Due to disclosed financial information of many listed bookmakers at WOSB.com the ratings of bookmakers are divided into three groups: 

  1 Companies that are listed on the stock exchange. 

2 Companies that are privately owned but who issue yearly financial reports. 

3 Companies with no information available for the public about their financial status.  

Groups 1 and 2 are always listed above group 3. Group 1 bookmakers are rated based on their stock value. Group 2 Bookmakers are rated based on their turnover. Group 3 bookmakers are rated based on three proxies, due to their lack of public financial information: 

·          Incorporated Since 

·          Traffic Ranking 

·          Other Review Site Ratings 

We believe that the best measure is to rate according to company market value. The reason being that contrary to non-public companies informing shareholders of financial status is mandatory for public listed companies. Another reason for using the listed companies as a measurement for the security of the company is based on an often used Economic Theory. It is assumed that the market value of a company is a function of all information available to the public. This means that every little piece of information is gathered and interpreted about the company; the accumulative sum of this information gives the market value. Because these companies are listed on the stock exchange they also often show a larger social awareness. 

The date of incorporation, that is when the company legally was founded. A high rating is given to the company that has been incorporated for the longest time. The rationale behind this is that a company with a long history has demonstrated it's commitment to paying winnings to the customers. Furthermore the companies establish a steady income from loyal customers and hence are less likely to go bankrupt. If a bookmaker is acquired by another company this changes the incorporated since date to the acquiring company's incorporated since date.

Number of years and days the bookmaker has been in business compared with the other companies. A high rating is given to the companies incorporated the longest time. 

Alexa.com, owned by Amazon.com, ranks all web sites. The traffic rank is based on three months of aggregated historical traffic data from millions of Alexa Toolbar users and data obtained from other, diverse traffic data sources. Traffic Rank is a combined measure of page views and users. 

Traffic Rating is based on Alexa.com rank, where the highest rank results in the highest rating. Remember the Alexa Rank is somewhat opposite the WOSB Rating. At Alexa the web site with the largest traffic gets the lowest numeric rank. So for example Yahoo.com is ranked as nr. 1. 

We are not the only review site on the Internet. We have identified a number of other respectable review sites. The main downfall with these sites are that they do not offer much transparency about how they have reached their ratings. This makes it difficult to ensure that the rating is unbiased. The inclusion of this factor in our rating should be seen as a second opinion. The transparency on our web site would always ensure that you can see why our rating differs from other review sites. All review sites, WOSB included, have the same mission: to help customers from choosing rogue companies. The main difference is that our product allows the user to find the company that suits his or her preferences. If a company owns several betting brands the average rating is used to rate the company as a whole.

This is a weighted average of the ratings given by the review sites.

If the betting company is owned by a larger enterprise we will inform about the corporate name of this company. This allows you to easily find more information about this company. 

Some companies have a corporate web site where you can read about the company behind the betting site. You can here find information about what other activities the company has. 

This is a list of betting, poker or casino brands that are owned by the same parent company. In a few cases this means that you are not entitled to all sign up promotions. 

If a company is listed on the stock exchange it is possible to invest money in this company. These companies are obliged to make public financial reports which may produce good knowledge of the company. 

The ISIN code is an abbreviation for "International Securities Identifying Number", which is an unique identification number for a security (stock). Yahoo has an tool that easily helps you find any stock on a very large amount of stock exchanges.

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/quote_lookup.html

This is another way to find stock on either Google Finance or Yahoo Finance. The code is unique for the company in question. 

This is the revenue in EURO given in the latest Financial Report (yearly). This figure is not the total sale or total bets made. The revenue is calculated as:  

Total bet value - customer winnings = Revenue  

This is total value of the company and is calculated by: 

Number of shares * share price = Stock Value 

Financial Reports are statements issued by the company at least once a year. Some companies issue Financial Reports every quarter. The link given directs you to the site where you can download the reports. 

The rating of this dimension is based on how well each bookmaker responds to service requests. This dimension also takes into account how well the companies have performed in the past. The rating for a bookmaker is based on all the historical service requests. 

The service rating for a bookmaker is based on the time it takes a bookmaker to respond to a service request, and the quality of the answer. To keep things objective at WOSB, the bookmaker can only avoid high rating in quality, by not giving any answer to one of the questions in the service request. We don't subjectively evaluate if the answer is good or bad. 

Based on all the historical service requests average response time is found. 

Each service test gives a rating for a bookmaker’s response time. Response time rating is calculated based on an average of on all the historical response test ratings. 

Average quality is based on all the historical service request

Each service test gives a rating for a bookmaker’s response quality. Response quality rating is calculated based on an average of all the historical response test ratings. 

Percentage of Response Test Answered is the sum of response tests answered by a bookmaker relative to the number of response tests sent to that bookmaker.  

This is the number of the customer service of the company. Not all companies have phone support and you should remember that you are charged for international phone calls if no local number is listed. 

The fax number to the company in question. 

Email to customer service. If a company lists several emails you will get the best response if you direct your questions to the most relevant respondent. If the company has an email in your native language (not English) you will often get a faster reply by sending to this email. 

Some companies offer you the possibility to chat directly to the customer service. Just like MSN Messenger or Skype. This is often the best way to ensure that all your questions are answered quickly. 

Not all bookmakers have support 24/7. This information is provided here. Note the time zone of the bookmaker. 

Calculation of the Odds Payout Ratings is based on more than 150.000 observations and registrations of odds in the market. The structure leading to final Odds Payout Ratings is illustrated in the following. 

1^st level – Odds Payout Rating 

The rating of Odds Payout is based on Indexed Rating and average Odds Payout for each of the following sports a bookmaker offers. 

·          Football (Soccer) 

·          American Football 

·          Tennis 

·          Basketball 

·          Baseball 

·          Handball 

2^nd level – Odds Payout and Rating for each sport 

Average Odds Payout and Indexed Rating for each sport are based on a large number of odds registrations in a number of leagues and tournaments for each bookmaker. The list of leagues and tournaments registered for a specific bookmaker can be seen in the bookmakers review at WOSB.  

Odds Payout is a measure of how much a bookmaker in theory pays back to customers.## If a bookmaker has a 90% payout it means that every time you wager 100 EURO you will in theory get 90 EURO back as winnings. This is a theoretic concept because it assumes that the bookmaker has estimated the correct odds.  

The number is calculated, n selections: 

1 / (1/"Odds 1" + 1/"Odds 2" + 1/"Odds 3" + ... + 1/"Odds N") = Odds Payout. 

Example: 

Home win: 2.5  

Draw: 3.2 

Away win: 3 

Odds Payout = 1 / ( 1/2.5 + 1/3.2 + 1/3 ) = 1 / 1.04583 = 0.956  

This corresponds to a 95.6 % payout. 

1x2 is a bet type with 3 outcomes. Average Odds Payout is based on all the registered 1x2 odds for a bookmaker. 

Handicap is a bet type with 2 outcomes, where one of the sides is handicapped from the start in the total score. Average Odds Payout is based on all the registered handicap odds for a bookmaker.

This means that you have to log into your bookmaker account before you can view the odds available. 

Several different Odds Formats may be found. Odds Formats are different ways to present odds. The Odds Formats mostly used in Europe and North America are: 

·      Decimal Odds 

·      Fractional Odds 

·      American Odds 

Decimal Odds Explained: 

This format is also called decimal odds. These are written in a decimal format for example 1.01, 1.50, 2.75, 5.00, 14.00 etc. The odds 2.25 means that you will win 2.25 pr unit you stake. So if you bet $100 you will receive 2.25x100 = $225. $225-$100= $125 equals your net profit. So the net profit can be calculated as:  

(Decimal Odds - 1) * Stake = Net Profit. 

Fractional Odds Explained:
These odds are written in fractions for example 1/2, 1/4, 4/3, 5/2 etc. The odds 4/3 means that to win 4 you have to stake 3. Fractional odds can be calculated into decimal odds by: 

Factional odds + 1 = Decimal odds. 

Example: 

Factional Odds = 5/2 

5/2 + 1 = 2.5 + 1 = 3.5 

How to calculate net winnings with Fractional Odds:

Net Profit = odds * stack 

Example: 

odds: 7/2
Stake 40 

Net Profit = 7/2 * 40 = 3.5 * 40 = 140 

American Odds Explained: 

To explain how this odds format works we will use an example. The home team has the odds -300 and the away team +250. Depending on if the odds has a plus or minus in front, it will be calculated differently. -300 means that you have to stake 300 to win 100. +250 mean that you will win 250 if you stake 100. 

How to calculate net winnings with American Odds: 

First situation is if there is an "-" in front of the odds: 

Net Profit = 100 / odds (without the minus in front) * stake 

Example: 

Odds: -125
Stake 40 

Net Profit = 100 / 125 * 40 = 32 

Situation with "+" in front of the odds: 

Net Profit = odds /100 * stake 

Example: 

Odds: +257 

Stake 40 

Net Profit = 257/100 * 40 = 102.8 

The rating of this dimension is based on both a rating for the range of transaction option each bookmaker offers and a rating for the fees a user can incur. The range of transaction options is the number of deposit and withdrawal options for each bookmaker.  

Number of Deposit Methods is the sum of deposit methods at a bookmaker. Credit Card and Debit Card each count as one deposit method. 

Number of Withdrawal Methods is the sum of withdrawal methods at a bookmaker. Credit Card and Debit Card each count as one withdrawal method. 

Rating is based on the total number of deposit methods and withdrawal methods. 

Average Transaction fee is based on a transaction scenario, where deposits and withdrawals are made with each of the following transaction methods, summing up to 10 calculation examples: 

·          NETeller 

·          MoneyBookers 

·          Bank Transfer 

·          VISA 

·          Mastercard 

The calculation is based on a transaction scenario, where deposits and withdrawals are made with each of the following transaction methods, summing up to 10 calculation examples: 

·          NETeller 

·          MoneyBookers 

·          Bank Transfer 

·          VISA 

·          Mastercard 

The number and amount that is used for each deposit and withdrawal are the following 9 transactions: 

                                100 EURO 

                                100 EURO 

                                100 EURO 

                                500 EURO 

                                500 EURO 

                                500 EURO 

                             1.000 EURO 

                             1.000 EURO 

                             1.000 EURO 

This gives a total of 10*9 = 90 transactions. The rating is based on an average of these 90 transactions, for each bookmaker. 

The rating of this dimension is based on an average rating for each of the following three levels in which a bookmaker offers bets: 

·          Number of sports 

·          Number of leagues/tournaments 

·          Number of bets offered for a event 

Due to differences in Sports offered over time for each bookmaker, this rating takes all the historical registrations for each bookmaker into account from where an average is calculated. 

Due to difference in leagues offered over time for each bookmaker, this rating takes all the historical registrations for each bookmaker into account from where an average is calculated. 

Due to difference in number of betting options per Event offered over time for each bookmaker, this rating takes all the historical registrations for each bookmaker into account from where an average is calculated. 

Calculation of Site Statistic is based on an average of ratings for each bookmaker’s site speed and online up time.  

The speed of the web page is tested in two ways. One is based on 50 + servers around the world to give an estimate of web page's speed for each bookmaker depending on geographic location. The second test every 15 min for site speed leading to an average site speed over time. This test is based on the latest 3 months of observation (Updated every month) 

The webpage’s historical uptime is based on the latest 3 months of uptime (Updated every month), tested every 15 minutes. 

Site Speed Rating is calculated based on an average of the latest 3 months of test. 

Uptime rating is calculated based on an average of the latest 3 months of test. Tested every 15 min.

It is the web address tested. It is the front page of a bookmakers sportsbook section. 

The rating is based on the size of the Expected Value (EV) of the bonus offer. Expected Value is an indication of how much value in EURO you as a customer will receive when accepting a bonus offer from a company. The highest rating is given to the bookmaker with the highest EV. 

The reason is that only new customers are eligible for these offers and only once. Therefore we have excluded this dimension, as it does not give a correct long term rating of each company. Furthermore these bonus offers sometimes depend on which country the customers come from. 

Expected value of the bonus offer is based on the following elements: 

·          A Bookmakers Odds Payout 

·          Initial Rollover Requirement  

·          Size of the bonus 

Calculation of EV for Cash Bonus: 

EV = (Payout - 1) * (Rollover requirement) + Size of the bonus. 

Calculation of EV for Free Play Bonus: 

EV = (Payout – 1) * (Rollover requirement) + Payout * Free Play Bonus * (Free Play Bet odds -1) * (Free Play Bet Odds) ^ -1 

Calculation of EV for Free Play is slightly different than for cash bonus. For Free Play the EV increases with the size of the Free Play Odds. 

Bonus Percent is the size of the bonus relative to the deposit amount. 

It is the maximum numeric bonus value it's possible to receive at a bookmaker. 

It is the numeric value required to deposit for receiving maximum bonus. 

It is possible to receive one of the following bonus types: 

·          Cash Bonus  

·          Free Play Bonus  

·          Hybrid Bonus – a combination of the two above 

The main difference between free play bonuses and cash bonuses is that you will only receive the winnings when using a free play. 

Upon receiving a bonus certain requirements have to be met before a withdrawal of the bonus can be made. You must rollover your deposit and bonus X number of times before you can withdraw the bonus. 

A bonus can either be credited automatically to your account when the deposit has been made or alternatively you have to contact the bookmaker for your bonus to be credited. 

If you are having a problem with a bookmaker, tell us about it and we at WOSB.com will try to solve the problem.

Contact us at support@wosb.com . 

Yes, everybody can use WOSB.com information, but keep in mind that some bookmakers and payment methods will not accept customers from certain countries. 

support@wosb.com 

Please use this address for all member service enquiries.