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Betting on the Chiefs in Sunday’s Super Bowl? Check out these tips to avoid costly scams

With sports betting now legal in Kansas as of last fall, many Kansas City Chiefs fans may be gearing up to place their bets on who will win Super Bowl LVII.

The Chiefs will play the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday. But don’t get too ahead of yourself, with the biggest football game of the year in four days, scammers are keeping an eye out for ways to make money, too.

“It’s important to understand that scammers are up to date with any sort of news, especially with national news with the Super Bowl on Sunday, that would be something scammers are keeping an eye out,” Denise Groene, vice president of the Better Business Bureau Kansas region, told the Eagle this week.

Because sports betting has only been legal for about five months, the BBB doesn’t have up-to-date information on how common these scams are in Kansas, but Groene said they could easily happen to anyone.

“Especially after the Super Bowl, it’ll be interesting to see what that looks like and what kind of reports we’ll see from people after the fact,” she said.

Here’s a guide on how to keep an eye out for possible scams and what to do if you fall victim to one.

How sports betting scams work

The most common scam is through websites and apps. These websites usually look trustworthy, and often offer an enticing bonus.

“At first everything seems normal, but as soon as you try to cash out your winnings, you find that you can’t withdraw your money,” Groene said.

Sometimes, these websites will then ask for additional information to receive your winnings. That can be personal information for “further identification” or an extra deposit. You still won’t be able to get your winnings, and instead the scammer might now have personal information or extra money in their pockets.

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How to avoid sports betting scams

The best way to avoid scammers is to double check and make sure the website you use is legitimate.

Ignore advertisements that show up unsolicited via email or text message. This is a common way for scammers to get customers.

Another common red flag is a form of payment that cannot be easily refunded, like cash, wire transfer, online currency or cryptocurrency, gift cards and more.

Paying by debit card, for example, provides some security that if something happens, you would be able to get a refund. But if the form of payment requested is not easily refunded, that may be a red flag the betting site is not legitimate.

“Once you send the money, there’s no sort of consumer protection to enable you to get that money back,” Groene said. “You can’t report it like you can your credit card, and say ‘Oh, this is fraudulent.’”

Make sure to read all the fine print and know exactly how you will get your earnings if you win. If you have any questions about the process the website cannot answer for you, that could be a red flag.

To make sure sportsbooks are legitimate, check that they’re “white-listed” and approved by the the state and gaming commission. The BBB recommends looking at ESPN, where they have a list of all the states where all sports betting is legal.

What to do if you fall victim to a sports betting scam

If you do find out you may have entered your money into a scam website, you can report it to the BBB or your local law enforcement agency.

You can also report the scam to the Kansas Lottery and the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, which oversees all sports betting in the state. If you believe you have been scammed and want to see if that’s the case, reaching out to them can be a good place to start.