Betcris
| Gambling | |
| Founded | 1985[1] |
| Headquarters | Republic of Costa Rica[1] |
| Parent | Townview Trading LTD |
| Website | Betcris.com |
BetCRIS (Costa Rica International Sports) is a company founded in 1985 that offers online gambling[2] services, including sports betting, online casino games, online bingo and mobile gambling.
The company is headquartered in San José, Costa Rica with satellite offices in Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Brasil and 12 other countries. The company opened the first sportsbook in the Dominican Republic in 1985.
In 2003 BetCRIS was the victim of numerous attacks and extortion which resulted in their website being offline for almost a month.[3][4]
In 2007 the company set up the first sportsbook in Rwanda where they entered into partnership with Rwanda Lotto.[5]
Controversy
In 2006, the company offered bets on whether a hurricane would hit the mainland US. This prompted angry responses from Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco.[6][7]
In the same year the company also took bets on when Fidel Castro would die. A disproportionate number of bets were taken from the Miami area.[8]
References
- 1 2 Betcris.com: About us
- ↑ "200 firms sign up to offer online gambling".
- ↑ The New Yorker: The Zombie Hunters
- ↑ Business Week: Gambling Sites, This Is A Holdup
- ↑ Allafrica.com: Rwanda - Hedging Your Bets
- ↑ New York Daily News: Storm Bets on Web Raise 'Cane
- ↑ South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Gamblers place their bets on 2006 storm season
- ↑ The Guardian: As Castro starts recovery, gambling website takes thousands of bets from exiles on when he will die