This is a new direction for Covers.com. We have been online since 1995 and have never posted an actual sportsbook ranking list. Sure, we've had Top Sportbook pages, and even Recommended Sportsbook lists, but we have never before come together and created a list that ranks sportsbooks from the top down.
So why are we doing it now? This is a direct response to the American government's interference in our industry.
Since the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, the American government has set its sights upon shutting down access to sports gambling information to Americans. Not only have they used the UIGEA to force banks to stop processing financial transactions, but they have also abused the legal system to keep online gambling companies from freely advertising their services to willing Americans.
These actions have all combined to force difficult times on a lot of honest companies. Some companies were forced out of the American market, or out of business altogether. Some companies have struggled mightily. Some companies took advantage of the situation and thrived. And due to the advertising restrictions, a situation has developed where misinformation and rumors are the only sources gamblers have available to separate the safe companies from the unsafe.
Investors have the S&P 500, car buyers have Consumer Reports, even electronics purchasers can research their choices on CNet. But until now, there has not been a definitive and trustworthy list of sportsbooks that are strong and safe.
The Covers.Com Top 10 Sportsbooks List aims to address address that situation.
What is the List?
Simple. The List represents the sportsbooks we feel are the best options for prospective sports gamblers.
How do you rank the companies?
Very carefully, and with great difficulty.
The companies we place at the top of the List are there because we feel they offer the best available combinations of reputation, security, usability, game options, service availability, cost-effectiveness, customer service, and last but not least, our own experienced opinions. The companies that are lower on the List are no less secure, but they might not offer as perfect a combination of features.
All of that being said, the biggest factor is whether we trust these companies to live up to their place on the List. We have been in this business a long time, and we have had face-to-face meetings and handshakes with virtually all of the members of the List. They are on the List because we trust them to justify our rankings.
If a company does not make the List at all, you might want to ask yourself, "Why?"
Are the books at the bottom of the List still safe?
Absolutely. Covers.com has spent the last 12+ years building a reputation and we are not going to ruin that now.
We consider ourselves to be a media organization, and we hold ourselves to certain standards of integrity. We thank our members for justifying this effort by making Covers.com the top sports gambling information site on the Internet. This level of success means we can afford to be selective about our advertisers. We have never risked our reputation by knowingly advertising an unsuitable company, and we never will. Nobody wins if we recommend a bad company to our users and trash our reputation.
Likewise, now that we have the List, we are aware of the responsibility that comes with it, and are doubling up our efforts to be even more careful and selective. We would never place a company on the List if we did not feel 100% comfortable that our users are making a smart decision to join that service.
The differences between the top and lower companies is so small that some people might find the reasons insignificant - but it is our job to notice those differences. Perhaps the signup bonuses are not quite as rewarding. Perhaps they do not offer as wide a range of products. Perhaps they do not have as well-established a reputation. Perhaps we just are not as familiar with their principal management team as we are with others. Little things unfortunately make a difference when you are sorting the cream of the crop.
But the bottom line is: If they are on the List, they can be trusted. If they are at the top of the List, even better.
Will the List change?
Yes. We will be re-evaluating rankings frequently, if not constantly.
Sports betting is a seasonal pass-time, and unfortunately some companies do a better job of catering to some sports over others. The best sportsbooks will offer a quality product during all seasons, but you can expect lower positions to regularly shift slightly depending on the season.
Finally, as prominent members of the industry we frequently come in to information that might cause us to re-think positions on the list. Perhaps it is something as simple as an increased number of complaints on our forum, which we regularly investigate, and this gives us reason to question a company's customer service commitment. Or a small change in bonus structure might change a company's rankings slightly. Slight changes are no reason to worry.
However, sometimes we come into information that is more serious, and in those cases it would be reckless for us to continue recommending a company highly if we have reason to question their integrity or sustainability. In those cases, we might have no choice but to drop a company significantly in the rankings, or off the List altogether.
For that reason, we recommend that you check the List frequently to ensure that Covers.com still feels you are dealing with a Top 20 Sportsbook.
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