9. #9

    Default

    So is Standard & Poors also in conflict? Under your theory ANYONE that is trusted to rate something that is not a non-profit is illegal and in a conflict??

    Hmmm...

    OK, carry on!

    Forgot BetFair A+ and No Tracker...so much for those darn theories
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  10. #10

    Default

    There was an affiliate link for BetOnSports when they were rated D. Sorry if this blows a hole in your argument.

    SBR Founder Join Date: 8/10/2005


  11. #11

    Default Rating all lies

    Hi John

    What happen to :
    "SBR does not permit sportsbook ads, special promotions,
    enticements or call-to-action banners that encourage viewers
    to join a sportsbook wagering service. SBR does not recommend or
    encourage any kind of legal or illegal gambling"
    http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...oes+not+permit

    Can you explain Please?

  12. #12

    Default

    You are getting boring now. The site was written over in an update. That tos will be back on a later update.

    So no comment on if all companies that rate something are illegal and in conflict? Time to move off that arguement already??? Wow! You were easier this time, eh?
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  13. #13

    Default the truth is boring

    Hi John

    The truth hurts. You can't mix Ads and Rating. When there's money involve there's no integrity


    P.S. I'm talking about sportsbookreview.com only

    Thank you

  14. #14

    Default

    There is plenty of room for conflict. I think we do it better than anyone. Most of the books dont like us and I've always thought that was a good sign.

    You can say no integrity and lies which I guess are your opinions because they are not backed by any evidence presented here. I say we rate them as they are and that’s where the business starts. We have in the past downgraded Pinnacle, CRIS(all the way to the Black List) and VIP and will again without hesitation. None have any contracts whatsoever to be on SBR or for a rating.

    Personally, I think we are the best out there. If you find another site doing what we do and doing it better please post it here.
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  15. #15

    Default

    The only area where I think SBR haven't pushed as hard as they should is European integration. They have plenty of European posters, and it wouldn't be that hard for them to set up an office (or even just a person) here to liase with European books, who can visit offices in London to discuss issues etc..

    It's a hole in the market I've often thought about exploiting, but I don't have the marketing experience to make it work. In my opinion there's a huge market for fair and impartial ratings of European books, and SBR's current effort is "European books for Americans!"

    SBR Founder Join Date: 9/8/2005


  16. #16

    Default

    When we reorganized and moved to Costa Rica we had considered London so we could focus on Europe. I love the UK, soccer and a proper breakfast.

    At some point we became convinced that the large Euro books would continue to lose ground to the low juice and high incentive books in the Caribbean. And then BetFair continued to grow and we wondered what effect exchanges would have.

    That proper breakfast just doesn’t seem to be getting closer.
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  17. #17

    Default

    I don't think you neccesarily need to move here, just have 1-2 people over here that can meet with books on your behalf, and can run (or maintain) a European facing subsidiary.

    You're partially correct that the low juice / high bonus books offshore are more enticing to the "professional", but there are many recreational gamblers in Europe who wouldn't dream of posting up with a company out of C.R. but would like more accurate ratings of the customer service, payout policies, lines on soccer etc.. of people like Stan James, Victor Chandler, Expekt, Sverge etc..

    For example, I could (and have in the past) meet with someone at Stan James at 2-3 hours notice in London, and someone at Expekt in Austria at about 8 hours notice, on a £40 return ticket. Though I don't know the extent of your communication lines with those books, I suspect that being local would be hugely advantageous.. even in cases like BOS, you could do more in terms of presenting data from AIM, talking to board members, tabling questions for Lord Glentoran, if you were local.

    Finally, with the 2007 legislation, I think you'll see more US facing books out of the UK in the next few years
    Last edited by Santo; 08-29-06 at 05:31 PM.

    SBR Founder Join Date: 9/8/2005


  18. #18

    Default

    what i can tell you about this book is that they will boot winners and pros very fast

  19. #19

    Default

    Yoshi, right you are. They are very quick with the hook.

    Santo, sure, would love to explore the possibilities. We obviously lack the expertise to do more than our current effort.
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  20. #20

    Default

    Apparently that BestLines article is quite old, according to a source. BestLines is currently training 75 new clerks. They sent out a massive mailer and have been getting good response.

    These guys were close to BOS 3 years ago but were bought out and afterwards did not remain and had no further affiliation.

    My sources tell me the money is good and they will boot anyone that pretends to have a clue. They are going for the recreational player only. While this is not popular among player websites like this one, it shows these are business men and not gamblers.

    For now I think the B- is a sharp rating and if anything maybe a little low.
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  21. #21

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by SBR_John
    Apparently that BestLines article is quite old, according to a source. BestLines is currently training 75 new clerks. They sent out a massive mailer and have been getting good response.

    These guys were close to BOS 3 years ago but were bought out and afterwards did not remain and had no further affiliation.

    My sources tell me the money is good and they will boot anyone that pretends to have a clue. They are going for the recreational player only. While this is not popular among player websites like this one, it shows these are business men and not gamblers.

    For now I think the B- is a sharp rating and if anything maybe a little low.
    john,thanks for the update on them

    SBR Founder Join Date: 9/20/2005


  22. #22

    Thumbs down

    Quote Originally Posted by SBR_John View Post
    Apparently that BestLines article is quite old, according to a source. BestLines is currently training 75 new clerks. They sent out a massive mailer and have been getting good response.

    These guys were close to BOS 3 years ago but were bought out and afterwards did not remain and had no further affiliation.

    My sources tell me the money is good and they will boot anyone that pretends to have a clue. They are going for the recreational player only. While this is not popular among player websites like this one, it shows these are business men and not gamblers.

    For now I think the B- is a sharp rating and if anything maybe a little low.
    Yet now John, you admit there are BOS executives present?

    So if it had been proven true that there were BOS connections with BetOnline/Bestlines, you admit it would have been a problem...

    Yet today it doesn't seem to matter?

    THE SHRINK

    SBR Founder Join Date: 8/10/2005


  23. #23

    Default

    "The truth hurts. You can't mix Ads and Rating. When there's money involve there's no integrity" by pamelasexy

    i think this site is the best at what it does, and on that note, as john stated about standard and poor, all kinds of companies pay for rating or advertise, its like companies getting ISO2000 certified or a JD power ranking.

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