I had been dabbling in online betting for several years, making small bets on NFL games and building parlays for weekends’ fun.
Nothing serious, just a hobby to spruce up the games for me.
Last June, while passing time scrolling through X, I stumbled upon an ad from SportsBetting.ag. 100% Crypto Welcome Bonus – it lit in one ad about doubling my deposit using Bitcoin.
Being into this crypto option makes me more excited because it’s like scamming a fast $500 bonus with a $500 deposit. I signed up that night, really wanting to start.
Later I found out that it was a sister site of BetOnline; and other offshore casinos like Wild Casino and Super Slots.
But OK. Whatever.
The signup process turned out just fine
All I did was fill out my details, link my Bitcoin wallet, and deposit $500. That bonus hit my account instantly like I had $1,000 now to play with. The website was very clean-it was almost too basic, with its gray-and-blue color scheme that seemed so much dated as if there had been no change since 2015.
But easy to navigate. I scrolled through their markets and was impressed by the range: NFL, NBA, college sports, even niche stuff like darts and lower-tier soccer leagues.
My first bet-a $50 moneyline on the Chiefs against the Ravens-and a $25 soccer parlay on some Premier League games. Odds looked competitive, and I loved their player props-over/under on passing yards or shots on goal.
Creating a soccer parlay was quite hectic. The odds had these weird decimal points, like 1.75, 1.25, 2.25 instead of normal numbers like 1.5 or 2.0. It was impossible to mix bets, and some choices just went dark as if the different lines did not want me combining them.
I spent an additional twenty minutes trying to adjust my parlay settings, angrily stuck with a slimmer pay off. It was so minor, but it was bitter in the mouth.
After a few weeks, I found luck knocking on my door
The Chiefs bet came through for me, and as both Arsenal and Liverpool prevailed in their matches, so too did my parlay.
My account was at $1,350, and I decided to cash out $1,000 to pay for my car bill and pay off some credit card debts. I was sure that this would be the fastest route since they advertised “fee-free” crypto payouts.
It was around 11:00 AM on a Tuesday when I decided to log in. I’m lucky that I checked since they only processed withdrawals from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM EST, Monday to Friday. Being a warehouse supervisor, I had to try it during my break while hunched over my phone in the break room. Trying to make a request, I found that they had slapped on a $25 fee.
To make matters worse, I checked the terms, which had buried in fine print a line about “processing fees” on certain crypto transactions. So much for “fee-free.”
It took four days to hit my wallet, way too slow for Bitcoin, in my opinion. I’ve always used Coinbase and transacted before for other things cleared in hours.
The bonus was another headache
That $500 extra came with a 14x rollover requirement, meaning I had to wager $7,000 before I could withdraw any winnings tied to it.
I’m not a big bettor — $50 here, $100 there — so this was daunting. Plus, there was a 30-day lock on cashing out bonus-related winnings. I tried to chip away at it, betting on games I wouldn’t normally touch, like WNBA spreads or random tennis matches. It felt like a second job.
I’d log in after work, bleary-eyed, trying to calculate how much more I needed to wager. By the time I hit the rollover two months later, I’d lost $300 of the bonus winnings to bad bets. The whole thing felt like a trap to keep my money circulating.
The mobile experience made it worse
There’s no dedicated app, just a browser-aligned site. On my iPhone 12, it was fine — responsive enough, though it ate my battery. But when I tried it on my Samsung tablet, it was a mess. The bet slip wouldn’t load half the time, and I’d get stuck on a blank screen if I switched tabs.
One night, I was trying to place a live bet on an NBA game, and the site froze just as I hit submit. I had to restart my tablet, and by the time I got back, the odds had shifted, and I missed the line I wanted.
I started thinking about Bovada, which I’d used a couple of years back. Their app was slick, and their mobile site didn’t glitch like this.
Wondering if I was not alone, I looked on Trustpilot
SportsBetting.ag featured a 3.6/5 rating based on 1,078 reviews as of writing this piece (15th May 2025). James was one critic who shared my complaint regarding soccer betting and decimal odds, stating it shut out parlay possibilities. He also referenced withdrawal limits, such as a two-per-week limit, which I had not reached but could see being a hassle.
There was another guy, Sam, who referred to them as “cheap and shady,” saying that they wouldn’t pay out VIP rewards like their sister domain, BetOnline. I couldn’t accumulate enough wagers to get VIP treatment myself, but Sam’s review did make me question if I’d be stiffed in the future.
Trustpilot’s open platform did make me hesitate, though. I have witnessed salty bettors ruin sites over a bad experience and competitors leaving fake reviews. However, the fee complaints and limitations fit my experience as well to ignore.
The last red flag was their responsible gambling resources — or lack of them. I don’t gamble, but I prefer knowing there are safeguards in place.
SportsBetting.ag had self-exclusion: a temporary suspension (1-30 days), a longer suspension (six months to three years), or a permanent exclusion. You could do it without having to call support, which was a nice touch, but that’s all. No pop-ups telling you you’ve lost the deposit limit, no caps on losses, no reminding you you’ve spent three hours continuous betting.
Problem gambling issues, I don’t believe they care about it
They did have a survey to see if you’re a problem gambler and referrals to Gamblers Anonymous and the National Council on Problem Gambling (1-800-522-4700). But I felt like they were going through the motions, not really giving a care. A website offering $1,000 bonuses and in-play betting needs stronger tools, such as real-time spending reminders or compulsory reality checks. Bovada and Bet365 included those, and it made me believe them more.
By August, I’d had enough
I withdrew the last $350, consuming another $15 crypto fee, and shut my account. SportsBetting.ag wasn’t a complete failure — I did win some money, and the betting lines were strong — but fees, bonus limits, and buggy mobile site wore me down. I learned to read the fine print and use sites that don’t make you jump through hoops for your own funds.
If you’re thinking about trying them, read the fine print and don’t expect a seamless ride. And if betting starts feeling like a burden, hit up the National Council on Problem Gambling at 1-800-522-4700 or www.ncpgambling.org.
Trust me, it’s not worth the hassle.