End of an Era as Bookmaker.eu Shifts to Recreational Betting Model

Written by :

C Costigan

Published on :

3 March, 2026

Once known for taking all types of action, Bookmaker.eu has announced it will no longer be offering certain betting markets to professional sports gamblers.

Fight Ghost first broke the news last week. Other gamblers have since confirmed they, too, were cut off from wagering on certain markets, NarcoCopMMA among them.

The History of Bookmaker

Bookmaker.eu has been operating in some capacity since 1986 as an offshoot of BetCRIS, which began operating in the Dominican Republic. The company moved to Costa Rica in 1998 where it adopted the name Costa Rica International Sports. The Bookmaker.com brand would emerge during the 2000's while BetCRIS managed most of the sharp action and high limit players.

In 2011, the Queens District Attorney’s Office began a probe into Bookmaker’s business in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland. The latter ultimately assumed control of the investigation and set up a sting operation that ensnared several online gambling sites. Bookmaker and nearly a dozen other operators had their .com domain names seized.

The gambling community would later refer to the operation as “Blue Monday", a reference to the day of the week the seizures took place.

Bookmaker quickly transitioned to Antigua’s .AG domain extension (which, we were told at the time, could stand for “Attorney General”) before later moving to its current .EU extension. BetCRIS shifted its focus to the Latin American market and exited the North American market entirely.

Bookmaker's slogan has long been "Where the line originates". In recent years, a number of other offshore and regulated sportsbooks have often beat them to the punch, most notably BetOnline. Bookmaker is still considered a highly reputable sportsbook, but appears to be shifting more towards a recreational business model.

The site continues to maintain the number one rank in Google search for the heavily queried "Bookmaker". It accepts credit card deposits as well as a number of cryptocurrencies and even offers an ATM card to those in the U.S. and Canada.

Focus on Certain Betting Markets Only?

Fight Ghost posted the following:

After 30 years of elite service to high limit players, the offshore sportsbook known for taking all bets and catering to sharp action is saying NO MAS. The following statement was issued to me and my #BOXING crew this morning. "The decision was made recently to no longer offer lines to any customers who are not considered recreational" - I am not angry. Not surprised. Just sad. @bookmaker_eu was the standard during my lifetime. Listen to me closely. NOBODY TAKES A REAL BET ANYMORE. The sentence has never been truer. The book "known for never kicking out winners" is kicking out winners

The full notice seems to suggest that Fight Ghost was only cut off from wagering on certain betting markets, while not specifically mentioning boxing or Mixed Martial Arts.

Here is the full extent of the message:

"Thanks for holding. Your time is greatly valued. We continuously assess the leagues and markets offered and make adjustments in line with business needs. The decision was made recently to longer offer lines mentioned to any customers who are not considered to be recreational players. I apologize, but until further notice we will no longer be able to offer these markets to you."

NarcoCopMMA confirmed he, too, was cut off from placing bets on any boxing outcomes specifically.

NarcoCopMMA provided a more detailed explanation as to his restrictions that indeed include some MMA markets.

"Unfortunately, this happened to me as well in the regional mma markets and recently for the undercards on boxing events . It’s a shame that @bookmaker_eu was the sportsbook known to take everyone’s action and not limit/ban players . Here we are now."

Handicappadonna suggests this is not necessarily a new trend with Bookmaker.

"This isn't really new they've been taking away bet points and only offer the reduced vig on NBA and other similar promotions to accounts they consider recreational. I don't see why any book would want to take on a "crew" of bettors in a niche market."