OPINION: Handicappers Love Selling Fake Sports Betting Picks

• A popular sports betting tout service scam includes sending free private picks at first.
• Unless a handicapper uses a verified tracking site, you shouldn’t trust them
• This causes a few people to buy into the idea that the handicapper knows how to beat the book.

NEW YORK – Go to Twitter and you’ll see hundreds if not thousands of sports picks every single day from so-called experts. But, in the world of sports betting, there is nothing that controls the “expert” labels other than the tout themselves.

Self-proclaimed sports betting handicappers run social media. While some are wildly successful, others found ways to scam the public.

When To Follow a Sports Betting Expert

There are plenty of famous sports bettors that use their platform to tout picks. Take Bill Krackomberger, Steve Fezzik, and others for example. These notable bettors have been in the game since well before the PASPA repeal, finding ways to win in Las Vegas.

But make sure they are who they are, as even Fezzik has a Twitter impersonator that he can’t seem to shake.

While they offer free sports picks from time to time, these are not the ones to be wary of.

Instead, our focus is on the ones that charge for their handicapping services after sending you free picks.

Information that breaks down betting trends and predicts future success are everywhere online. Most “scamdicappers” use public information and then charge for their “research, time and service”

While some only ask for a few dollars per pick, others charge up to $100 a week.

Buying picks is not recommended by the staff at LegalSportsBetting. Any handicapper that you pay for should have a verifiable track record. Even still, buying picks ultimately moves the needle for the number of bets you must win in order to hit a profit.

Watch Out for the Tell Your Friends Guy

Potentially the largest scam in the legal sports betting world is the “tell your friend guy” as I call him. They give out free picks and it always seems to be a winner, but his success comes from you sharing your belief in him.

Here’s an example of how the Tell Your Friends Guy can stay ahead, looking like the best bettor of all time.

• Handicapper sends out a private message to 50 people giving them a free pick to bet Team A
• Handicapper also sends out a private message to 50 other people telling them to pick Team B.
• In the end, of the 100 accounts, 50 see a winner, 50 see a loser.

Now the 50 people who see a winner pay a little more attention to the handicapper who gave them a winner for free.

• Handicapper then splits their pool again, sending out 25 free picks to people saying bet Team A.
• Also, they send out a pick on Team B to the other 25 people.
• Same concept here, 25 bettors see their handicapper send another winner, while the other 25 are 1-1 overall.

Focusing on the 2-0 bettors, they then break it down again. Now, 12/13 see a winner (3-0), while another group is 2-1 on the opposite side. Break it down a few more times and three people get a 5-0 record while another three go 4-1.

Time To Sell Picks

Now that they’ve given out five free winners, it’s time to sign up for a service. And why wouldn’t you? This person just landed a perfect 5-0 record!

At this stage, it’s where the “tell your friends” comes to play. The 5-0 winners do all the advertising for this person, who just saw them beat the legal online sportsbooks with a perfect 5-0 record.

Once bettors purchase a subscription, it’s a best of luck situation. Maybe you get a winner, maybe you get a loser, but the mindset will always be “just hold on a little longer, remember when I started 5-0?” Or, if from the friend who recommended, “they are sure to catch fire again soon.”

Either way, the only winner is the scamdicapper, who did nothing but play both sides of the coin, convincing you to pay for picks and getting your friends involved.

News tags: Bill Krackomberger | Steve Fezzik