VIP Sports Closes

VIP Sports was one the most heralded sportsbooks of its era. They came online in 1997, just a year after the Margarita Island bookies had scammed most of the industry. Of course, players were sceptical at first but VIP did something unique. They were the first sportsbook to set up shop in the Dutch Antilles, which had one of the strictest gambling commissions in the industry. Here players funds were required to be segregated, full background checks were done, and any messing around would result in operators getting sent packing. It didn’t take long for VIP to win over the trust of the industry. In time this was the hottest job around and this was where the bookmakers, ticket writers and odds managers wanted to go work.

Just a Couple Weeks Left

The sad news is that on 01 August 2011, a 14-year era comes to an end. That’s the day VIP Sports will close their virtual doors for good. There were no notices or press releases sent out explaining this move. All that is available is the following image featured on the homepage of www.vip.com.

VIP Sports History

As we mentioned in the introduction VIP Sports has long been a favourite of US sports punters and is one of the oldest and most trusted brands in the industry. Launched in 1997, eight years later they were floated on the London Stock Exchange. With the huge draw they purchased the VIP.com domain and redirected their previous URL (vipsports.com) to it. They then went on to acquire the English Harbor Casino Group and in 2006 netted a gross profit in excess of $80,000,000. They soon later acquired another huge brand Nine.com. By 2006 they were hot on the US DOJ’s radar so they decided to take a back seat ride. Since fall of 2006, VIP has not taken any new sign ups; instead they’ve focused solely on servicing their existing clients. In January 2011 VIP stopped taking players from Washington State (what gambler is stupid enough to live in Washing State anyways?); no big deal right?). Well now far more serious the entire country will be locked out come 01 August 2011.

Any reason as to why this has occurred is speculative at best. However, our best guess… these guys have made a lot of money. In recent months Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet were shut down by US authorities, BetED was sent to the grave (thank you to Covers.com, for that one) and several other bookmakers have had their domains seized. It’s a tough time to be a US gambling operator, perhaps deciding to cash their chips out now while they were still well ahead, VIP.com decided to close.

Players affected by this are encouraged to join the internet’s most reputable sports betting site www.bookmaker.eu.

UPDATE – A start up company has launched using the URL vipsports.eu. It is important to understand this NOT the original VIP Sports. You can read more details in our VIPSports.eu Review.