Pinnacle Sports
Encyclopedia
Pinnacle Sports is an online gaming
website that was founded in 1998 and is operated by Pinnacle Sports Worldwide. Since its inception, Pinnacle Sports has become one of the world’s largest, fully licensed, online sportsbooks. Presently, the company has customers in over 100 countries and is available in 14 different languages. While most of the company information, including number of employees and gross revenues are kept private, Michael Konik
, author of The Smart Money, believes "it would not be out of line to guess that their [Pinnacle Sports] annual handle is in the billions of dollars." Former Intertops CEO and WWTS executive Simon Noble was their Marketing Manager at the time of disappearing from Pinnacle.
Pinnacle Sports is located on the island of Curaçao
, and is fully licensed and regulated by the Government of the Netherlands Antilles, which also functions as the regulating body for the gaming
industry. Regulation requires that Pinnacle Sports must maintain sufficient funds to be able to honor the winnings of their customers at all times.
, thus deriving profit from lower margins but a far higher turnover. Pinnacle Sports began offering -105/-104 ($1.95-$1.96) prices on head-to-head match odds and spreads
, significantly undercutting the standard -110 ($1.91) pricing model that was used by its competitors.
Pinnacle Sports is able to operate under this pricing model by posting opening 'overnight' lines with smaller limits. This allows Pinnacle Sports to shape their lines according to the betting activity of 'sharp' bettors without exposing the book. According to Noble, these early, low limit bets ultimately allow Pinnacle Sports to offer betting limits with confidence as high as $50,000 or more on selected games with their low margin pricing model.
The site offers the following casino games, in cash, high stakes cash and a free play format:
Pinnacle Sports publishes monthly independent auditor’s reports to support a claim for providing one of the highest payout percentage levels in the industry.
realm, in hopes of taking advantage of the online poker phenomenon. Pinnacle’s Sports' poker room was run and operated by Entraction software. The same poker network is used by other online gaming websites, such as Betdaq
, I4Poker and Redbet.
In June 2011, Entraction informed Pinnacle that due to changes in EU gaming regulation their Curacao license was no longer accepted. Pinnacle Sports closed their poker room on 13 June 2011 stating “the steps required to remain within the Entraction Network will necessitate a significant commitment for Pinnacle Poker. Given that our current focus is on developing our leading Sportsbook and Casino products, we have decided not to pursue the necessary changes.
, which was passed on September 30, 2006. The law, which was a last minute addition to Security and Accountability For Every Port Act
, stipulates that “participants in designated payment systems to establish policies and procedures reasonably designed to identify and block or otherwise prevent or prohibit transactions in connection with unlawful Internet gambling.” At the time, Pinnacle Sports posted the following message to their U.S. based customers:
“After careful consideration, Pinnacle Sports has chosen to voluntarily exit the U.S. market. Accordingly, wagers will no longer be accepted from clients within the U.S. as of Thursday, January 11, 2007.”
At the time of the announcement, nearly 60-65% of Pinnacle’s customers were based in the United States. Passage of the legislation led Pinnacle to have problems with transactions involving US banks. Shortly after the decision, an executive at Pinnacle Sports was quoted as saying: "When the U.S. focuses on something and says 'Enough,' and when they go to war, no individual company can possibly win in a fight of this nature." The executive also reportedly said that "since the Internet Gambling Bill went into effect, we have lost the ability to do business with many quality banks."
After the decision, Pinnacle teamed up with World Sports Exchange (WSEX)
to offer their US based customers an alternative to their website. At customer’s requests, Pinnacle willingly transferred all money left in US based accounts to new accounts at WSEX.
On December 19, 2008, Pinnacle ceased offering odds on North American horse racing
. Although no official reason was given, it is believed this decision was made due to ongoing pressure from the U.S. Government, as well as a general decline in interest from their non US based customers.
Online gambling
Online gambling, also known as Internet gambling and iGambling, is a general term for gambling using the Internet.-Online poker:Online poker tables commonly offer Texas hold 'em, Omaha, Seven-card stud, razz, HORSE and other game types in both tournament and ring game structures...
website that was founded in 1998 and is operated by Pinnacle Sports Worldwide. Since its inception, Pinnacle Sports has become one of the world’s largest, fully licensed, online sportsbooks. Presently, the company has customers in over 100 countries and is available in 14 different languages. While most of the company information, including number of employees and gross revenues are kept private, Michael Konik
Michael Konik
Michael Konik is an American author, television personality, jazz singer, improvisational comedian, blackjack player and poker player. Konik has a degree in Drama from New York University.Konik currently resides in Hollywood, California.-Writing:...
, author of The Smart Money, believes "it would not be out of line to guess that their [Pinnacle Sports] annual handle is in the billions of dollars." Former Intertops CEO and WWTS executive Simon Noble was their Marketing Manager at the time of disappearing from Pinnacle.
Pinnacle Sports is located on the island of Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, and is fully licensed and regulated by the Government of the Netherlands Antilles, which also functions as the regulating body for the gaming
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
industry. Regulation requires that Pinnacle Sports must maintain sufficient funds to be able to honor the winnings of their customers at all times.
Reduced Margin Pricing
When Pinnacle Sports began trading in 1998, most gaming companies used bonuses to lure potential customers. Rather than offer sign up or reload bonuses, Pinnacle Sports became the first sportsbook to introduce a reduced margin pricing model or reduced juiceVigorish
Vigorish, or simply the vig, also known as juice or the take, is the amount charged by a bookmaker, or bookie, for his services. In the United States it also means the interest on a shark's loan. The term is Yiddish slang originating from the Russian word for winnings, выигрыш vyigrysh...
, thus deriving profit from lower margins but a far higher turnover. Pinnacle Sports began offering -105/-104 ($1.95-$1.96) prices on head-to-head match odds and spreads
Spread betting
Spread betting is any of various types of wagering on the outcome of an event, where the pay-off is based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than a simple "win or lose" outcome, such as fixed-odds betting or parimutuel betting. A spread is a range of outcomes and the bet is whether the outcome...
, significantly undercutting the standard -110 ($1.91) pricing model that was used by its competitors.
Pinnacle Sports is able to operate under this pricing model by posting opening 'overnight' lines with smaller limits. This allows Pinnacle Sports to shape their lines according to the betting activity of 'sharp' bettors without exposing the book. According to Noble, these early, low limit bets ultimately allow Pinnacle Sports to offer betting limits with confidence as high as $50,000 or more on selected games with their low margin pricing model.
Casino
Although Pinnacle Sports is best known for its sports betting service, Pinnacle Sports has also operated an online casino since September 2004. The online casino is offered as an instant play Flash client providing players with a 0.3% rebate on every casino game bet regardless of the outcome of the game.The site offers the following casino games, in cash, high stakes cash and a free play format:
- BlackjackBlackjackBlackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
- BaccaratBaccaratBaccarat is a card game, played at casinos and by gamblers. It is believed to have been introduced into France from Italy during the reign of King Charles VIII , and it is similar to Faro and Basset...
- CrapsCrapsCraps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank...
- RouletteRouletteRoulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
- PontoonPontoonPontoon may refer to:* Float , an air-filled structure providing buoyancy* Pontoon , the Australian/Malaysian casino game* Pontoon , a chiefly British version of the card game blackjack...
- Video PokerVideo pokerVideo poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.-History:...
- Pai Gow PokerPai gow pokerPai Gow poker is an Americanized version of Pai Gow . The games of Pai Gow poker and Super Pan-9 were created by Sam Torosian and Fred Wolf.The game is played with a standard 52-card deck, plus a single joker...
- Stud PokerStud pokerStud poker is any of a number of poker variants in which each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards dealt in multiple betting rounds. Stud games are also typically non-positional games, meaning that the player who bets first on each round may change from round to round...
- Oasis Poker
- Hold’em Poker
- Three Card Stud Poker
- Single Line Slots
- Multi-line Slots
- Progressive Slots
- KenoKenoKeno is a lottery or bingo gambling game often played at modern casinos, and is also offered as a game in some state lotteries. A traditional live casino keno game uses a circular glass enclosure called a "bubble" containing 80 balls which determine the ball draw result. Each ball is imprinted...
Pinnacle Sports publishes monthly independent auditor’s reports to support a claim for providing one of the highest payout percentage levels in the industry.
Poker
In August 2008, Pinnacle Sports entered the online pokerPoker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
realm, in hopes of taking advantage of the online poker phenomenon. Pinnacle’s Sports' poker room was run and operated by Entraction software. The same poker network is used by other online gaming websites, such as Betdaq
BETDAQ
BETDAQ is the trading name of Global Betting Exchange, a betting exchange operator based in Ireland. It is the second largest betting exchange operator in the market, with Betfair being the largest....
, I4Poker and Redbet.
In June 2011, Entraction informed Pinnacle that due to changes in EU gaming regulation their Curacao license was no longer accepted. Pinnacle Sports closed their poker room on 13 June 2011 stating “the steps required to remain within the Entraction Network will necessitate a significant commitment for Pinnacle Poker. Given that our current focus is on developing our leading Sportsbook and Casino products, we have decided not to pursue the necessary changes.
Exit from US Market
On January 11, 2007, in what was considered a controversial move, Pinnacle Sports voluntarily announced that it would no longer accept wagers from customers based in the United States in accordance with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 is United States legislation regulating online gambling. It was added as Title VIII to the SAFE Port Act which otherwise regulated port security...
, which was passed on September 30, 2006. The law, which was a last minute addition to Security and Accountability For Every Port Act
SAFE Port Act
The Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 was an Act of Congress in the United States covering port security and to which an online gambling measure was added at the last moment...
, stipulates that “participants in designated payment systems to establish policies and procedures reasonably designed to identify and block or otherwise prevent or prohibit transactions in connection with unlawful Internet gambling.” At the time, Pinnacle Sports posted the following message to their U.S. based customers:
“After careful consideration, Pinnacle Sports has chosen to voluntarily exit the U.S. market. Accordingly, wagers will no longer be accepted from clients within the U.S. as of Thursday, January 11, 2007.”
At the time of the announcement, nearly 60-65% of Pinnacle’s customers were based in the United States. Passage of the legislation led Pinnacle to have problems with transactions involving US banks. Shortly after the decision, an executive at Pinnacle Sports was quoted as saying: "When the U.S. focuses on something and says 'Enough,' and when they go to war, no individual company can possibly win in a fight of this nature." The executive also reportedly said that "since the Internet Gambling Bill went into effect, we have lost the ability to do business with many quality banks."
After the decision, Pinnacle teamed up with World Sports Exchange (WSEX)
World Sports Exchange
World Sports Exchange is an online bookmaker offering sportsbook gambling odds and sportsbook wagering lines including, football lines, basketball odds, baseball parlays, hockey odds, and horse racing track odds. Established in 1995, it is one of the pioneers of internet gaming...
to offer their US based customers an alternative to their website. At customer’s requests, Pinnacle willingly transferred all money left in US based accounts to new accounts at WSEX.
On December 19, 2008, Pinnacle ceased offering odds on North American horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. Although no official reason was given, it is believed this decision was made due to ongoing pressure from the U.S. Government, as well as a general decline in interest from their non US based customers.