M Justbet Cx

The latest tweets from @JustBetcx. JustBet was founded back in 1996. They are based out of and licensed in Costa Rica. The company was originally located at JustBet.com but were forced to change the name of the domain due to the US Government’s overall crackdown on online gambling within the US.

JustBet has been a part of the sportsbook industry since 1995, in the days leading up to Web-based sports betting. The site has undergone some big changes over the years, including the addition of racebook, live in-play, and casino games, and a big switch to the Bookmaker platform in 2006.

Overview

Let’s start with the positive stuff. Here are some reasons to
consider opening an account at JustBet:

I know plenty of gamblers who like to play
blackjack, bet on football, AND watch the ponies, and though the
lack of a poker room may be disappointing to some, it’s a
convenient collection of gambling options in a single location.
If you’re the type of gambler that likes to mix up his bets,
you’ll enjoy this feature.

As far as I could tell, the only
country expressly forbidden at JustBet is France. USA-based
bettors have a difficult time finding a spot to accept their
bets, after the passage of the 2006 UIGEA bill that prohibits
certain financial transactions between Americans and known
gambling sites. If you live in the USA and you want to place a
sports bet or play an online slot game, you’ll appreciate that
JustBet accepts your business.

Every site has rollover
requirements – nobody’s in the business of giving away money –
but in some areas of JustBet’s promotions page, I found totally
decent bonus offers with clear terms and conditions. For
example, the sportsbook bonus rollover is 4x deposit-plus-bonus,
consistently, across all sports-related promotions. I may scoff
at the 40x rollover for the site’s slot bonus, but it’s worth
pointing out where they do well in this regard.

Now it’s time for the bad stuff. Here are some things that
concern me about JustBet’s services:

The location of an online sportsbook or casino’s headquarters is not
usually a big deal. We worry more about the jurisdiction where
the site’s license is issued from. JustBet’s “licensing,” such
as it is, supposedly comes directly from the Costa Rican
government. The reason that’s troublesome? Costa Rica doesn’t
have any infrastructure to properly license games of chance.
Apparently, the only requirement for running a gambling website
from Costa Rica is submitting payment to the government for a
business license. Proper licensing, at a cost of $10,500 per
year, is the only thing preventing a rogue operation from
setting up shop in Costa Rica. I’m not saying that JustBet is a
rogue operation just because it’s based in Costa Rica, but that
fact doesn’t inspire any kind of confidence in their legitimacy.

I just counted, and the site hosts a grand total of 36 games,
including all slots, table games, and other options. I couldn’t
be less excited about a game library if it punched me in the
nose. Even the user interface looks outmoded, all matte gray,
silver, black, and red. I go into more detail in the Casino
section below.

I’ll explain – I think it’s
weird that customer service isn’t available around the clock,
like at all the big sportsbook and casino sites I’ve ever
reviewed. I can’t think of a specific complaint on that subject
– it’s just not good that they don’t follow the same standard as
their competitors. In that same vein, I’m miffed that I couldn’t
access a list of available casino games (or a few other site
features) without opening an account. I didn’t have to pay them
or anything, but I’m not used to not having access to a casino
library without first opening an account. Again, I have no
specific reason to be mad about that, other than that it’s a
hassle that I’m not used to. Almost every feature of JustBet
leaves with a little puzzling question – Why’d they do it like
that?

Here is an overview of each of JustBet’s gambling options.

Banking Options

• American Express – Available for deposits only. $25 –
  $499
• VISA – Available for deposits only. $50 – $2,500
• MasterCard – Available for deposits only. $50 – $999
• EcoCard – Deposits and withdrawals. $100 – $1,000
• Neteller – Deposits and withdrawals. $100 – $10,000
• Person-to-Person – International and domestic. $100 –
  $2,000 depending on country of origin
• Bank Draft – Deposits and withdrawals. $500 – no maximum
• Bank Wire – Deposits and withdrawals. $2,500 – no
  maximum

Sportsbook

JustBet is best known as a sportsbook. I wasn’t surprised to
find that the sportsbook is the best-looking and most
feature-laden of all the categories available for wagers at the
time of my review.

At the time of this review, JustBet allowed wagers in an
impressive array of sports and other markets. The site doesn’t
have the longest list of markets I’ve ever seen, but I was
surprised to see some unique coverage, especially considering
how sub-par the rest of JustBet’s gaming categories are.

Here’s every market available in the sports book:

• Tennis
• Baseball
• Soccer
• Basketball
• Gold
• Football
• Motor Racing
• Boxing
• Martial Arts
• Cricket
• Entertainment
• Political Futures
• Rugby
• Cycling
• Politics
• Entertainment
• Surfing
• Australian Rules Football

I was surprised to see Surfing listed – I’ve reviewed a
number of sportsbooks, and I’ve never had the privilege of
seeing that particular market on a list before. Also nice, the
inclusion of political and entertainment wagering, as well as
futures bets on those alternative markets. These options are
becoming more common, but not every sportsbook I visit offers
them, at least not at this time.

I’d like to point out, too, that each of these markets
includes wagers on a longer list of global leagues, professional
and amateur. You can wager on tiny soccer markets, US college
sports, and multiple levels of pro baseball, basketball, and
martial arts.

JustBet’s sportsbook allows wagers of the following types:
straight, parlay, teaser, and if-win. Each type of wager has a
different range of available wagers and betting types, so check
out the sportsbook’s FAQ page for further details on individual
markets.

Within the last year, JustBet released the second version of
their popular live In-Play sports betting options. Version 2.0
is supposed to have improved search functions, an improved
design, and a larger variety of faster streams. I never
experienced version 1.0, but I did like what little I saw of the
service. Besides my standard complaint about the way JustBet
looks and behaves – old and slow – I can verify that their live
betting system works.

The site’s racebook is not as popular as the sportsbook, but
I was impressed by the variety of US thoroughbred and harness
tracks available for wagers:

Justbet Today Games

• Arlington Park
• Belmont Park
• Ellis Park
• Emerald Downs
• Evangeline Downs
• Finger Lakes
• Gulfstream
• Indiana Downs
• Laurel Park
• Lone Star Park
• Los Alamitos Thoroughbred
• Louisiana Downs
• Maywood Park
• Meadowlands Harness
• Mohawk Raceway
• Monmouth
• Monticello Raceway
• Northfield Park
• Penn National
• Pleasanton
• Pocono Downs
• Prairie Meadows
• Retama Park
• The Meadows
• Thistledown
• Woodbine
• Thoroughbred
• Yonkers Raceway

Available wagers at the racebook include win/place/show,
daily double, exacta, trifecta, and boxes.

Casino

JustBet’s casino games were designed by Digital Gaming
Solutions. DGS is known for providing casino software to sites
that mainly operate as sportsbooks. DGS is not a common software
platform, and for good reason. These games look old and hastily
thrown together. It’s one thing to focus on your sportsbook and
racebook, offering casino games as an afterthought, but it’s
another thing to provide sub-par software at the same time.
That’s the case with this and other DGS-powered casinos.

JustBet gathers all their casino games under different
headings. At the time of this review, the games were broken up
into the following categories:

Blackjack Games

• Blackjack

  The traditional game in a six-deck format, allowing just one hand per player.

• Multi-hand Blackjack

  The traditional game in a six-deck format, allowing up to five hands per player.

• Double Exposure

  A blackjack variant in which both the dealer’s cards are exposed.

• Spanish Blackjack

  A variant in which the deck contains no Tens, and a total of 21 always wins.

• Switch Blackjack

  A variant that allows the player to swap out cards in his hand for new ones.

Justbet Sportsbook

Classic Slots

M Justbet Cx

For players used to casino websites that host hundreds of
titles, this list probably looks a little anemic. If you think
the size of the library is bad, click through and try some of
these titles for yourself. They remind me of slots I was playing
ten years ago, with few features like bonus games, progressive
jackpots, and licensed themes.

Here’s the complete list of slots available at JustBet:

• Sportfishing
• Legends of Hercules
• Victory Lane
• Pirate’s Revenge
• Bounty Hunters
• Fruity Fortune
• Knight’s Conquest
• Retro Sci-Fi
• Serpent’s Treasure
• Jurassic Fire
• Touchdown Fever
• Wild 7’s

Video Poker

Another category, another disappointing game lineup. Five
variants of video poker is not enough of a variety to keep the
video poker fans that I know interested. The site tries to fluff
up their video poker library by including two 25-line versions,
but they’re not fooling any real video poker players.

Here’s the complete list of video poker titles available at
the time of this review:

• Aces & Eights
• Deuces Wild
• Double Double Bonus
• Jacks or Better
• Jokers Wild
• Deuces Wild 25 Line
• Jacks or Better 25 Line

Table Games

I find the list of titles categorized as “Table Games” at
JustBet’s casino to be just as underwhelming as any other
category, though at least they do a good job covering the basics
of casino classic titles. I wish it focused less on their awful
interpretations of casino-style poker and more on classic game
variants, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Here’s the full list of table games JustBet hosts in its
casino:

• Baccarat
• Craps
• Pai Gow Poker
• Three Card Poker
• Caribbean Stud Poker
• Stud Poker
• Caribbean Stud Poker
• Progressive Stud Poker
• Let It Ride Poker
• American Roulette
• European Roulette

Bingo & Keno

If you’re into online bingo or keno, JustBet hosts one
version of each. The site’s bingo game allows play on up to
eight cards at a time, with a betting range between $0.25 and
$40 per card. The video keno game hosted in this category is the
definition of the word “bog-standard,” looking just like every
other online keno game I’ve ever seen. I suppose it’s nice of
JustBet to include these two options, for any customers who are
really into bingo or keno, but they haven’t done much to make
the games interesting or worthy of replay.

Customer Service

I was able to find four different ways to contact JustBet’s
customer service team:

Live chat is my favorite way to get in touch with casino
staff.

You can send any email questions you have to:

The site also provides a toll-free phone number and a fax number:

• (1-855-274-8313)
• (1-888-634-4061)

I tested the email function, sending a simple question about
withdrawals. I got an answer within two hours. I also tested
live chat, requesting some information about bonuses “before
signing up,” and I found the system to be effective, if a little
slow. According to the website, live chat closes after each
day’s last bets are made.

JustBet FAQ

Does JustBet’s sportsbook have a minimum and maximum wager amount?

Yes; the minimum online sports wager is $1, while the minimum for phoned-in bets is $50. The maximum wager is $20,000, or currency equivalent. The site’s FAQ says that “higher limits are available upon request.”

Can I use my credit or debit card to make deposits and withdrawals?

As of the time of this review, you can use a VISA, MasterCard, or American Express card to make deposits. But JustBet has included a notice on its FAQ and cashier pages indicating that withdrawals to these cards is being blocked more often than not, and they suggest you use an alternative method to receive your payout.

Does JustBet offer a rewards program?

Yes – there is a link to the details. It works like every other online sportsbook or casino rewards program you’ve ever seen – players are rewarded with points for loyalty, and these points can be exchanged for betting cash, free payouts, tournament entries, and other goodies.

What is the payout percentage for ____?

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you much about the casino games on the site, since DGS (the designer of the games) doesn’t release a lot of information. Look, I know that game designers don’t have to release information about their titles according to any law or anything, but it’s nice when a designer gives out some information about hold percentages and other mathematical features. Such is not the case with JustBet or any DGS-powered site.

Summary

I am of a double mind about JustBet. On the one hand, I hate to recommend it because I’m just not comfortable with Costa Rican gaming sites or their lack of regulation. On the other hand, I found very few legitimate complaints about the site’s operations or customer service. I may not like the tiny casino library or the ugly, outdated user interface, but that’s no reason to tell people not to open an account.

Visit the site and decide for yourself. I wouldn’t open an account at JustBet for all the reasons mentioned above – Costa Rican “licensure”, crappy casino games, and an ugly site are too much for me to overcome. But the site does accept American business, which may be enough to entice a number of bettors without even a glance at the other features.