BitcoinLiveBets.com has gone rogue. After offering some of the best bets in BTC live betting markets and an impressive website and interface, Bitcoin Live Bets has disappeared and taken bettors’ bitcoins with them.
On July 12th, 2014 the site and betting interface was pulled offline, and the BitcoinLiveBets.com domain was a nearly blank white page. There was one short line of text reading: “Short maintenance work. Back in a few hours.”
The site never did come back online. Players not only lost their full balances stored at the site, but also lost any pending wagers. There is a massive thread at Bitcoin Talk Forums detailing the theft.
The owner(s) even had the audacity to sell off shares of the sportsbook a week before disappearing with their players’, and apparently investors,’ bitcoins. It’s unclear how much was lost by players in the Bitcoin Live Bets scam, but tens of thousands of USD in Bitcoin seems to be a modest estimate.
The rogue status of this previously well known BTC sportsbook is another reason for bettors to be extremely careful where they bet. Many sites have operated in good standing but runoff with players’ deposits since, especially since Bitcoin’s meteoritic rise in popularity in 2013-14.
If BitcoinLiveBets.com ever comes back online avoid it at all costs, along with any associated sites.
The main take away from this and pretty much every other Bitcoin gambling scam logged to date, is that users should never leave any coins at a sportsbook, casino or poker site. Deposit the exact amount you want to bet and leave the rest in the safety of your bitcoin storage device, regardless of whether that is online or offline; the simple fact is that’s where they are safest.
While many gambling sites are legitimate, they can still be hacked or lose alot of money to sharp bettors or software vulnerabilities. The only surefire way to protect yourself from this is by keeping your coins off-site at all times. Make your bets, cashout when they win and you won’t have any issues. For more on account safety, read my guide to using bitcoin betting sites here.
