A big welcome bonus is tempting, especially when your team has a good chance of winning. But would you trust a stranger with your betting money? That’s worth thinking about before signing up through an offer you found online.
Sports betting is legal in Colorado, and there’s no shortage of legitimate sportsbooks competing for your business. Unfortunately, scammers have worked out how to copy their websites, right down to the logos and welcome offers. Some of these copies are convincing enough to fool experienced bettors, which makes checking who you’re dealing with a sensible precaution before you put any money down.
A Convincing Promotion Is No Guarantee of Legitimacy
A generous welcome bonus ahead of a Broncos game is bound to attract attention, particularly when it appears in a Facebook advertisement carrying the logo of a sportsbook you already know. The offer sounds reasonable, the branding checks out, and there’s a link ready to take you straight to registration.
There’s one problem. The advertisement could have been created by someone who has absolutely nothing to do with the sportsbook.
Social media has become a useful hunting ground for scammers. During 2025, consumers reported losing $2.1 billion to scams that started on social media, while nearly 30% of people reporting scam losses said their first contact with the scammer happened there. The FTC’s figures on social media scam losses cover fraud generally, but the same trick works with fake sportsbook promotions.
A decent welcome offer is perfectly normal in sports betting. The question is whether the advertisement actually came from the company whose name is on it.
Fake Sportsbooks Can Look Like the Real Thing
Scammers aren’t necessarily building websites that look as though someone knocked them together during a lunch break. Some fake sportsbooks have convincing registration pages and proper-looking betting markets. You might even see an account balance after making a deposit, although that number on your screen doesn’t tell you where your money has gone.
And this isn’t some obscure problem affecting a handful of unlucky people.
A March 2026 survey found that 24% of Americans surveyed had lost money to betting or gambling scams, with an average reported loss of $547. The same betting scam research found that 56% had seen sports betting promotions on social media, while 34% had received betting-related links through text messages.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup gave scammers another opportunity to try their luck. Fraudulent websites borrowed tournament branding to advertise betting services, and some tried to steer visitors toward cryptocurrency deposits. The investigation into World Cup betting scams showed how criminals used a major sporting event to make their websites more convincing.
Then there’s the website address itself. A scammer might register a domain that’s only one letter different from the genuine sportsbook’s address, or add an extra word that most people wouldn’t notice at first glance.
Even the little padlock in your browser isn’t a guarantee. It tells you the connection is encrypted, which is useful, but criminals can get encrypted connections for their websites too.
Warning Signs That a Sportsbook Website Might Be Fake
A fake sportsbook won’t necessarily look suspicious at first. The homepage might have familiar team logos, realistic betting odds and a registration form that looks perfectly ordinary. The warning signs often become clearer when you look at how the website wants you to sign up or pay.
One common trick is creating a web address that closely resembles a legitimate sportsbook’s domain. Another is advertising a bonus that you can’t find anywhere on the operator’s official website. Scammers may also pressure visitors to deposit immediately, claiming an exclusive offer will disappear in minutes.
Payment requests deserve particular attention. If a supposed sportsbook asks you to send cryptocurrency to a personal wallet, transfer money to an individual or pay an additional fee to release winnings, that’s a serious warning sign. Unfamiliar payment methods aren’t automatically evidence of fraud, but unexpected instructions should always be verified with the operator.
Watch out for websites that offer no clear company information, provide only anonymous messaging contacts or promise guaranteed winnings. Legitimate sportsbooks can offer promotional incentives, but they can’t guarantee the outcome of a sporting event.
None of these clues proves that a website is fraudulent on its own. Several appearing together, though, should be enough reason to stop and investigate before entering any personal or payment information.
Independent Sportsbook Checks Provide Better Evidence
Once you’ve found a sportsbook worth considering, it’s worth checking the business behind the name. A good welcome offer is attractive, naturally, but you also want to know whether the operator is properly licensed and whether customers can withdraw their winnings without unnecessary complications.
Covers’ guide to safe betting sites is another useful place to start. Its BetSmart Rating system looks at factors such as licensing, security, payment methods, withdrawal speeds and customer support, helping bettors compare established operators rather than relying on advertising claims alone. It’s still worth checking Colorado’s official licensing records separately, particularly if you’ve reached a sportsbook through an unfamiliar link.
Withdrawal arrangements are worth examining before you deposit, because putting money into an account is generally easier than getting it back out. Established sportsbooks publish their payment conditions, including the documents needed to verify an account before a withdrawal can be processed.
Customer support also tells you something useful. A legitimate operator should provide a way to contact the business and get answers about its services, rather than leaving you with an anonymous email address and no idea who is running the operation.
Colorado Licensing Is the Deciding Check
Colorado sports betting has been legal since May 1, 2020, and the Colorado Division of Gaming oversees the companies authorized to operate in the state. That gives bettors a useful way to check whether a sportsbook is legitimate.
The market has changed considerably since then. Colorado had 39 licensed betting operations in March 2022, compared with 21 by August 2026. An old advertisement could still be circulating after a sportsbook has left the state, so a recognizable name doesn’t necessarily mean the operator is still licensed.
The Division of Gaming has a public business-license lookup where you can check the company behind a sportsbook. You’ll need its legal business name, which may differ from the name used in its advertising.
There’s another catch, though. Scammers can copy the name of a properly licensed sportsbook, so finding the company on the official register doesn’t automatically mean you’re visiting its genuine website.
Check the website address independently, rather than trusting the link in an advertisement. A single extra letter or an unexpected word in the domain could lead you to an imitation.
Between the licensing register and the genuine operator’s website, you have two straightforward checks that can help you avoid a costly mistake.
What to Do If You’ve Already Used a Suspicious Sportsbook
If you’ve registered with a website that now seems suspicious, don’t make another deposit while trying to work out whether it’s legitimate. Be particularly cautious if someone claims you need to pay a verification charge, processing fee or tax before receiving your winnings.
If you entered a password that you also use elsewhere, change it immediately on those accounts and enable two-factor authentication where available. Anyone who provided banking or card details should contact their financial institution, explain what happened and ask about securing their account or disputing unauthorized transactions.
Keep copies of the website address, transaction records, emails and messages. These details may be useful when reporting the incident to the Colorado Division of Gaming or the Federal Trade Commission.
Even if you haven’t lost money, reporting a suspicious website can help authorities identify fraudulent activity. The important thing is not to send more money in the hope of recovering an earlier deposit.
Check the Operator Before You Deposit
A professional-looking website and a generous welcome offer don’t tell you much about who’s actually handling your money. Before registering, check that the sportsbook is licensed in Colorado, confirm you’re using its genuine website and take a closer look at any promotion that seems unusually generous.
It’s worth spending a few minutes on those checks before putting money into an unfamiliar account. After all, betting on the Broncos is one thing. Gambling on whether a sportsbook is real is quite another.