Info - info@betcris.com Support - support@betcris.com Customer Service - help@BetCRIS.com Affiliate - affiliates@betcris.com Feedback - csd@BetCRIS.com Support Option - E-mail Entry Form, Free Phone, International Phone Support, Live Chat, and Phone. Support Line - +1 809-334-1886. Betcris es operado por TV Global Enterprises Ltd. Ubicada en Villa Seminia, 8 Sir Temi Zammit Avenue Ta´Xbiex XBX 1011 Malta. Bajo la licencia y regulada por la Autoridad de Juegos de Malta (MGA/B2C/300/2008) Licencia expedida el 1 de Agosto del 2018 hasta el 3 de Noviembre del 2026. Betcris.com is a non US facing sportsbook that as of right now, operates physically in 9 different countries including Peru, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Nicaragua with more than 100 shops operating in them.
- Does not take US Customers
BetCRIS has a lot to offer, but you may have to search for some of it on the site. It offers a sportsbook, racebook, and casino along with poker and bingo options. Live in-play betting is a popular choice and there’s also a mobile platform. In addition, you’ll find live dealers in the casino for popular games such as blackjack, roulette and baccarat. Novelty betting and politics are offered and the site can be viewed in several languages. The customer service and software are top of the line and help is just a click away with the instant-chat option. One of the only downsides is there are no U.S. players allowed. [/box] [/tab]
PLAY NOW!BetCRIS First Impression
When you first arrive at the fast-loading BetCRIS home page you’ll find that it’s quite clean and clutter-free. In fact, it might even look bare to some users. However, just about everything you need is listed on the page. You can choose the language of the site at the top right and below that is the login area along with the main menu. The site map’s located at the bottom of the page along with a live clock and calendar. You can get around the site fast and easy as it’s not hard to navigate. However, some information on things such as bingo and poker can’t be found unless you’re a member.
BetCRIS Background Information
BetCRIS was established back in 1985 and it went live online in 1998. There are approximately 50 walk-in outlets available in several Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Honduras. The CRIS stands for Costa Rica International Sportsbook as the company is based in Costa Rica. However, the gaming operations are licensed and regulated by the Maltese Government. They were the first sportsbook to open in the Dominican Republic.
BetCRIS Range of Sports
All of the most popular sports are offered at BetCRIS as well as a few of those that are considered to be off of the beaten path. You’ll have no problem finding betting lines on Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Ice Hockey, and Boxing. You’ll also be able to make wagers on events such as Australian Rules football, Martial Arts, Tennis, Golf, Rugby, Table Tennis, Water Polo, and Cycling. In addition, the site offers betting lines on political events such as the U.S. elections as well as major entertainment happenings including the Grammy and Academy Awards along with top reality television shows. Live in-play wagering is also popular.
BetCRIS Registration
It’s as easy as pie to open a new account at BetCRIS. Just head over to http://www.betcris.com and then click on the Signup icon. All of the required fields ask for basic information such as your age, address, phone number, country and password. You can also enter your time zone. The site doesn’t ask for any of your banking information and the whole process takes just a few minutes. Once the process is complete you can make a deposit if you choose. Once BetCRIS has the information you’ll receive an email with your sign in details and password. Remember though, U.S. addresses aren’t allowed to join.
BetCRIS Customer Service
Customer service at BetCRIS is among the best in the business. There are several ways to reach the fast and friendly customer service team. These include email, toll-free telephone numbers, an instant-chat option and an online question form. The service experts will help you out as quickly as possible, which in most cases means immediately. The representatives are all highly skilled and efficient and know the business inside out. You’ll also find some informative FAQ sections on the site as well as streaming video tutorials to help answer all of your questions. The customer service center can be reached 24 hours a day every day of the year in several different languages.
BetCRIS Fast Payouts
The payouts at BetCRIS are generally considered to be quite quick. There are several different ways of receiving payouts and withdrawals such as credit and debit cards along with bank wires, bank drafts, Neteller and Moneybookers.
Positives
- Casino and poker games
- Wide range of sports
- Customer Service
- Walk-in locations
- Mobile betting
- Multilingual site
- High betting limits
- Video tutorials
- Bonuses and Promotions
Negatives
- No U.S players allowed
- Need to sign up for complete web access
URL: http://www.betcris.com Hours of Operation: 24/7 Location: San Jose, Costa Rica Parent Company: Townview Trading Limited, Malta Phone Numbers:
- Mexico: 01 (800) 681-8134
- Venezuela: (0212) 232-0340
- Dominican Rep: 1 200-3348
- Peru: 00 (511) 241-4393
- Honduras: San Pedro Sula-(504) 2540-0832
- Honduras: Tegucigalpa-(504) 3276-7777
- Ecuador: 593 (4) 222-1952
- Canada Toll Free: 1 (866) 238-2747
- Guatemala: (502) 2331-5880
- Spain: Toll Free: (900) 947-069
- Brazil: Toll Free 0 (800) 020-1556
Customer Service Email: help@betcris.com
PLAY NOW!Languages
Betcris Sportsbook Review
- Chinese
- English
- Polish
- French
- Portuguese
- Spanish
Sports
- Australian Rules Football
- American football
- Athletics
- Bandy
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing/Martial Arts
- Cricket
- Cycling
- Golf
- Handball
- Horse Racing
- Ice hockey
- Motor Sports
- Rugby
- Snooker
- Soccer
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- Winter Sports
Wager Types
- Sides
- Totals
- Parlays
- Teasers
- if-bets
- Reverses Office Pools
- Futures
Deposit Types:
- Debit Card
- Credit
- Bank Wire
- Click2Pay
- EcoCard
- EntroPay
- Money Transfer
- Paysafe
- Astro Pay
- Neteller
Payout Options:
- Skrill
- Moneybookers
- Neteller
- Agencia BetCRIS
- EcoCard
- Click2Pay
- Bank Draft
Betcris Live Odds
BetCRIS.com is a popular online betting site well known in Spanish speaking markets. They have significant offline presence in the form of multiple casinos, sports clubs, or betting shops in Mexico, Venezuela, and Panama with a smaller brick and mortar presence in other countries as well. Although they’re best known today for the version of football played with one’s foot, their roots are tied to the other sport called football (gridiron). Back in 1994, shortly after America’s top bookie Ronald Sacco was arrested, his former crew was recruited by a man named Harry Craft. Together Mr. Craft and what was left of Sacco’s operation set up shop in Costa Rica under the name Costa Rica International Sportsbook (CRIS).
Where the Line Originates
Only months after settling in Costa Rica, in 1995 the higher ups at CRIS decided to take a major risk. As one the largest shops with about 4% market share in the US alone, they began questioning “what if we could beat Las Vegas to the punch?” The group then hired talented handicappers to try something no bookie had dared since Gary Austin Sportsbook failed. These handicappers would give their opinion of what they believed the correct point spread should be for each NFL football game. Less than a year later they perfected their model well enough to start posting odds a full 24 hours before Las Vegas. This process was repeated for other sports and before long bookies that used to have agents on standby at all major Nevada sportsbook, now simply needed to be on the phone with CRIS at the time odds opened for NFL, NCAAF, NBA, NCAAB, MLB and NHL.
Ron Sacco and CRIS
Although he was in prison at the time, it was widely known during the 1990’s that CRIS was established by the former crew of America’s top Bookie Ronald “The Cigar” Sacco. After earning many millions by leveraging his outstanding reputation, CRIS made good when Sacco was released from prison on May 15, 1998. Although on supervised release at the time – he believed Costa Rica was non-extraditable for bookmaking and similar crimes. Most likely using a fake passport, he fled there and took on a consultant position with CRIS which was the equivalent of a top executive roll. The success CRIS experienced with his name, face and voice now truly behind the brand was amazing. For detailed information read our article on Ron Sacco – the Cigar.
BetCRIS.com Launches
BetCRIS receives a lot of attention as being the first, but keep in mind this only applies to “offshore betting targeting the US via call centers”. Intertops was the first sportsbook, and many other sites such as BetMaker, WSEX, Sportsbook.com, VIP, Pinnacle Sports etc. were all online before CRIS. When they do come online though, BetCRIS spared no expense when launching their first interactive betting website in March 2000. This website branded with the words “our motto is we can’t pay you fast enough” and it featured an endorsement from Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, the man depicted by Robert De Niro in the 1995 Martin Scorsese film ‘Casino’. It was actually Lefty who first coined the saying “where the line originates” when referring to CRIS. The company later decided on that as their website tagline.
CRIS also had the mentality they wanted to take on the world. Although United States media portrayed CRIS as a US operation using Costa Rica as a safe haven, true to their name Costa Rica International Sportsbook the company has always been global. In February 2001 a Chinese version of BetCRIS was launched at chinesegambler.com, and over the next couple years a half dozen additional sites would open targeting Norway, Sweden as well as Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries.
BetCRIS Marketing Boost
Oddly enough it was Ron “Cigar” Sacco getting arrested in Costa Rica in March 2002 that helped put BetCRIS on the map with recreational sports gamblers. Although true Costa Rica was virtually non-extraditable for bookmaking and similar crimes – Sacco was caught having two passports and eventually as a result was deported to the United States on the Fourth of July in 2002. During his plea, details of the BetCRIS operation were released in court documents – which were soon used by gambling portals to help market how safe and secure a gambling website www.betcris.com truly was.
These documents showed that even though their founder Harry Craft was apprehended in the United States in 1998 and convicted for running his earlier Santa Monica operation, the CRIS brand never skipped a beat. It pointed out that today (March 2003) Costa Rican International Sports is a legally licensed and legitimate Costa Rican corporation that pays all required taxes and fees, and is run by a president, vice-president, general manager, corporate counsel, supervisors and has some 140 employees. It furthered showed their operation was divided into separate departments which were the wagering department, marketing department, finance, Asian operation and European operations.
Considering for many years the US authorities and media had portrayed the “Sacco operation” as the America’s largest bookmaking organizations that illegally booked hundreds of millions of dollars in bets per month (billions per year), BetCRIS.com was now an easy sell. Here you could point out this was the largest gambling website in the world, and even though numerous associates have been indicted, arrested and convicted, including unique heads of their operation in 1998, and 2002 – this company has NEVER missed a payout. When you wager with most bookies you need to worry “will they pay?”, “what will happen if they get busted?”, while wagering with BetCRIS.com your money is safer than it would be wagering with a Nevada sportsbook. Of course, that later part is a stretch, but at the time many websites did point out the occasions where legally licensed Las Vegas sportsbook went bust and couldn’t pay back their post-up phone account bank, or cash winning tickets once they closed.
BetCRIS Paints the Story
During the 1980’s and 1990’s Ron Sacco appeared on popular television shows (including 60-minutes), was discussed in magazines, had books written about him and with him now apprehended in the US there was no shortage of media attention in 2003. Rather than distancing themselves from their former employee who was being charged, as most corporations would, BetCRIS embraced it. Advertisements featuring a burning cigar were used and their about us page was written to claim they’ve been a leader in sports betting since 1985. CRIS has always lived up to his reputation and standards, so I guess how much involvement Sacco truly had in their brand was irrelevant. During much of 2003 though, they used the media attention for all it was worth. While previously using a flashy homepage, the new homepage was a letter signed by John Melton (most likely an alias) which read:
We at Costa Rica International Sports have redesigned our website to reflect our reputation in the industry. We are a straight forward sports book with no flashy graphics and no BS. Our competitors know CRIS as “Where the line originates”, because most will not make a move before we do and our customers know CRIS for our company motto, “We can’t pay you fast enough”. Everyone knows CRIS was the first offshore sports book to open in the mid 1980’s and not one player has ever been kicked out for winning. That’s a track record no one can match!!!
We invite you to join the world’s oldest and respected sports book and if you want to take a break from the sports action check out our poker room and casino. Also, don’t forget to enter our loyalty program to qualify for our prizes and bonuses. Contact one of our online representatives if you have any questions or comments.
Thanks
John Melton
This was the first time the claim “not one player has ever been kicked out for winning” was ever made, and when the Ron Sacco media hype stopped it was what CRIS pushed and became known for. This was a site where winning bettors could wager $10,000, $20,000 or even $40,000 on an NFL side win at a huge clip and still not be banned. CRIS further showed their dominance from 2003 to 2006 when they bailed out a good 80% of sportsbooks that failed during those years.
BetCRIS Acquisitions and Bailouts
Betcris Odds
One of the first sportsbooks to set up offshore was Diamond Sports International, now operating at www.betdsi.com (more about them in our article on BetDSI.com history). This once reputable sportsbooks ran into major financial struggles in 2002, which start with a dispute between owners. When the dispute was settled new management was hired to run the brand, but then a dispute between management and ownership started. By early 2003, everything was shambles. Perhaps not profitable to do at the time for most – CRIS was thinking “long term”. They ended giving major financing to this brand for a share of equity, which including leasing them a small 40 desk spot in their building, full use of their software, support and other facilities as needed in exchange for equity profit sharing. Had it not been for this, players would have been stiffed as even salary to employees was well past due.
Perhaps seeing the response this got on forums relieved CRIS had bailed them out – this is became a routine thing for CRIS, though future bailed out brands were generally, but not always, shutdown and migrated to www.betcris.com. Some of the many sportsbooks CRIS bailed out between 2003 and 2006 include Option Sports, Get More Sports, ASAP Sports, Rich Coast Sports and TCBets. In these cases bettors would have been have stiffed had CRIS not come to the rescue making good on player’s balances.
BetCRIS.com Closes to the US
Betcris Uk
On March 1, 2007 all US players had their BetCRIS account migrated to Bookmaker (now operating at www.bookmaker.eu). This is a brand CRIS had acquired when purchasing the BetMaker group in August 2006. The plan going forward was for CRIS to focus on the European market while Bookmaker was their US brand. This is how it worked for a while, until late-2010 when BetCRIS and Bookmaker separated entirely. Today Bookmaker accepts players from all over the globe still operating from the old BetCRIS office in Costa Rica, while the new BetCRIS is licensed in Malta and has some form of “legal physical presence” in Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Brasil, Panama, Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, Honduras and Rwanda. Their website is extremely popular in many Spanish speaking countries and they are one of top brick and mortar betting shops in Venezuela.
Today BetCRIS is about “legal” sports betting. For the continued history of their US operation which dates back to operation started by Ron “The Cigar” Sacco in 1985 that was once managed by Tony Ballestrasse and Marisa Lankester refer to our article on the history of bookmaker.eu.