Betting sites scam

[Deactivated] on 21/09/2008 - 07:37

There are a number of sites offering you access to betting sites - if you join up they get commissions on the join up.

Some are the same sites you can get cashback from Moneybackco. So the moneyback you would get through Moneybackco goes to these sites rather than you.

They have spammed this site an number of times with postings.

As this is a bargain site and we don't permit members to get "commissions" on postings we will continue to unpublish the "deals" these spammers try to publish.

If you want to get something from betting sites I suggest you work with Moneybackco. If they aren't a commission member from a specific betting site maybe they can be. Or also visit the betting sites themselves they will probably give you a better deal (eg more free bets) than going through one of the spammers sites.

Or save your money (saving is a form of bargain hunting) and avoid the betting sites - but thats purely a personally viewpoint.

Cheers

General Discussion

Comments

  • Pyro on 21/09/2008 - 10:52

    MoneyBackCo worked for me with sportsbet.com.au. It took a bloody long time to come through, but it was true to it's word (eventually).

  • kcyw on 21/09/2008 - 11:26

    Yes, I made a profit with MoneyBackCo too. But I made new accounts with other sites and kept betting when I could have withdrawed and eventually lost money.

    So, my advice, if you decide to bet, is don't get carried away (and think you know what you are doing) and quit while you are ahead. This is harder for poor people, I think.

  • Pyro on 21/09/2008 - 11:29

    Ah ok, I'm not really a gambler as such, i do like a punt, but prefer to try and pick the round in the A-League for $1 on a 40/1 win and throw in some premier league certainties to boost the multibets. Fun times.

  • pauly on 21/09/2008 - 13:33

    Personally, I think most betting offers should not be allowed. Gambling can be an addiction and this is exactly what the betting companies are hoping for by 'luring' you into it. For the price that most these companies are offering you, I don't think it's worth it.

    Although this may sound hypocritical, betting offer like this should be ok, that is any offer that can guarantee you cash or surplus without any catch. ;)

  • scotty on 21/09/2008 - 19:52
    +1

    IF I let my dictatorship has its way — I would not let any gambling/betting site post here on OzBargain. I know they are a big source of state government revenue. I know they are "supposed to be fun". I know some of them actually give you free credit to bet, but as pauly has said they are very different from guaranteeing you free kickback from affiliates.

    And gambling can be addictive. I won't say it is ALWAYS addictive — but then I think everyone would know someone who have spent way too much time/money on gambling, and how that bad habit of theirs has destroyed family and personal lives.

    The very concept of gambling is "taking everyone else's money and making them mine, if I guess the number correctly", which is not related to bargain at all.

    The moderators will need to come up with a clear guideline on whether or not gambling related sites should be allowed to be posted on OzBargain in the future.

  • elcheapo on 21/09/2008 - 20:39

    I always vote down any gambling sites/deals here.. just simply, they aren't bargain.

    One deal could offer up to $200 free bet, but, in all honesty, they aren't free bet, and worst, you could lose your money.

    Ethically, gambling can lead to addiction, family break-up, etc, etc, and hence, I don't want this "family friendly" site ruined by gambling post.

    Categorically, gambling offer (ie, free bet / bonus bet offer), although they're may be free, honestly, you can win and quite almost possibly, you can lose. Therefore, I don't think something that you can lose money from is a bargain. They're not bargain at all.

    Legally, (this is far reaching, but it may happen), one disgruntled member could sue OzBargain because they allowed gambling offer to be posted, thus, lost thousand and thousands of dollars because of it.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/09/2008 - 22:40

    The postings I delete are not because they are gambling sites, they are referral sites to gambling sites so they make money out of people who come here and think that its one of our members sharing a deal, when in reality its someone linked to the referral site.

    So while Herr Scotty doesn't like the gambling sites, per se they are in my opinion within the spirit, if they offer a deal directly to our members/visitors. (Scotty - Your dictator comment encouraged my Herr Scotty tag - so I am just having a little fun with you.. )

    As for the comments about being careful with these sites, I wholeheartedly agree. Be careful playing with fire - its very easy to get burnt.

  • Zippy7 on 22/09/2008 - 22:04

    I think that allowing gambling website deals is probably contrary to the original intention of this website/against the spirit of the website.

    Why do I say that?

    Well, what does your "About Us" say: 'Our goal is simple — bringing the best deals and bargains in Australia to consumers…'

    So, I ask, WHY are you doing this?
    To help people save money. Some of us may be fortunate enough not to be living close to the edge, and probably would get by fine without the bargains…
    Other folk might benefit greatly from saving money.

    Either way, I feel that offers from a gambling website is not going to help people to save money.
    In my mind, it conflicts with the main end result. You don't want poor folk being tempted by gambling.

    My 2 cents worth.

    ps. If you are going to accept gambling deals, then you might as well start showing gambling ads!!

  • jashjash on 23/09/2008 - 00:21

    I don't think gambling sites should be allowed because even though gambling is market as fun, social thing, it leads to many lives being wrecked.

    Sure some people might not be addicted, but there are definitely those that are, and those that are just looking for any opportunity to start up again.

    I think of it as the straw the breaks the camels back, it's possible that by going to the gambling site and grabbing a "freebie" they could be on their way to losing a lot of money again.

    But by prohibiting gambling sites, then other debates into ethics will probably pop up again in the future, which might fall into the same category, like alcohol, cigarettes, pornography, abortions.

    E.g. 2 for 1 abortions, ends October 17th. Be quick!

    :-/

    I might have exaggerated that a bit, but I was just trying to say that once there's a decision now, then it'll be some sort of precedent for future morally debatable areas.

  • at9 on 23/09/2008 - 00:49

    Not everybody will find everything that is posted a bargain so to dismiss or vote down an offer because of you own ethical beliefs is absurd.

    As Zippy7 pointed out ‘Our goal is simple — bringing the best deals and bargains in Australia to consumers’. The offer should be judged on whether it is a good deal or a bad one not that you think that every product in this category is wrong.

    As extreme as this may sound it is the equivalent of voting down every offer on books because you don't like reading.

    And with gambling as with everything self control needs to be exercised. If you can afford to lose the money required to get whatever is being offered simple don’t sign up. Because the basic definition of a gambling problem is not whether you are addicted or not but if you are losing more than you can afford to.

    • pauly on 23/09/2008 - 01:06

      But the thing is, there are many people who have been posting betting deals that have almost non-existent initial return, where you are given some sort of wager, and you have to win your money wagered in bets in order to get some sort of cash. In other words, most of them don't offer you "guaranteed" money at the very beginning, with the exception of a few deals posted. IMHO, this is no different to competitions with the 'play to win' concept (except in this case, you can be tempted by greed and potentially loose money if you continue forking out money when your initial credits finish), where they are not regarded as deals around here.

      Pete also raised another interesting point: These "no guarantee" type deals are the ones that people have been posting a lot recently and most of them get some sort of commission through referrals to betting sites. This should be banned. Monetary gain at the expense of potential financial misfortune of other members is not cool.

      • press711 on 23/09/2008 - 01:17

        Simple solution - the ones that do not offer a guaranteed return should be turned down. Banning all gambling deals wouldnt be the best idea.

        Here is a similar suggestion - if we have people constantly submitting deals for usb disks and only a few of them are vaue for money or not scams looking for personal details. We should ban all USB disk deals.

  • press711 on 23/09/2008 - 01:07

    I would agree with at9. I am sure there will be people with shopping addictions who have overspent their credit cards visting this site. Maybe we should only put products which do not promote consumerism. Like non-branded cheap products which essentially do the same that branded products do.

    And, maybe we should not put deals relating to fast-food, huge lcd monitors or power hungry plasmas or for that matter alcohol(does anyone remember the post on wine ?? ).

    This is not a political or religious or a moral platform - if you dont like gambling, just put a message against the gambling deal in bold saying. PLEASE NOTE: Gambling can be addictive. For help contact the Gamblers Helpline.

    EDIT: Can we also only have deals from companies which support fair trade?

  • T Man on 23/09/2008 - 05:25

    Ok, so I agree, no need to encourage gambling, however, there are deals (the moneybackco deal for centrebet and sportingbet) which offer more money than you have to invest, which is guaranteed to give u more than what u have to sign up for. I personally signed up for both centrebet and sporting bet, paid total $40 sign up, got $210 cash back plus a 100 dollar free bet. So i made 170 outright, plus ur expected gain on any betting site is .9x. So if u know any stats, u should get most of your initial bets back just by betting half of ur sign up on each side of one event. Hence, not only is this a deal, but free money

    JashJash: 2 for 1 abortions… I believe that is a deal, u live in a country where abortions are legal, just because you dont find them ethical, doesn't mean that getting two for one isnt going to benefit someone. Maybe I am biased, but I believe this site should be secular. I'm happy for 2 for 1 kiddy porn sites to be banned from posting. But the law allows for abortion, gambling and alcohol. Saying that posting deals for these goods and services should be banned is essentially censorship and unconstitutional.

    I do agree with deleting any posts that are from sites that make money from people using their deals. Such as, centrebet posting the deal, but if someone else posts the deal about centrebet, thats fair game. In any other case, let the users decide with their votes. A free tshirt for a 100 dollar sign up to some may seem dodgy, but if u know that u can get a .9x return ( 90 dollars) and a shirt, then your shirt costs u 10 dollars, whereas it would have cost u 30 otherwise… that is a deal.

    My point is, I made more than 170 dollars from these betting deals. It is unfair for me to be denied these deals because a) some people gamble too much or b) some people are religious and think gambling is 'unethical'.

    • scotty on 23/09/2008 - 11:11

      You don't have to be religious to think that gambling is unethical. Actually ethic aside, the matter of fact is that gambling has ruined lives of many. Abortion — it is now going the extreme because in many cases it's also illegal in Australia, which should definitely be banned. That would be in the same category as "free illegal drugs for 4 weeks" or "free kiddy pr0n" — hardly a freebie at all and I would definitely not want to see them on OzBargain.

      While I agree that OzBargain should be "secular", I also want it to appeal to the general public, or be "G-Rated". As we live in a society with multitude of people of different believes/moral system, we might need to take the lowest common denominator that minimise conflicts. Some things might be considered as "extreme" by some — maybe someone might want to start a site called "ExtremeBargains" (Justed checked, the .com.au domain is still available :)

  • tabfitz19 on 23/09/2008 - 09:02

    I love my gambling and bet on almost anything but I don't think it should be considered a bargain.
    With those sites offering a $200 free bet get your mates together join at the same time and bet against each other so one of you will collect then go halves. I have found the U.K sites offer the best promotions and when I was doing it one site was offering a 250 pound free bet so definately worth doing.
    They are now offering a free 200 pound spread bet but you need to have 5 previous bets to release the bonus, again all you do is bet against your mate on a short price soccer matches until you receive your free bet eg Man U - Chelsea.
    Of course there is still no guarantee but the odds have turned in your favour two points though rip out your money as soon as you have your free bet (not like me) and if you don't know what spread betting is make sure you learn before doing this as it can get very expensive.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/09/2008 - 09:57

    Given that this has raised many very good points and tips, I have a suggestion, that may work.

    If we stop all gambling bargains being posted on the main page, and have a forum posting instead. Many of the Free bet deals like Centrebet, Sportsbet are ongoing, so they get lost over time. The forums tend to attract different people and we also have the ability to explain ourselves in more detail without the distraction of positive and negative voting, which often raises defensive comments.

    Moderators can delete postings made on the main board and repost them in the forums if they are not referral scams. Scotty may even be able to limit access to the forum based on an option to view gambling button in user preferences.

    Personally I don't like gambling - I do part time work in a club so I see people enjoy themselves, but also others who just burn their assets. That said very occasionally I will just take $10 and play it for fun - after losing it I just mutter to myself and move on.

    Some of the deals that are offered by these sites can be bargains if played right. I have made some good money from them with very little gambling risk. BUT I accept and warn that there is the danger for me and others if not thought out well. The sites themselves gamble that more will lose from these deals than win.

    The ability to share what works and to minimise the risk involved with these sites just like Tabfitz, T man Kcyw and others above have done, will help those who want to take the risk.

    This way we provide an avenue for those to make the best of these deals, while not actively promoting them. and it's an opt in service.

    Other thoughts??

    • press711 on 23/09/2008 - 11:16

      This is discrimination I say * sob *

      Just kidding, either way i dont care. But I personally dont check the forums mini section as often, as the main deals section.

    • scotty on 23/09/2008 - 11:19

      Sounds like a doable idea. Move all the "ExtremeBargains" to a dedicated forum section with more relaxed moderation rules. However, it still needs to be policed because we still need to work out something that is slightly "alternate", and something that is just out right illegal.

  • jashjash on 23/09/2008 - 10:35

    I guess after reading the feedback from others, my other input would be to clarify the "About Us" section of the site. As it was posted earlier, it's perceived that the site's goal is "Our goal is simple — bringing the best deals and bargains in Australia to consumers."

    But as with any site, the way it is run is a reflection of its owner/management. And when you can put any deal on the site, then I guess it's open to anything.

    If a site was run with the owner's and moderator's morals and values then I would have no problem with it. You can agree with it and continue to use the site, or stop visiting and move on to other sites - there are plenty more on the internet.

  • T Man on 23/09/2008 - 12:35

    I would agree that seeing as this site has no age restriction, an 18+ area is warranted for alcohol and gambling. Although, I don't check the forums that frequently, so I would prefer a simple filter that I can check in my profile to allow 18+ deals.

    (As a side note, Abortion isn't illegal in any Australian state, although you require valid reasons. If there were deals on abortion, this should not have to go in an 18+ section because abortion is available to minors, and nowhere except W.A. requires parental consent)

  • jimbo on 23/09/2008 - 12:55

    I occasionally gamble myself and don't mind any gambling deal :)

    However, regardless of ethic, religious, or whatever you believe in, gambling offer is not bargain.

    Most deal (ie, free bet or free $$$), comes with a long piece of strings, and as pauly said above, the winning is not guaranteed either.

    I don't agree to total ban to gambling deal, but, perhaps I agree with T Man for allowing different section for 18+

    Jimbo

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