One month, three letters, two operators
BetUS vs MyBookie looks, on the surface, like a matchup between an old-guard offshore book and a younger one that caught up fast. It is that. It is also, less obviously, a story about timing: between January 23 and February 11, 2025, three separate state gaming regulators sent formal cease-and-desist letters to these two operators. Michigan hit MyBookie first, Florida followed six weeks later, and Illinois hit BetUS last. Neither letter was really about age or reputation — both books had operated for years without this kind of direct state action before that window opened.
BetUS vs MyBookie, side by side
| BetUS | MyBookie | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 | 2014 |
| Headquarters | San Jose, Costa Rica | Willemstad, Curaçao |
| Licensing claim | Island of Mwali (Comoros Union) per its own certificate; Curaçao per separate BetUS press material — the two conflict | Curaçao eGaming license, held by Duranbah Limited N.V. — one consistent claim |
| 2025 cease-and-desist | Illinois Gaming Board, February 11, 2025 | Michigan Gaming Control Board (January 23) and Florida Gaming Control Commission (February 5) |
| Fast payout method | Crypto (6 coins), same day, no fee, $5,000 daily cap | Bitcoin only, 12-24 hours, no fee |
| Slow fallback | Bank wire ($45 or 8%, 5-10 days) or courier check ($55, 10-15 days) | Bank wire (1-2 day review, then up to 7 business days) |
| Headline bonus | 125% sportsbook match to $2,500, 14x rollover, 48-hour claim window | 100% crypto match to $1,000 at 10x, or 10% cash match to $200 at 1x |
Is BetUS or MyBookie more legit?
On track record alone, BetUS has the deeper bench — thirty-plus years of forum-documented payouts against MyBookie's decade-plus. But legitimacy also has a paperwork half, and that half favors MyBookie. Its Curaçao eGaming license under Duranbah Limited N.V. is a single, checkable claim. BetUS's own materials contradict each other: the license certificate posted on its site names the Island of Mwali, part of the Comoros Union, while separate BetUS Newsroom copy describes Curaçao licensure instead. Neither BetUS document explains the other away, which is a strange loose end for a company old enough to have cleaned it up by now.
The timeline that ties them together. Michigan's Gaming Control Board sent MyBookie's operator, Duranbah Limited N.V., a cease-and-desist letter on January 23, 2025. Florida's Gaming Control Commission followed on February 5, naming MyBookie alongside Bovada.lv and BetUS.com.pa in the same action. Illinois then sent its own letter to betus.com.pa on February 11 — eight days later. All three target the operators, not individual bettors.
Is BetUS or MyBookie legal where I live?
Neither is licensed in any US state, so “legal” for both means the same thing: federal enforcement has historically targeted operators rather than the bettors using them, and that pattern hasn't changed for either book. What has changed is that regulators in three states have now put that enforcement in writing. Michigan and Florida named MyBookie directly; Illinois named BetUS. Neither company publishes a list of every state it might quietly restrict next, so a player in a fourth state is reading the same tea leaves either way.
Which is safer to actually use?
Safety on an unlicensed book comes down to two things: does it pay, and is there anyone to call if it doesn't. Neither operator offers the second thing — no US regulator stands behind either balance. On the first, both have real track records, though MyBookie's single coherent license claim edges out BetUS's self-contradicting one as a trust signal. The three cease-and-desist letters are the newest data point for both, and they cut the same way: state regulators are now willing to act on offshore books that have operated quietly for years, and that willingness didn't stop after the first letter went out.
Which one for who
A bettor who values sheer operating history and a wider crypto withdrawal menu leans BetUS — six accepted coins at a $5,000 daily cap, against MyBookie's Bitcoin-only fast lane. A bettor who wants one licensing story instead of two conflicting ones, or who wants the friendlier low-rollover bonus, leans MyBookie's 200CASH offer over BetUS's bigger-but-slower-to-clear JOIN125. Neither is a licensed substitute for a state-regulated book, and neither should be read as a way to make money — both are entertainment products with a house edge, 21+ only, and both now carry a state regulator's letter on file.