online bookies question

i've been hearing these stories about how some online books treat their winning customers(not too friendly,to say the least ), especially the ones from eastern europe and other "dubious countries".:rolleyes
i'm from romania and i'd like to open an online account, so the question is this : if i do everything right and i am totally honest with all their questions and all that, is there any chance that in case i won big money a large/serious book or exchange(will.hill, betfair...) could still deny my withdrawal requests?
any opinions or experiences on this theme would be very welcome:hat

With the big books (Hills, Ladbrokes, Corals, Bluesq, Paddy Power) you're virually certain of getting paid, although Coral have been known to refuse to pay out a big winner (Terry O'Callaghan) in the past:

The only exception here is when the bookie claims to have made a 'palpable error', which certain bookies seem to cite all too frequently - search the threads here for examples.

If you're a big winner they'll simply refuse your subsequent bets rather than welsh on ones you've already made.

The three main established exchanges (betfair, sportingoptions, betdaq) are also safe.

The lesser known online books vary in risk and one seems to go bust leaving winners unpaid every couple of months. It's best to ask around in each individual case before getting involved.

i've heard a lotta disgusting things about coral(no singles till sometime ago, shity odds,...), but this thing about not paying that poor bloke is just too much>:
so why are people still using them? is it the herd mentality? i mean even if you don't bet online, there are still so many other highstreet books of all shapes and sizes in britain. is it just the customers' utter stupidity? cause i just don't get it...

Well many people will not have heard of that case, I had not until it was posted here. Most people will only stop using a bookmaker when they personally have a bad experience, they will not "go on strike" just because someone else has a bad experience unless perhaps they know the person.

Don't know where you get the "shitty odds" from. Do they take a bigger profit than most other bookies, is their overround excessive? I don't think it is. In fact, when they were trebles only often they were best priced about popular selections. Don't forget, odds are just opinions expressed numerically. What may appear "shitty" to you may signal value to another punter who has correctly assessed the fair odds.

i don't remember where i read that odds thing, but i guess you're right...btw, in the case of the big highstreet books, where can you find the bigger odds: online or in the betting shop?

No easy answer to that one but odds in shops are less likely to move in response to the market. It is much easier to change online odds than it is to mark up all the coupons in a shop. Also shop punters probably still do mainly multiples so the odds on an individual game don't matter so much. At the end of the day if you want best odds you need to have a lot of accounts and be prepared to spend some time at Betbrain or any other comparison site.

I don't think it's fair to bring up the O'Callaghan case without giving full details. I sympathise with this guy BUT his betting slip was not validated and he could have and should have checked. I know, no-one does.

Also Corals over-round is the same as Hills and Ladbrokes, and I've never had a problem with them.

i just visited eurobet.com and i must say that the offer is not bad at all..methinks i was wrong about coral in this matter:o :o :o

Corals are by far the shabbiest of the big three IMHO. I was reduced to £20 max stake with them without ever backing a winner with them. A friend of mine kept getting knocked back by them then one day was told his bet had been accepted.......with one furlong to go when his horse was out of contention. He had to go to IBAS and wait over six months to get his stake back!

Taken from the Racing Post letters page about the O'Callaghan case:

In September, 1996, Terry placed a pounds 50 bet in a Coral betting shop. He won pounds 259,000. Coral, while initially agreeing everything was in order to pay out, told Terry several days later that the shop manager had failed to film the bet and, under their rules, it was void. They refunded him his pounds 50 stake money.
Terry was forced to accept Coral's word that the bet was not filmed, as they refused to show him the film of that day's trading. To date, that original film has never been shown to Terry or his
legal representatives.
The shop manager admitted in a written statement that it was his mistake in failing to film the bet. Moreover, in April 1997, Bill Simmonds, Coral's area manager at the time, said in a sworn statement: "We have checked the bet, there is nothing untoward with it at all. We have recommended head office to pay it."