Unregulated Sports Betting Sites in the USA to Avoid for Your Wellbeing

A critical component of a problem gambling prevention plan (view strategy here) for any American who has made a conscious decision to participate in sports betting, is to only use legal and regulated platforms that meet or exceed Responsible Gambling mandates set forth by state regulators in union with behavioral health specialists. Unfortunately, a very large number of U.S. citizens continue to make wagers with offshore and unregulated betting sites. After a recent NFL Super Bowl, the American Gaming Association (AGA) reported that a mind-blowing 89% of wagers on the big game were made with illegal offshore operators. This trend contributes to the growth of the problem gambling crisis in the nation. Why?

Operators from the unregulated offshore market are not beholden to state regulator mandates. Further, their websites exhibit dark pattern UX design (view details) that encourage players to gamble more in increasing volume and frequency without regard to financial and behavioral wellbeing. Online reviews of these operators also unearth numerous instances of U.S. players not receiving promised (by promotions) deposit bonuses, payouts from winnings, and/or not being able to withdraw account balances when attempting to close their accounts. Without question, from a financial and mental health perspective, offshore unregulated betting sites should be avoided at all costs, whether you’re vulnerable to problematic gambling behavior or otherwise.

In your journey into gambling as a form of entertainment you will come across a select group of unregulated offshore gambling sites. Some are very popular in the United States, while others fly under the radar. In either case, Kindbridge has identified the more commonly used ones that either actively solicit U.S. players, or do not have adequate guardrails in place to exclude U.S. players from using their platforms. Do not register with or use any of them:

- BetAnySports
- BetNow
- BetOnline
- BetUS
- BetWhale
- BookMaker Sportsbook
- Bovada Sportsbook
- EveryGame Sports
- Heritage Sports
- MyBookie
- MVP Bet
- Nitrobetting
- Sportsbetting.ag
- TopBet
- XBet
- Other (how to identify them)

It’s also worth noting that a large proportion of operators on this list of unregulated betting sites to avoid have recently received cease and desist letters from state regulators. The map and alphabetical summary below indicates which U.S. states have issued cease and desist letters to one or more of the operators above. Bookmark this page and return often as a greater number of regulators take legal action against violators.