- Founded: 1999
- Location: Costa Rica
- Payments: Credit Cards, Prepaid credit/gift cards, Bank Wire, bitcoin, MG & WU money (cash) transfer
- Payout Speed: Average. Same day bitcoin payouts
- Bonus: 100% to $500
- Bonus Requirement: Depends on chosen bonus: 4.5x or 15x Rollover
- Website: YouWager.eu
YouWager.eu is an online sportsbook based in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. The betting agency provides a high quality service, and is generally well rated by users. It provides a comprehensive range of betting markets, a usable interface, and a great array of bonuses and promotions.
Company History
YouWager opened for business in 1999. With offices in San Jose, Costa Rica, the company’s management has been involved in the betting industry since long before YouWager existed. Today, they employ over 200 people, all of whom are based in the business’ head offices. In its early days, the company was predominantly marketed towards North American customers, but a change in web address from YouWager.com to YouWager.eu coincided with a greater focus on markets popular amongst Europeans.
In the early years of the site’s existence, there were numerous complaints about a variety of issues levelled against them. These had a significant impact on the company’s ability to find and retain new customers, with the complaints being relatively well publicized. In recent years, however, they appear to have cleaned up their act, and are now a well regarded and popular agency.
The Problems with YouWager
The reputation of YouWager has fluctuated fairly significantly throughout the past few years. Going back around a decade, there were a number of issues with the company not paying their customers, or at least doing so very slowly. These issues hark back to around 2005-06, and unsurprisingly resulted in somewhat of an uproar from affected customers. Since then a change in management has taken place, and no such problems have been recorded in the past few years.
More recently, there have been plenty of cases of cold calling reported against YouWager. Essentially, customers were being called up to three times a week by the sports betting agency, and, at times aggressively, being told to deposit money into their account. Predictably, this was not well received by these customers, and there was significant publicity about the issue. The storm has since calmed, however, and YouWager have ceased this marketing tactic, much to the relief of its users.
Today, their reputation has improved significantly. Long gone are the days of non-payments and cold calling, and YouWager now provides a well-rounded service with very little to complain about.
The Bonuses
YouWager excels in the area of bonuses and promotions. As with most sportsbooks, there are the standard initial deposit bonuses; YouWager offers between 30-100% free play bonuses after an initial deposit, depending on how much you choose to invest. Ensuing deposits are also subject to bonuses, with 15% reload bonuses provided on deposits of under $500, and 20% reload bonuses on deposits of over $500.
Customers who refer a friend will receive a bonus of 50% of that friend’s initial deposit, up to $200.
Youwager also has cash back programs, which offer 15-25% rebates for loyal customers.
Customers are also rewarded via a points system. This system provides points for every bet made and the points can bet turned into free bets.
Deposit Fees
Generally speaking, it should be relatively easy for customers to avoid fees when depositing into their account. The most straightforward method of deposit offered is via a Visa, debit or credit card, and using this method there are no fees. Western Union and MoneyGram are also commonly used, and while these forms of transfer do incur fees, YouWager will pay them if the deposit is over $300 with Western Union and $100 with MoneyGram. Bitcoin deposits are also enabled, with the maximum deposit set at $10,000.
Withdrawal Options
A number of withdrawal options are available and generally get processed through relatively quickly; the agency itself claims they are the ‘fastest in the industry’. Check withdrawals are completed in around a week, however there is a $55 fee for each transaction using this method. Using Western Union or MoneyGram is the fastest method of withdrawal, processing in under a day, but these will also result in a fee. Bank wire is usually a common form of withdrawal, but using YouWager the minimum withdrawal amount if $10,000, and a 1% fee is charged; for those who aren’t mathematicians, this means you’ll be paying at least $100 to use this method. Finally, Bitcoin can be used, though each withdrawal can be no more than $1,000. You can avoid these fees, at least in part, by using YouWager’s free payout policy. This enables players to withdraw once every 30 days with no fees, though they must have
Summary and Opinion
After an inauspicious start, YouWager has recovered to become a relatively reputable betting agency, and one which is worth having a look at. They offer a great range of bonuses and promotions, which can often be the point of difference separating the seemingly endless array of betting agencies. Their deposit options are not hugely wide-ranging, but they offer enough to appease most customers, and the addition of BitCoin as both a deposit and withdrawal option is a smart move by the group.
The online sportsbook itself is nothing special and is in parts a little clunky. The members area is easy enough to figure out and the site is relatively painless to navigate.
Overall, this sports betting agency is a solid one. You’ll receive a nice sign up bonus, and can capitalize on further promotions if you look for them. YouWager may have been a sportsbook to avoid five years ago, but today it is well worth a try.
