[BigBollocks]

This last weekend I was looking to make some large place bets on Curlin in the Belmont Stakes. I had decided to put my action down at a few well-graded books that offered horse rebates, and decided to give Carib a try.

Carib offers a $50 bonus to new accounts, and before going into work one morning last week I decided to **** around on their virtual racing game (I had no intentions of winning fyi, and was doing this purely for the hell of it). They had options to bet to win as well as to lay horses (where at the time it said simply not to win). I won my first few lays, and then had a couple of races that completed with my lay horse finishing 2nd or 3rd. Not once did a horse I laid go on to win the race. However, when going back to check my balance I saw it had been completely depleted. I figured it might have been a grading error throughout, as the rules at their Blues Club Casino at the time read (this is copied and pasted from last week)....

Lay
To place a Lay bet, click on the [+] and [-] buttons to adjust the amount to bet on each horse. Your total stake and maximum return will be shown below. Once finished, click Add To Bet Slip. Click Begin Race to start the race. If your horse does not win the race (loses), you win the odds for that bet!

I sent an e-mail to the customer service, and was first told they'd check on it, and then told they had changed the rules on the website and hoped I would understand. They changed the rules to where a lay entailed any horse not finishing in the top three. Of course no one would lay 1/10 or 1/5 or whatever on a horse not finishing in the top three in an eight horse field. They told me they'd talk to a manager about a rebate and would get back to me soon. Of course a week later and I never heard anything.


How ****ing stupid can a book be? I never desire a bonus at all and was going to give them my action straight up as I just wanted to play some horses. However, by cheating, changing the rules, and then never even responding they'll never see my business over a damn $50 free play. Once you've shown to not care about customer service that's it for me, and they've pissed off thousands of dollars of action (granted they were fortunate not to have taken my Belmont bet) over cheating on a free play. I'd stay well clear of these guys....

[Seattle Slew]

I'd recommend staying within the US on your horse bets. The rebates are tempting, but with payment processor problems, it's not worth the risk on getting paid if you hit a big score.

There are plenty of free OTB phone accounts available in most states. At least that is legal in the US.

[bookie]

That's unfortunate. They used to be a hidden gem of a book.

If I were you I'd use the message system and explain that you are unhappy with how your claim has been handled and would like to be able to speak on the phone with a manager. See if they will give you a name and a time to call, and ask that the manager be made familiar with all your communications.

Then go through the whole thing with him or her on the phone, keeping the irritation out of your voice as best you can.

If you do this, let us know what happens.

[BigBollocks]

Seattle I'll take any suggestions you have on that end. My main problem has been that the US horse industry I feel are killing themselves with their greed and lawsuits. Youbet only shows and allows you to wager at certain tracks, Xpressbet others, twinspires has the Churchill owned tracks, tvg others, etc.

With this breakup and exclusivity you have to have five accounts in order to cover all the major tracks. Andy Beyer had an article recently about this, but the industry is killing themselves in making it such a big headache on us all...

[BigBollocks]

That's unfortunate. They used to be a hidden gem of a book.

If I were you I'd use the message system and explain that you are unhappy with how your claim has been handled and would like to be able to speak on the phone with a manager. See if they will give you a name and a time to call, and ask that the manager be made familiar with all your communications.

Then go through the whole thing with him or her on the phone, keeping the irritation out of your voice as best you can.

If you do this, let us know what happens.

Thanks bookie. I had a friend that used to swear by them in the past, but it seems they've been slipping downhill for awhile. Whatever the winnings amounted to are rather irrelevant and I'm just not sure it's worth the hassle. More disappointing is thinking you'd found another out for horses and being completely wrong. That said I'm glad I found out for nothing as opposed to trying to cash out for five figures and being stonewalled. Anyone that changes their rules, tells you to basically go **** yourself after their previous rules had made you a winner, and then won't even contact you within a week over $50 to $150 is not a book I'm sure I want to trust my money with. The whole situation was surprising to me....

[bookie]

Big Bollock...of course the racing industry has been slitting their own throats for thirty years...I don't know if there would still be more than five tracks operating if the industry didn't benefit from slots...of course if you're a horseplayer you've got to get rebates.

There were big pure horse hubs operating before offshore sportsbooks got huge, and they will continue to operate as the racing industry continues to bleed into its bathtub.

[bookie]

I see your point and couldn't blame you if you never contacted Bet Caribe again.

On the other hand you can sometimes tell a lot about a book based on how they handle a screw-up. If you take the trouble to get through to someone and explain the situation and what kind of action you would like to give them you might be surprised. They might take full responsibility for their error, and give you someone to talk to if problems come up in the future.

As in any business it can pay to cultivate relationships.

[Bill Dozer]

BigB,

Feel free to send a timeline of what happened and your account ID to Assistance@SportsbookReview.com. Sometimes Carib's issues aren't escalated fast enough but they usually are flexible with stuff like this.

[Seattle Slew]

I agree 100 percent. And you can add in NYRA selling their TV rights for the Belmont to ABC instead of keeping it on NBC, which airs the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

Plus, ABC did a shitty job for years on its Triple Crown coverage. Ratings on NBC have been up 30 percent since they took over.

[QUOTE=BigBollocks;283020]My main problem has been that the US horse industry I feel are killing themselves with their greed and lawsuits. Youbet only shows and allows you to wager at certain tracks, Xpressbet others, twinspires has the Churchill owned tracks, tvg others, etc.

[jjgold]

I'd recommend staying within the US on your horse bets. The rebates are tempting, but with payment processor problems, it's not worth the risk on getting paid if you hit a big score.

There are plenty of free OTB phone accounts available in most states. At least that is legal in the US.

Best advice you can ever get

I think Youbet has the most tracks to bet along with actual track accounts like NJ, or Phila

[BigBollocks]

Bookie perhaps I'll pursue it once more just to be sure in writing them off. I can genuinely tell you this has nothing to do with the money, but rather the fact that I found their actions completely dishonourable. To piss off my action by cheating on a freeplay is absurd in my opinion.

Thanks SBRJohn, it's nice to know I have that option should I go further and really get screwed by them.

[BigBollocks]

Best advice you can ever get

I think Youbet has the most tracks to bet along with actual track accounts like NJ, or Phila

No doubt about it JJ, Seattle really knows his stuff. He gave me a suggestion for a certain state's OTB online/phone account that looks as promising as anything I've come across (thanks again Slew) that covers almost all horse tracks, as well as greyhound tracks and even jai alai lol. I'm hoping to get kicked off there by the weekend....