Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
We have put together a list of the most commonly asked questions.
General Questions
Login Problems and Questions
Banking Questions
Security and Legal Answers
Technical Issues
Game Fairness
FAQ: Hollywood Sportsbook Answers
Do I have to pay taxes on my winnings?
Paying taxes on your winnings depends upon the jurisdiction in which you reside. Hollywood Sportsbook will not provide details of individual's net proceeds or losses. This is up to the individual to declare to the proper authorities. All customer information is kept highly confidential and is not disclosed to any third parties or public agencies.
How old do I have to be to play in the sportsbook or casino?
No one under the age of 18 years will be allowed to play for real money.
Why am I having trouble logging into the casino or sportsbook?
AOL users may sometimes have problems logging in. This can partly be explained by the fact that the AOL browser remembers old pages you have viewed (server side caching). Remembering old pages is meant to add speed to your browsing experience, however, it backfires when you try to view a web page that does not load correctly.
When this happens in most browsers, you can usually get it to display properly by refreshing your page (a button on your web browser). However, with AOL, when there is an error on a web page you have just loaded, AOL remembers this, and will simply reload the error page when you try to refresh. There are a few solutions you can try to get around this.
Solution #1, For Internet Explorer and AOL Users
Make sure your web browser or AOL is closed. Go to your Start Menu (bottom left hand side), up to "Settings", then to "Control Panel". When "Control Panel" opens, double click on "Internet Options" On the first screen you see there, there are two buttons you have to click. Under the category, "Temporary Internet Files", Hit the "Delete Files Button". If it asks you to delete all off-line content too, indicate "Yes". Immediately below the "Temporary Internet Files" section, is a menu item called "History", click on the button that says "Clear History". Click "Yes" when asked to delete all files in your history. Now click "OK" to exit out of the Internet options for the control panel. Restart your computer, and when you reload your web browser, you should be able to login without a problem.
Solution #2, for Netscape, Internet Explorer and AOL Users
In another window, login as usual. You will see the URL in the address box.
Example:
http://www.HollywoodSportsbook.com/livesports/indexmember.html
From that address box, remove the "http://www" (without quotes) After removing "http://www", you should then have: Hollywood Sportsbook /livesports/indexmember.html Click the enter/return key on your keyboard. This will reload the page (you will remained logged in).
Solution #3, If all else fails...
Download the latest version of Netscape or Internet Explorer. Install, and then restart.
Why am I having trouble using my credit card?
If you are having trouble making a deposit online using your credit card, simply call us at 800-220-0002. Many banks refuse to allow charges to online gaming entities due to the higher than average rate of fraud. As part of the worlds largest online gaming company, Hollywood Sportsbook has a AAA credit rating and is able to process and approve most credit card transactions. By calling us, we will be able to process your card over the phone.
Is it safe to use my credit card?
Yes, e-cash transactions at Hollywood Sportsbook are safe. Our third party processing service, Electronic Financial Services (EFS) safely handles all of our credit card transactions. Your transactions are billed by a company called Web Players Ltd., and this is the name that will appear on your credit card bill.
Web Players Ltd. is a company registered and regulated by Visa International to accept and process financial transactions on behalf of its clients in the gaming industry. Every credit card purchase you make is backed by the Web Players Safe Transaction Guarantee. We guarantee that every transaction you make with Web Players will be 100% safe.
This means you pay nothing if unauthorized charges are made to your card as a result of using our services. See guarantee details below.
Web Players Safe Transaction Guarantee
Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your bank can not hold you liable for more than $50.00 of fraudulent charges. If your bank does hold you liable for any of this $50.00, Web Players will cover the entire liability for you, up to the full $50.00. Web Players will only cover this liability if the unauthorized use of your credit card resulted through no fault of your own from purchases made at Web Players while using the secure server.
In the event of unauthorized use of your credit card, you must notify your credit card provider in accordance with its reporting rules and procedures.
Is all my personal information secure?
We take your security very seriously. Security in an Internet based business, can be likened to a chain, that is, its security is only as strong as its weakest link. Transactional (credit card transactions) security is one part of this link. Hollywood Sportsbook prides itself on its data integrity and the security of our customer database and information systems.
How does Hollywood Sportsbook Protect my privacy?
Our sportsbook and database servers are contained in a state of the art data center built in 2001. Our data center contains automated power transfer facilities and sophisticated natural disaster prevention security, including:
- State of the art fire suppression system.
- All servers are attached to redundant UPS (DC power) backup system. This is further bolstered by an on-site diesel backup generator which can run our systems for up to a ten days during catastrophic power outages.
- Our servers consist of high end Sun Solaris Enterprise machines, with raid storage systems and multiple high speed CPUs. In addition to hardware redundancy, all our systems are backed up nightly, with a copy of the tape backup stored off site.
- 24/7 live network monitoring by both skilled network administrators and sophisticated network monitoring programs.
- For added security and reliability, our web-sites and customer interface are hosted on redundant servers in both North America and Europe.
Due to the nature of computer security, the exact specifications of our intruder detection and prevention system cannot be disclosed. However, our security system has multiple defense layers, including both hardware and software detection units, a firewall, and live network monitoring by both humans and custom designed monitoring scripts.
Is gambling on the Internet legal?
Every region throughout the world has different laws, and they change from time to time, so we can't really answer that question. To be sure, you should contact your local legal representative to answer any of your questions.
Can I Get Technical Help?
One of Hollywood Sportsbook top priorities is to make sure that our members are well looked after. We offer 24 hour technical support, 7 days a week. If you are having any technical problems, please contact us toll-free:
What do I need to play on Hollywood Sportsbook ?
To enter the sportsbook, you need a Internet connection and a browser that supports frames. To play the casino games, you must have a browser that supports JAVA.
The vast majority of current browsers support frames. Hollywood Sportsbook recommends the latest version of Internet Explorer.
What do I do if I get disconnected?
If you happen to be in the middle of a game and you get disconnected for some reason, there is no need to panic. The exact state of your game will have been saved when you return to Hollywood Sportsbook . So you can continue exactly from where you left off. This only applies if you are in the middle of a game or placing a wager. We want you to be protected from any accidental monetary loss.
I can't get past a firewall.
Many people connect at work using their network, some of which contain firewalls. The port number is 40069.
The game froze, what do I do?
Like many other popular software programs, our JAVA casino games may freeze from time to time. Please be patient. If the game does not start again you may safely end the operation through Windows Task Manager. To launch Task Manager, press CTRL-ALT-DEL and then end the casino task. Your game will be held in a suspended state until you logon again. The game will not go on playing without you.
How are the odds created for the casino games?
The odds for both real money and playing for fun modes are created by a random number generator which resides on our server. For all card-based games, the deck or decks of cards are shuffled prior to each hand being dealt. These odds are audited by a third party to ensure they are being created in a fair and random manner.
All odds of the casino are in conformity with the rules of Las Vegas, except where outlined in the help files.
Our gaming software carries an official Certificate of RNG Evaluation from Technical Systems Testing (TST), an internationally recognized and respected Accredited Testing Facility (ATF). TST has been working with industry operators, suppliers, manufacturers and regulators to ensure that gaming products operate in a manner that is fair, secure and auditable and comply with some of the world's most stringent and comprehensive legislative and regulatory requirements.
How do you prove your random number generator is unbiased?
We are constantly being tested by a third party for fairness and
randomness. We are audited by one of the top 5 accounting firms. We are a
public company who has to file all of our records with the SEC. We also have
a top quality Quality Assurance team constantly testing our games.
Can Hollywood Sportsbook benefit from a biased random number generator?
No. We can not benefit from a biased generator. If there was a bias, customers would have the ability to see patterns and trends and use it to their advantage. Our generator is absolutely random and thus fair for both player and the house.
Can there be bugs in the software and what if I lose money as a result of a bug?
While highly unlikely, it is possible. If you do come across a problem, we have 24 hour phone and e-mail support. If you have any concern about the rules, implementation, or consistency of any game at Hollywood Sportsbook , please contact our member service. If the problem cannot be immediately solved, the case will be investigated using the game logs of the server and if something is found to be wrong, our development team will assess the problem and fix it.
If you lose money as a result of a bug, an investigation will commence and if our results show that there was a problem, your money for the bet will be refunded immediately. |
