Who is FutureBet?
7/21/2006 8:13:11 PM
Whether you do a search for problems with Casinos, Sportsbooks, or online Poker Rooms, one name virtually leaps out at you: FutureBet.com.
No other organization appears on so many blacklists, and no matter which category, every complaint you research has the same ring to it.
FutureBet licenses the site, the site attracts players, the players have problems cashing out. Over and over again, this game is played out, with some sites going under and others reappearing to take their place. What is truly amazing is that this has been going on for years, and they continue adding sites regularly, with no end in sight.
How can this be, you ask. How do they keep getting away with this? Well, it seems there are many answers to these questions, as well as no answer at all.
First, a little bit about the company.
FutureBet Gaming Systems, established in 1998, is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
They are technically a software provider, but also license sites and offer what industry insiders refer to as “gaming sites in a box,” turnkey operations that share a common platform of services, including player support and payment processing, and this is key, they control the flow of money.
A major complaint against these sites licensed by FutureBet is that due to the low start-up costs, the sites are underfunded, and consequently prone to financial instability.
Currently, FutureBet has 432 IP addresses for gaming sites, and while not all of these are active, it gives an indication as to the extent of their online ambitions.
Late in 2004, they began to license poker rooms through a sub-licensing deal with Ongame, and so far, the poker sites have not had any better luck getting their players paid than the sportsbooks or the casinos did. Currently, Bayou Poker, Carnaval Poker, and New York Poker have players waiting for cash-outs for over 40 days.
Is this the fault of the operators? The answer, in a lot of the cases, is no. FutureBet controls payments to the players and the operators as well. The owner of Bayou Poker has publically gone on record as stating that neither he nor his manager will get paid until all the players waiting for withdrawals in the recent backlog are paid out.
What it comes down to is this:
The operators of these sites take all the heat, while FutureBet escapes scrutiny due the confusion as to who is really responsible for getting players paid.
Besides, it is widely reported that FutureBet routinely ignores communications from overwrought owners inquiring as to why their customers are not being paid; what chance would an average player have of establishing contact?
So the game continues, established rooms go under due to backlash from frustrated players, new rooms pop up to replace them, and all the while, FutureBet profits.
While many examples of this recurring behavior can be cited, here are some of the more notorious incidents.
In October 2002, tarnished when FutureBet licensee BlackRhinoCasino.com went out of business, stiffing players for over $40,000, FutureBet announced they would insure players for up to $5,000 should one of their licensees go out of business.
Not all of their licensees were required to adhere to this policy, and shortly thereafter, there was no further mention of this insurance and the press release announcing it was removed from FutureBet’s website. It is not known whether or not any player actually ever collected a dime of this insurance.
In December 2003, the owner of LionBet.com asked his affiliates to stop sending him players, because FutureBet was not paying its affiliates and the owner was concerned that this would soon spread to his players. LionBet.com is no longer online.
In July 2003, TopCatCasino.com posted the following message on their site: “TopCatCasino.com is discontinuing operations after months and months| of non-payment in webmaster commissions| and delayed payment of player withdrawals by FutureBet, the company that powers and operates TopCatCasino.com”
In January 2004, IndioCasino.com claimed they were having software problems and they could not pay players. Shortly thereafter, FutureBet removed them from their servers. Stiffed players were given the option of opening an account at one of FB’s licensees. Player balances would be credited to these new accounts, but players would be required to roll this amount over 10 times before being able to cash-out.
In August 2004, FutureBet Director of Business Development, Ron Katz, wrote an e-mail to Sports911 owner Chris Costigan, threatening him for exposing FutureBet’s failure to get a player paid. Here is the full text of the e-mail:
“You guys gone to far. I will be contacting the police in your state regarding gambling911, and letting them know that you are the owner, and you will be charged with aiding and abetting which is a criminal offence in the USA. I will be contacting my lawyers to prepare a slandering law suit against you personally as well.
If you do not want me to move forward this, you will need to contact me on Monday, and if I do not hear from you on Monday I will be making my calls...
Ron Katz
Director of Business Development”
In February 2005, all FutureBet sites were 30 days behind in the processing of Neteller withdrawals.
On 12/16/05, someone named Dan from RevolutionaryPoker.com wrote the following on an Internet forum:
“Futurebet terminated our site without notice because an affiliate posted up an advertisement on PokerRoom.com forums . . .
This advertisement got us shut down because FutureBet accused us of attempting to steal player’s from the Network.
On top of that they have not paid us one cent of our profits. They refuse to answer any calls or emails and have simply ignored us. We retained attorney’s in Canada and also in Nevis (where FutureBet says that they are located). However, there is absolutely nothing we can do . . . We honestly cannot pay you at this time because FutureBet has not paid us one cent. They refuse to even acknowledge us at all. That is why we are working with attorneys. You will be paid as soon as we can get any money from FutureBet.”
In early February 2006, PurePoker.com dropped offline, stiffing players who had deposited money there.
The story came out that the previous owners had looted the company and made off for parts unknown.
Angry players could not get answers from customer support, and took to the forums in droves.
After a month had passed, FutureBet put someone named Pino in charge of dealing with distraught players, who began receiving telephone calls from Pino, offering them substantially less than they had deposited in a lump-sum payment.
Later, this evolved into a payment plan where they would pay a quarter of what was owed monthly until the debt was cleared, providing the players rolled over a certain amount playing at Pure Poker.
As of July 2006, FutureBet is behind in its scheduled payments to players.
Also in February 2006, TheCasinoFiles.com went offline, blaming FutureBet for their problems and stating they would be back online with a different software provider. Neither FutureBet nor The Casino Files claimed responsibility for player funds.
There is another interesting incident regarding an entity calling itself:
“The Ethical Online Gaming Association.” EOGA, is very similar in spelling to the real watching site eCOGRA (e-Commerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), yet EOGA only endorsed FutureBet sites, and these recommended sites, as well as this bogus watchdog site, shared the same servers, which are dedicated only to FutureBet sites.
EOGA is currently offline.
Here is a partial list of FutureBet licensees that have failed:
1. 7SeasCasino.com
2. BettingCenter.com
3. BlackRhino.com
4. FatCatGaming.com
5. FoxGambling.com
6. HighRollers.com
7. IndioCasino.com
8. OceansBet.com
9. OddsMaker.com
10. RevolutioinaryPoker.com
11. RioNet.com
12. TheBookMaker.com
13. TheCasinoFiles.com
14. TopBet.com
15. TopCatCasino.com
The respected online watchdog site, SportsBookReview.com, currently lists 88 FutureBet sites. Of these, 27 are rated D- and the rest are F+ and below.
The pattern with this company is clear and below is a summary of specific complaints against FutureBet.
1. Customer support: FutureBet provides support through FB owned Worldwide Support. It has been reported that WS has one of the highest employee turnover rates in the industry. Frequent player complaints include inadequately trained personnel who lack the necessary knowledge to answer questions, occasional rudeness, and what is charitably described as a consistent inability to respond to queries in a timely and efficient manner.
2. Lack of accountability and availability of company executives: It is frequently reported that when an individual is actually able to contact executives, the response is that the matter will be investigated, and that is usually the last that is heard from them. They do not provide accessibility to those empowered to make decisions regarding player-related issues. As far as accountability, FB executives usually point the finger at operators, and routinely deny any responsibility for guaranteeing the safety of player funds.
3. Inefficient management of player funds: Players should have timely access to funds they have entrusted to gaming sites, yet FB has proven over and over again their complete inability to process withdrawals in a consistently efficient manner, even though their sites claim 24-48 hours for processing Neteller cash-outs. Disregarding the frequent pending cash-out backlogs, they routinely ignore the stated 24-48 hour claim, and players often wait 7 to 14 days.
4. Low withdrawal limit: The policy on all FutureBet sites is a maximum of $2,000 per week. If an individual were lucky enough to win $10,000 on an FB site, with everything running smoothly as far as processing goes, they still would have to wait a minimum of 5 weeks for the cash-out to clear.
5. Lack of transparency as to how much control FutureBet has over its licensees: The uninitiated would most likely think FB is merely a software provider. Clearly, they are much more than this. Yet, time and again, it’s the operators of the sites who get blamed for problems arising out of FB’s mismanagement of payment processing and support.
So what is the answer? Avoid all gaming sites licensed by FutureBet? What about the operators of sites whose intentions are good, yet they are maligned by circumstances out of their direct control?
Quite possibly, if FutureBet were to bear the brunt of player discontent directly, their business would suffer, and they might be forced to clean up their act, instead of allowing battered sites to go under while they blithely license another.
And until this message gets out there fully, they have no reason to change, and sadly, the pattern will most likely repeat itself over and over again.