How BetOnline Got Started – Full History
Updated: 15.08.2025
BetOnline is a gambling site that traces its roots back to a bookmaking business that started in Rochester, New York in 1991. When it moved to Costa Rica in December 2000, the first office wasn't much bigger than a closet. Despite these humble beginnings, they found the right partners, the right investments, and assembled an all-star cast to grow into one of the largest gaming sites in the world. This is their story.
Rochester New York Days to BestLineSports
Initially, the operation began with one person, known primarily as Joe Junior, who ran a betting operation out of Rochester, New York in 1991. This was illegal, but only because of special interests. America began with betting, not on anything as novel as bailout bonds or common stocks, but on games of chance, like our betting on casino games (which has mostly gone underground and forested our national parks), horse racing (our bets go mostly on the jockey and the horse), cockfighting (which has produced some of the nation's most conspicuous and audible roosters), and bare-knuckle fighting (which has produced some of the nation's strongest bookies). It wasn't until our national pastimes morphed into professional sports that an anti-gambling lobby got underway.
Make no mistake, Joe Junior knew a thing or two about crime. His father, Joseph Fafone, was a member of the Gambino crime family and a man nicknamed "Boca Joe" who was first arrested in 1971 for passing $200,000 in counterfeit $20 bills. Boca Joe managed to stay out of jail for a while after that, but a little over a decade ago he reunited with a former Mafia hit man who had just finished serving time. Together they were involved in a series of lucrative cocaine deals that landed the old man back in prison. As for Joe Junior, Boca Joe's son, I can't imagine him doing much of anything other than working in Joe Sr.'s legitimate "bookmaking" business, for which I'm sure the son helped launder some of his old man's dirty money.
The Rochester, New York bookmaking operation was small, with only a handful of agents and money collectors. Nevertheless, Joe Junior had his door kicked in several times by the police and was charged, rather absurdly, for running what was clearly a small operation. Tired of U.S. law enforcement, he moved to Costa Rica, where he rented a tiny office and launched his first online sports book in February 2001 under the URL bestlinesports.com.
There Were Other BetOnlines
BetOnline.com as it exists today claims to have a history that dates back to 1991. Even though Joe Junior is no longer with the company, the things we've uncovered so far are pretty close to the contemporary accepted history. From about February 2001 to March 2007, the current site existed as BestLineSports.com, which they seem to consider an actual part of their history. So they also consider fucked up a part of their history. They also consider part of their history to be what they call BetOnline, which came either slightly before or after the BetOnline that Joe's family ran.
The first was launched on July 8, 1998 as a partnership between the UK's Mirror Group and the Press Association. It was initially located on the subdomain betonline.sporting-life.com, before using the URL betonline.co.uk in September 1998. (This original BetOnline appears to date back to the UK betting site now known as BlueSquare, and has nothing to do with the company under discussion). The other BetOnline actually used the domain name betonline.com. The same group now owns 7redsports.com and ezstreetsports.com. We will come back later to explain how BestLineSports.com became betonline.com. For now, note that none of these other BetOnlines are part of today's BetOnline.com, nor have they ever been.
Joe Junior Takes on Partners
Although BetOnline had its beginnings in Joe Junior's bookmaking operation, it grew into a large partnership organization. Early on, there was another U.S. bookmaker who got on board and set up operations in Costa Rica. He used the name John Magnum. Over the years, this man has had more names and aliases than we can count - yet another name was used when he later served as BetOnline's CEO. He's also done well enough in life to become a character in both a book and a movie.
John Magnum, as we will call him, has never been charged with a crime by U.S. authorities. So we will stick with that name. Without giving too much away, in 1996, at the age of 25, he started one of the first offshore sportsbooks targeting the US market. His is a story with many twists and turns, and we can only tell it in broad strokes. He was the personal touch of the company. In the early days, no customer could open an account without talking to him first. Then he moved his operation to the San Pedro Mall. Later, BestLineSports.com became part of an operation anchored by another American with the initials E.D. Then, in May of 2004, this group moved BestLineSports.com to Panama.
Part of the reason that BetOnline.com came into existence was because BetOnSports.com went bankrupt and shut down on August 11, 2006. One of the largest sportsbooks in the US, it failed because of an indictment by US authorities and because it ran out of money. Another American left out in the cold by this series of events was Dalton Wagner. He seems to have come on board with BetOnline shortly after the closure of BetOnSports and appears to be a partner or at least an investor in the new outfit.
Dalton Wagner's connections to the BetOnSports staff and a huge list of clients and agents is what he brought to the table. He had met BetMaker's founders, Scott Barrett and Mike Hale, at a poker game in 1998. They had come to Costa Rica with six credit cards and sold their sports book for $20 million, living large and debt-free. Their story impressed Wagner so much that he moved to Costa Rica and started an online sportsbook, second only to BetMaker.
MVP was the only other association, and it was a provider of software that looked and functioned almost identically to today's 5dimes.com, with one notable exception: the juice. MVP had basically built a 5dimes.com for BetOnSports.com, and it had a team of software people who built e-commerce sites, replicated as needed, for BetOnSports.com and its other divisions. When BetOnSports closed its doors, its employees, out of work, had two options: either seek employment with 5dimes (not a good idea if you wanted to be part of a legitimate company) or, if it came down to it, find a guy in a dark alley.
Joe Junior Leaves the Company
The story of BetOnline is reflected in the story of Joe. He was a major player at BetOnline, but fell with the site in 2009. Skimming ahead in BetOnline's history, we find, with about 30 bookmakers, agents and runners of the pay-per-head side named, the story of Joe Junior. He was with BetOnline but left it in handcuffs at the Rochester International Airport. He was indicted and arrested in October 2009.
Authorities conducted a 38-month investigation they called "Operation Betting It All. They described the operation as a $20 million a month bookmaking operation linked to both the Gambino and Genovese crime families. The ridiculous thing is that the authorities conducted a 38-month investigation and still rarely got it right.
The pay-per-head side was BetOnline; and for a fee, anyone could access the software, no matter who they were, without having to show ID. And while BetOnline was probably picking up some pay-per-head bookie customers when they caught Joe Junior, there was nothing linking BetOnline to organized crime beyond the bet that every pay-per-head provider has some crime family it serves. The media loves this story.
No matter what you think, it's important to understand that when BestLineSports.com evolved into BetOnline, Joe Junior was just another face among many partners. He helped get the company off the ground, but most of what came next didn't really feature him in a significant role. After all, when the feds came in with Operation Betting It All in 2009, all of the indicted partners - including Joe Junior - were bought out. None of those people are involved with the current BetOnline in any capacity today.
UIGEA and BetOnline Domain Purchase
As mentioned in the introduction, the company began as an offshore operation and grew into one of the largest gambling sites in the industry. An over-the-top incentive program fueled their growth, and they attracted most of the top talent in the gaming industry.
BestLineSports.com made its first aggressive move in the stormy aftermath of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. This law, signed by President George W. Bush on October 13, 2006, made it a felony to be involved in the flow of money to and from illegal gambling sites. The UIGEA has literally caused hundreds of gambling sites to shut down in the U.S. market out of fear. It was in this climate that BestLineSports Group purchased the highly desirable domain name BetOnline.com - a domain that had previously been used by a company that was struggling financially as a result of the UIGEA.
In April 2007, BestLineSports.com was shut down and all of its accounts were merged into BetOnline.com. There was an almost immediate shift in BetOnline's advertising strategies, and with BetOnline now being the relevant site advertising on almost every known gambling site (including SBR, the RX, Covers, G911, and EOG) and almost too many relevant Twitter accounts (such as @BetOnline and @BetOnlinePoker), you were really being told on more than just a direct basis to bet with BetOnline.
BetOnline took a gamble that most sportsbooks didn't have the know-how or inclination to take. They started by offering discounted juice to customers who wanted it, while setting some of the highest betting limits in the industry. From there, they focused on adding a ton of new markets, like... football prop bets and alternative lines offered by sportsbooks. They even tried to be the first to accept lines before bookmakers and BetCRIS. You can read all about it in our article about them. The history of Bookmaker.eu makes this a sick move. For years this company worked under the aegis of a slogan that went: "where the line comes from". And let me tell you, it was much more than just some marketing hype.
In the long run, BetOnline has done everything right, and has even been aggressive in taking huge risks, continuing even after the seizure of US gambling site domains in April and May 2011. This event, known as Black Friday, took place on April 15, 2011 and saw the top poker sites - PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker - have their domains seized along with several bank accounts and key personnel from the companies. The poker site owners and their payment processors were indicted by U.S. authorities, and of the four poker sites, only PokerStars settled with prosecutors; the other three were shut down. In May 2011, ten sportsbooks had their domain names taken away.
Out of fear, many more gambling sites closed down to the US market. Some of those that tried to hang on went bankrupt. What did BetOnline do? The same thing they did after the UIGEA. They rushed out and hired a high-profile CEO, the woman Brett Favre allegedly texted penis shots to named Jenn Sterger, to act as their spokesperson. They also hired the existing head of the sportsbook.com affiliate team and another long-time affiliate manager, Simon Eaton, who had worked with VIP Profits back in the day. Of course, they added poker to their site and beefed up their affiliate program. The latter included sexy "we love US players" banners and increased commission rates for established affiliates.
In short, BetOnline went from a tiny bookmaking operation in Rochester, New York, to a closet-like office in Costa Rica, to the massive company that exists today. They assembled a great group of partners and made all the right moves, going all in while others were running scared. Has it paid off? There's no company today with better exposure on affiliate portals or Google search results than BetOnline. In May 2012, they purchased one of the oldest sportsbooks in the business: Sportsbetting.com. Bet Eagle, the leader in pay-per-head operations. BetOnline is undoubtedly one of the largest companies in the industry and has a great track record with players. To check them out, visit their new website at www.betonline.ag.
