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One of the longest established sportsbooks, Jazz Sportsbook out of San Jose, Costa Rica, appears to have fallen on hard times, Gambling911.com has learned. Jazz Sportsbook Responds - Go Here
The news is shocking considering Jazz has been in existence since 1994, nearly three times that of the largest North American online sportsbook FanDuel, and throughout its existence has enjoyed a mostly impeccable reputation.
We emphasize the word "mostly" as it hasn't always been rosy.
In 2018, Jazz Sportsbook representatives revealed to Gambling911 they did suffer a bit of a black eye previous to our meeting and were working hard to rectify that situation.
In fact, they were pushing hard to capture a piece of the newly opened US regulated sports betting market. It was in May of that year the US Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated decision that struck down the federal ban on state authorization of sports betting.
Jazz Sportsbook over the years has gone from a primarily credit book - the owner despised the post up sector - to one that has gained a significant foothold in the Latin American gambling market. They also owned and operated a handful of land-based casinos throughout the years, mostly in Costa Rica.
With all of this in mind, we were shocked when players began coming forward Saturday advising of long lag times with requested payouts.
Vegas Horse Pools on Twitter was the first to reach out to Gambling911.com.
The respected sports bettor messaged: "I have a bunch of people that need help getting their money out of them."
Another well known figure in the world of sports betting, Joey Tunes, elaborated further on past issues involving Jazz Sportsbook while offering a ray of hope.
"They had problems years ago, Borrowed money form my friend. They are terrible books, they're pph is strong though 25k + guys."
In the early days of offshore sports gambling, Jazz acquired Loose Lines Sports out of Belize and ABC Islands with its strong presence in the Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania market. They would later convert ABC Islands into a Pay Per Head business. A PPH business acts as an outsourcing vehicle, charging bookies and agents a set weekly fee per week for their players to use ABC Islands software, customer service and oddsmakers.
But sports gambler Shoebox noted that Jazz seems to have become a bit more aggressive with its bonus offers of late, something that has not gone unnoticed here at Gambling911.com as well (yes we've been getting a lot more of their emails).
"This is surprising and sad at the same time. They have been around over 20 years. I been getting cold called and emails lately, but they always did that to me. I hope it works out."
By Saturday evening it became abundantly clear these were no isolated instances. Jazz Sportsbook admitted to the backup in payouts.
"We are experiencing a high volume of withdrawals. Please rest assured that your withdrawals will be processed as quickly as possible. If you need more help, please email our Customer Service team at csd@jazzsports.age."
We are experiencing a high volume of withdrawals. Please rest assured that your withdrawals will be processed as quickly as possible. If you need more help, please email our Customer Service team at csd@jazzsports.age.
— JAZZ Sportsbook (Official) (@SportsbookJazz) March 10, 2024
This "high volume of withdrawals" comes weeks after the Super Bowl and well in advance of the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament, hardly a period of time associated with high volume.
Vegas Horse Pools responded.
"Thats the line they were using 2.5 months before the Superbowl.... Then a week before and after the Superbowl. They added the Superbowl Line.... Now they have dropped that line. Customer service is no help Im told."
For those of us who've been around the offshore sports betting industry a while, the Jazz Sportsbook message is far from reassuring.
Joey Tune's point about their ability to bounce back from adversity as well as the 25K PPH customer base offers some degree of solace...maybe.
In the very early 2000's, Jazz Sportsbook did encounter a similar issue and managed to return to normalcy, so there is certainly reason to be optimistic.
Gambling911.com will continue to monitor the situation and report any further developments. For tips, email us.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
