JustBet History and Beginning

Updated: 15.08.2025

When discussing the origins of online gambling sites, the story of www.justbet.cx may be one of the most colorful, if not the most colorful. Justbet, as the site is often called, is a company whose heritage is not exactly pristine by any stretch of the imagination. They were founded by a gambling site that cheated its players back in 1985 and then moved to Antigua, a location that has seen just about every kind of shady operator you can imagine. Antigua based companies have burned more punters than most people would like to admit, and Justbet's origins are not much different.

The Gary Austin Story

famous and turned tout gary austin returned to daytime las vegas in 1977 after nearly a decade of driving garbage trucks on the roof during the day in stop-and-go bay area traffic. everson's album, his painting of makeshift, earns him a few bucks. still, his handles get him sued almost every day. 1978 trailblazer and inductee into the road agents, --- you are watching. 1. Castaways NFL Handicappers Championship

Perhaps more importantly, this was a long-time mob hangout, and many of the "who's who" of the sports book world hung out here. Their book called "Hole on the Wall" was run by gambling hall of famer Sonny Reizner, and this is where he invented NFL prop bets. The hotel was torn down in 1987 and stood roughly where the Mirage stands today. Anyway, the contest was incredibly hyped: Gary Austin ran an amazing operation, maybe got a big head, and the media fed it.

After his triumph on Castaways, Gary Austin started a company called Austin's Edge. A full-page newspaper ad told the world it was a service that predicted the outcome of sporting events. The ads bragged about Austin's wins and asked the question, "Why would a guy who wins so much sell picks?" After exposing this story too much for comfort, Sports Illustrated backed off. It remains a compelling read, however, and a not-so-great reflection on the author.

The following year, he appeared on numerous television shows, became a bookmaker, and opened a sports rotation service (a precursor to Donsbest) with now infamous tout Jim Feist as his business partner. As the media built him up, he opened Gary Austin's Sportsbook on Las Vegas Boulevard, roughly where Bill's Gambling Hall stands today.

There are many stories surrounding Gary Austin's sports book. It has long been considered a true cowboy operation, where the owner would often set off-market prices because he was leaning one way or another on certain games. Portrayed as a larger-than-life figure, perhaps too proud to ever turn down a bet, Gary ran a book where sharp bettors like Billy Walters and his crew were said to bet anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 on any given game.

The history of Gary Austin's bet on the 1966 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals is full of controversy and colorful speculation. If you want to get angry about something, you can get angry about Game 6, and Game 7 is no better. Two games in the World Series that should be remembered for how they were played, and for the fact that when one team won, we had a champion, and now we have a story to tell. And what's better is that the story can be told loudly and with the kind of agenda that makes one of the games look bad and the other look worse. Because, I assure you, both halves of this pair are terrible. Game 6 and Game 7 are games we should be booing and hissing about.

Most people thought that Gary Austin was gone forever, but that turned out not to be the case. And why was that? Because most of the casual gamblers who had read Sports Illustrated and seen the media coverage of his portrayed greatness never knew that the man was broke or had ever heard of such a thing as Gary Austin's Sportsbook. So naturally, Austin went back to work as a bookie and tout. The next time he was in the news was in 1988 when he was named in a federal investigation into a $1 million a day bookmaking operation based in L.A. While he was only one of many named, rumor has it that this bookmaking operation was then moved to Costa Rica and in 1996 was given the name TradeWinds.

Early Tradewinds Sportsbooks

In the waning months of 1997, the Guardian Guarantee sportsbook, pushed by tout Jim Feist, brought Tradewinds into the public eye. Their promotional scheme was that with a single deposit, you could wager at two sportsbooks with the same balance: Tradewinds and Sports Exchange. These sites had linefeeds that were virtually identical, and while everyone had heard of Tradewinds and had no problem openly discussing it as a Gary Austin product, we were all quite unsure what to make of Sports Exchange.

Regardless, the name would soon change to BetGuardian, which was simply a mirror site of Tradewinds. By the year 2000, numerous other sites powered by Tradewinds - each with its own brand name - had popped up as well. The most popular of these were Regency, BetBadlands, and BetMalibu; these went right along with Tradewinds and BetGuardian.

Tradewinds Always Paid Fast

Although the Gary Austin connection initially kept most forums from supporting the Tradewinds brands, the player feedback from the 90s was impressive and virtually all good. The sites powered by Tradewinds had a decent risk tolerance, weren't known for limiting players, and always paid lightning fast via person-to-person transfers like Western Union. No matter how much the watchdog forums told people to stay away from them, the feedback from regular players was always along the lines of "seriously, these guys are solid".

As time went on, the name Gary Austin disappeared from online discussions. For those curious about his fate, Austin married Costa Rican supermodel Lynda Diaz in 2002. They had twin children and were living in what could only be described as a modern-day palace when they separated and filed for divorce in 2009. Still, Austin has lived the kind of life the American non-public figure/actor/comedian can only dream of. One with three commas in his net worth. And in case you're wondering, not really. Austin comes across as a shady character when he talks about the old Las Vegas debt. He uses phrases like "the statute of limitations has expired" and "I'm not legally obligated to pay," as if he's some kind of expert on non-tort or non-contract actions.

Of course, since the business was an illegal sports betting operation aimed at the United States, it is unclear how much (if any) ownership he actually had or has in Tradewinds. But we do know that he somehow managed to finance an $8 million mansion behind the 8th hole of Costa Rica's Cariari Country Club.

JustBet.com Launches as New Tradewinds Brand

These guys would show up on ESPN.com or in full-page ads in newspapers and magazines, and they also came up with scoreboards and free pick lines that they marketed. Eventually, they'd make personal contact with a player and drop the name of their favorite sports book. It was a nice touch to make the scene feel more legitimate. All the brands just made it easier for the bookies to know who to pay. But as the internet started to mature, segmentation and rankings became more important, and the many brands didn't cut it anymore.

In response to the need for brand identity, the heavily trafficked Tradewinds Regency site was rebranded as Justbet.com on August 1, 2006. This rebranding made far more sense (and dollars) than anything Tradewinds had attempted before. For almost 10 years, since 1998, Tradewinds had existed without any sort of public face, just a series of private booking sites. Now, with no small amount of fanfare, the company launched its first ever affiliate program on the aforementioned dates, for the Justbet.com site.

JustBet Key Staff

While it's one thing to have exposure to the market, what you do with it is something else entirely. This is where JustBet shines. Known throughout the industry as a stand-up guy, Nathan M. represents JustBet on a variety of forums under the alias Sharky79. For years now, if you've had a problem with JustBet, Nathan has been your go-to guy for solving it quickly. He's not the only good guy in the operation. There's Scott C., who hands out big bonuses and, by all accounts, is a great guy to bet with. Then there's Butch C. If you know him by name, you're probably not a fan.

Butch is a risk manager. He keeps the books in the business. That means cutting limits for players - sometimes too sharply, otherwise what risk management does is hardly management; it's just something that happens when players charge back. There are two marketing women. One is too sexy for her smarts; the other is too sexy for her smarts. Stephanie W. and Brooke D. are the marketing ladies. You think it stops there? Of course not. There are several hundred support representatives and ticket writers. The most distinguished of the two is Gary T. He is now the General Manager. Gary is best known for his former support role. BetCRIS customers remember Gary; I don't think too many of them will forget him.

JustBet’s Latest Innovations

Justbet, once an underground type of bookmaker, has emerged as a legitimate retail betting brand. In addition to using P2P and credit cards for US players, those living elsewhere can deposit using Neteller, Skrill, Ukash or Click2Pay. Justbet now offers a platform consisting of a sportsbook, racebook and online casino, with access consolidated under a single login and player bank. The site works well on Nokia, Blackberry, iPhone, Android and most other mobile devices. It also includes many of the latest innovations in the industry such as live dealer games, in-play sports betting and an online casino. If you're ever lucky enough to visit their offices, you'll see over 100 flat screens monitored by several hundred people answering support calls and writing betting tickets.

In conclusion, Justbet is a well-run online sportsbook that offers excellent support across the board. They also offer excellent sportsbook bonuses, have a fair way of dealing with disputes (should you ever have one) and pay you very quickly after you win. I don't know if Gary Austin has anything to do with the brand, but you certainly shouldn't worry about it. JustBet has a perfect and proven track record. A near industry change in 2011 has seen them leave the US facing .com domain. They now operate under www.justbet.cx.