As March Madness intensifies, prepare for marketing targeting scammers and bettors.

March 15, 2024 – With March Madness just around the corner, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office aims to persuade Marylanders to place bigger and riskier bets. They warn people to be wary of scams and aggressive marketing.

Marylanders have many sports betting options, including mobile apps, online, and in-person. These organizations and venues are good at luring bettors into betting more money than they originally planned to spend, but they hope you don’t spend the time reading the details. Masu. Additionally, online and app-based gambling is a target for cybercriminals looking to scam you out of your money and personal information.

To protect yourself from misleading information when considering using a sportsbook platform:

• Check consumer reviews and ratings on the Better Business Bureau (www.BBB.org) and call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 410-528-8662 to see if any complaints have been filed against the platform. Please ask.
• Be sure to read the fine print on all promotions, especially those that are too good to be true.
• Read any conditions or penalties imposed by the sportsbook that may limit how and when you can cash out your winnings.
• When it comes to gambling, there is no such thing as completely risk-free bets or free money.

To protect yourself from fraudulent platforms and scammers:

• More information about legal and sanctioned sports betting programs and organizations is available from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Authority (www.mdgaming.com).
• Ignore online gambling pop-up ads, spam emails, text messages, and social media messages. Even if these appear to be from a legitimate sportsbook, they may link to a fraudulent website.
• If you suspect fraud, please report it to the Division of Consumer Protection or the Federal Bureau of Investigation at https://tips.fbi.gov/.

Finally, remember that when gambling becomes a problem, it can lead to devastating financial losses. If you need help with problem gambling, please visit the Maryland Alliance for Responsible Gambling at https://www.mdgamblinghelp.org/ or call 1-800-Gambler.