Casinos / Sportsbook

Costa Rica Casinos Bars and Casinos in Costa Rica Allowed to Reopen Friday, October 9th

This Monday, October 5, Costa Rica reached a grand total of 81,129 confirmed cases of COVID-19 out of which 49,703 have recovered. 1004 people have died in relation to this virus and 570 people are currently hospitalized, 212 of them remain in the intensive care unit. Despite this, the Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce, Victoria Hernández announced the decision to reopen bars and casin...

Costa Rica 5Dimes 5Dimes Sportsbook in Costa Rica Agrees to Forfeit $46.8 Million to Avoid Criminal Charges

United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that the internet sports betting company, 5D Holdings Ltd. (operating under the unincorporated brand name, “5Dimes”) and Costa Rican Laura Varela, have agreed to forfeit more than $46.8 million in gambling proceeds as part of a settlement agreement in a criminal investigation into 5Dimes’ sports betting operation based in Costa Rica that allowed ...

Costa Rica Airport Thanksgiving Arrest of Two Americans at Juan Santa Maria Airport in Costa Rica

Two American citizens were arrested at Juan Santamaria Airport on Thursday, November 28, and charged with money laundering. They arrived on a flight from Los Angeles, but were scheduled to fly out again two hours later on a flight to Atlanta. They are a 25-year old with last name of Skees, and a 41-year old with the last name of Howze. They were carrying more than turkey stuffing: between the two ...

5 Dimes Tony, kidnap, murder,costa rica Kidnap and Murder of American Expat in Costa Rica Still Under Investigation

The owner of the sportsbook company 5Dimes was kidnapped on September 24, 2018, on his way home from work after having dropped off an employee in Granadilla, Curridabat, at about 10PM. Then he disappeared. Not too many hours after Creighton’s kidnap, his wife began receiving ransom calls. The kidnappers demanded $5 million dollars. They wanted it paid in virtual currency, specifically in Bitcoi...

Online Gamblin crime in costa rica Fraudulent American Charged With Illegal Gambling Business in Costa Rica

The U.S. Attorney’s office of Chicago has charged an American with conducting an illegal sports gambling operation based in Costa Rica, according to a 14-count indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago, on October 11th. The accused was operating under the names Michael Frontier, Ira Goldberg, Brian Seagel, and Mathew Sullivan. He is also accused of hiding his personal gambling profits ...

Costa Rica Cyber Currencies US Department of State Concerned Over Use of Cyber Currencies in Costa Rica for Money Laundering

The United States Department of State through its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2018 points to Costa Rica’s vulnerabilities when it comes to organized crime and money laundering. “Transnational criminal organizations continue to employ Costa Rica as a base for financial crimes due to limited enforcement capacity and its location on a key transit and operations route for narcot...

Del Rey Hotel Costa Rica Foreign Man Found Dead at the Del Rey Hotel in Costa Rica

The Costa Rican police received an alert through the 911 system regarding a dead man in the Del Rey Hotel, a known sexual tourism hot spot located in downtown San Jose. The Costa Rican Red Cross arrived first at the scene and confirmed the death of a foreigner, however, when the police arrived at the Del Rey, private security officers of the hotel tried to prevent the entry of the authorities; ...

Costa Rica’s Building, Real Estate, Casino Industries Vulnerable to Money Laundering

The U.S. State Department’s annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report came out this month. In the Money Laundering and Financial Crimes section, the report's second volume, Costa Rica is noted as being a favorable base for, "transnational criminal organizations to commit financial crimes due to its location and limited enforcement capability.” The report acknowledges that despite t...

Online Betting Industry Extends To Latin America

The online betting industry has been a topic of relevance and controversy pretty much since the moment when the first online sportsbook appeared,  it was towards the end of the 90’s decade when the phenomenon had already popularized and companies had established offshore in places such as Curacao, Antigua & Barbuda, Costa Rica and Panama; it’s reported that what started in the mid-nineties wit...

Soccer Soccer all day today

Soccer is the world’s most popular sport, perhaps that’s not the case in the U.S.A, but nonetheless it is and will continue to be “the king sport”; and when Barcelona and Real Madrid are playing, it seems as though all eyes are following their every movement, every media outlet reports on them, and even if you are not a fan, it’s almost impossible that someone hasn’t heard the names of Leo Messi ...

The impact of live in-game betting

Live in-game betting has become very popular among sports bettors, this possibility allows gamblers to place bets while the game is taking place, the type of bets and the options for live betting differ depending on the sport’s particular characteristics. NFL, Soccer and NBA are among the sports that offer the biggest amounts of live in-game odds, but also for other sports such as tennis, boxing a...

Cyborg vs. Lansberg Bettors are talking: UFC Fight Night 95 – Cyborg vs. Lansberg –

MMA as a sport continues to win fans, especially the newer generations, the majority of MMA fans are males between 18- 35 years of age, they know how to use a computer, and they are educated about their sport, which also leads to a lot of gambling. Saturday, September 24, MMA followers will tune in to watch Cris Cyborg, who is considered the best female MMA fighter today, face Lina Lansberg at UFC...

Canadian Fined $400K Used Costa Rican Computers for Sports Book

By Wendy Anders Wikimedia Commons “A computer geek who ran a website for the massive Internet-based Platinum Sports Book was fined $400,000 for his involvement in the illegal gambling scheme,” wrote Sam Pazzano for The Toronto Sun last Tuesday. The London, Ontario native, 59-year-old Gordon Baird, pleaded guilty to bookmaking and contributing to a criminal organization. The organizati...

Bravo Multinational Makes $315,000 Off Slot-Machines in Nicaragua

By Wendy Anders Marketwire reported today that Toronto, Canada-based Bravo Multinational Incorporated earlier this year partially acquired the Centro de Entretenimiento y Diversion Mombacho S.A., located in Managua, Nicaragua. Bravo to date has purchased 150 of a total contracted 500 slot and video poker gaming machines to be operated and managed under a long-term national license throug...

Costa Rica Economy The Problem With Cheap Pay-Per-Head Services in Costa Rica

When choosing a back office and support solution for their business, one of the most important aspects that sports advisors should remember is that cheaper is never better. In fact, cheaper will often mean that a disaster is just waiting to happen. There is no doubt that the best solution for sports advisors these days can be found in Costa Rica, the country where the concept of Pay-Per-Head wa...

Picking a Costa Rica Pay-Per-Head Service for the NFL Season

Source: WIkimedia Commons For most sports bookmakers, the NFL season is always their busiest and most profitable time of the year. The market size of the global online gambling and wagering industry is greater than $40 billion per year, and a good portion is handled in Costa Rica through offshore sportsbooks. Since the late 20th century, Costa Rica has gained a strong reputation of providin...

Russia Hacker Protecting Sportsbooks from Cyber Attacks in Costa Rica

Pixabay Commons Over the last couple of years, a major online poker and casino firm based in Costa Rica was targeted by hackers who threatened to take down the website unless a sizable amount of cash was transferred to a bitcoin wallet. While analyzing the ransom demand, the IT security staff of the online poker firm noticed that the cybercrime crew was not making idle threats. The servers ...

Redundancy Technology for Sports Betting Operations in Costa Rica

Many offshore sportsbooks based in Costa Rica manage to stay open for their clients 24 hours a day and seven days a week; this high rate of availability is achieved despite power and Internet outages caused by earthquakes, extreme weather conditions and business challenges. How do they manage to remain operational? Costa Rica is one of the major international hubs for offshore sportsbooks in th...

Rio 2016: Tennis Odds After Shocking Defeat of Serena Williams

Serena Williams. Source: Wikimedia Commons The world's women tennis number one Serena Williams was disappointed by her defeat to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina (6-4, 6-3) and regretted the missed opportunity at the Rio 2016 Olympics. "It was a great opportunity. It didn't work out the way I wanted it to be, but at least I was able to make it to Rio. That was one of my goals," the reigning Olympi...

Rio 2016: Serena Williams is an Absolute Gold Medal Favorite

Serena Williams. Source: Wikimedia Commons United States tennis superstar Serena Williams, the world No. 1, rolled over Australia's Daria Gavrilova 6-4, 6-2 Sunday in her debut at the Rio Summer Olympics.   The 34-year-old Williams is trying to add a second singles gold medal to her Olympic medal haul, which also includes three golds in doubles.   Williams kept the pressu...

Costa Rica Club Starts Champions League With a Draw

Club Sport Herediano Costa Rica's Club Sport Herediano clinched a crucial point with a 1-1 tie against Panama's Plaza Amador in the first Group G match of the 2016-2017 Concacaf Champions League. Amador, leader in the Panamanian first division, took an early advantage when defender Sergio Ortega connected with his left foot just 12 minutes into the match. The reigning champions of Costa ...

FBI Takes Down Mafia-Linked Costa Rica Sportsbook; 39 Arrests

Source: Wikimedia Commons Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ('FBI'), William J. Bratton, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department ('NYPD'), and James A. McCarty, Acting District Attorney for Westchester...

Costa Rica Sportsbooks Prepare for Spain’s Supercopa

Messi with teammate Neymar. Wikimedia Commons The Barcelona squad returned to training on Monday after a one-week camp in England, as 10 international players rejoined the workouts. The club's next major engagement will be La Supercopa de España (Super Cup) against Sevilla FC. The squad had a rest on Sunday, while Monday's training saw the return of Spanish internationals Jordi Alba, Andres...

2016 Olympics: Rio de Janeiro Even More Expensive Than Costa Rica

Rio de JaneiroBy Alba Santandreu The drop in the dollar and higher prices for some services, such as hotels, will make Rio de Janeiro a more expensive city to visit during the Summer Olympics next month, but tourists will find the "Ciudad Maravilhosa" more affordable than during the 2014 World Cup. Visitors arriving in August will find that the Brazilian real is up about 20 percent against ...

Home Run! Daryl Strawberry Used to Have Sex Between Innings

Daryl Strawberry, left. By slgckgc - Darryl Strawberry and Jeff Francouer, CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia CommonsThe national pastime of the United States is getting even more interesting after a spicy radio interview with the legendary and controversial right fielder Daryl Strawberry. According to a recent news report filed by Damon Salvadore of the New York Daily News, Strawberry revealed quite a bit o...

New Global eSports Platform Launched from Costa Rica

July 15, 2016 Costa Rica – Breakout Gaming, the online gaming entertainment company offering poker, sports wagering, casino games, fantasy sports and other gaming options from Costa Rica will soon be launching two new platforms powered by the company’s own Breakout Coin. The launch of Breakout PVP and its upcoming ‘Breakout Game Store’ follows the recent launch of its successful online poker games...

Betting on an NFL Quarterback’s Sobriety

Manziel at Cabo San Lucas. InstagramIn the world of sports betting, wagers are not limited to outright championship titles, game outcomes, spreads, or proposition bets (also known as live betting). Just about any event related to professional sports can be turned into a wager, and this extends to player transfers, draft picks and even the future of athletes as it relates to their lifestyles. E...

Euro 2016: Final Odds for France v. Portugal

Source: UEFA Another unforgettable Antoine Griezmann match: two goals, a powerful presence on the pitch, precise dribbling and top speed. He was the star behind every goal opportunity and the player who propelled France to the Eurocup Final with a 2-0 score against a Germany that succumbed to the sensational forward. The final awaits him Sunday at the Saint Denis stadium against Cristian...

Bitcoin Casino in Costa Rica Offers “Cashback” Reward Program

4grinz Casino Bitcoin Casino 4Grinz.com today announced details on its new reward program, Coin Back, that offers players a minimum 10% return in the form of real bitcoins. "Our seasoned team of gaming professionals wanted to do something different when they created Coin Back," said Lee Bruce, General Manager, 4Grinz.com. "It's a long-awaited solution to the outdated bonus systems currently...

Serena Williams Gets Closer to Grand Slam Record

Serena Williams. Source: Wikimedia Commons U.S. star tennis player Serena Williams has defeated Germany's Annika Beck on Sunday 6-3, 6-0 in 51 minutes in the third round of Wimbledon, which is also the 300th Grand Slam victory for Williams throughout her career. Following Sunday's victory, Williams still has six Grand Slam wins to make in order to equalize the record of Martina Navratilova....

U.S. Prosecutors Dismantle Lucrative Sportsbook in Costa Rica

Flickr Commons Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that four individuals have been variously charged in a 57-count indictment with running a massive Internet-based sports gambling ring that operated all over the United States and controlled an offshore office. The billion-dollar operation allegedly catered to thousands of bettors, accepted $927 million in wagers on NFL game...

Euro 2016: Wales Halts Brexit and Advances to Semifinals

Source: UEFA Wales has advanced to the semifinals of a major tournament for the first time with a come-from-behind 3-1 victory Friday night over Belgium, which paid dearly for its careless play on defense. With this victory, Wales is the last National Team from the United Kingdom remaining in the Euro 2016 tournament. Various football analysts had predicted an early "Brexit," for Englan...

Euro 2016: Wales is the UK’s Last Hope to Stop Brexit

Source: UEFA Iceland made history here Monday with an astonishing 2-1 win over heavily favored England to claim a berth in the quarterfinals of the 2016 European Championship. Not content with merely qualifying for the knockout stage, the squad representing the island nation of some 300,000 people thoroughly dominated an English side stocked with highly paid stars. With England and North...

Euro 2016: Many Spanish Players Subjected to Doping Tests

Source: UEFA The UEFA subjected 10 players from the Spanish national team on Saturday to doping tests at a hotel on the island of Re, France, where the Euro 2016 is being held. Urine and blood samples were taken without any problems, according to the official website of the Spanish national team. The players subjected to the tests were not identified. Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets ...

Euro 2016: No Brexit Here

Wikimedia Commons While political analysts are nervously waiting on the results of a crucial referendum for the United Kingdom to either leave or remain in the European Union, sports analysts note that there was no “Brexit” from the UEFA Euro 2016 Championship. After the first round of the Euro 2016, three national teams of the United Kingdom –England, Northern Ireland, and Wales- advanced ...

NBA Finals: Historic Victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers

Wikimedia Commons OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, JUN 20 (EFE; betting context by IDSca.com). — LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first National Basketball Association title with a 93-89 win over the Golden State Warriors. James had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in Sunday night's deciding Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The win gave James his third title in the six straight NBA Fi...

Copa America: Brazil Eliminated by Shocking Handball Goal

One of hundreds of memes related to the infamous goal The celebrated National Football Team of Brazil has not been able to shake off its prolonged slump that started with the humiliating 1-7 loss against Germany during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which the South American spiritual home of football hosted. At the impressive Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, Brazil faced off against Peru, a nat...

Costa Rica Sportsbooks Are Ready for the Euro 2016 Championship

Source: UEFA Saint-Martin-de-Re, France, Jun 9 (EFE; betting context by ISDca.com).- Spain's national soccer team, winners of the last two European Championships, began training in France on Thursday as they set their sights on an unprecedented third straight title, and sportsbooks in Costa Rica are prepared to take wagers on this exciting football tournament. As in previous international t...

NBA Finals: Costa Rica Sportsbooks Adjust Odds After Cavs’ Victory

Wikimedia Commons Cleveland, Jun 9 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- Superstar forward LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers finally got on the board in the NBA Finals after two discouraging away losses, routing the defending champion Golden State Warriors 120-90 in Game 3. James scored 32 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out six assists for the Cavaliers, who controlled Wednesday night's...

Copa America: High Expectations for Costa Rica – United States

Source: FEDEFUTBOL CR One of the most anticipated matches of the Copa America Centenario, which is currently unfolding across the United States, will take place on Tuesday, June 7th at the magnificent Soldier Field in Chicago. The National Men's Football Teams of Costa Rica (La Sele) and the United States (Team USA) are both in tight spots within Group A, which analysts believe is the most ...