BetVictor is one of the biggest independent bookmakers around. Started by William Chandler and formerly owned by the charismatic Victor Chandler, it is now owned by top horse racing owner-breeder Michael Tabor.
All major sports betting brands have holes in what they offer, in fact sometimes this is even partially deliberate. To keep odds good value, not every single base can be covered by every bookie which leaves each brand focusing on certain areas more than others.
There are plenty of new player bonuses on offer which we liked, but once you’ve joined and they are used up there is precious little else on offer. They also aren’t the most valuable taken individually.
Customer service is excellent but the phone option has been taken away and there is now too much focus on live chat and social media to please every punter.
That is the case with BetVictor too. Here’s how we rated them, section by section:
As you’ll see from our ratings, BetVictor’s platform is a very good one in the main. The mobile service is great and, while there could be more individual sports markets offered, each one does provide great value for punters and that’s the number one thing we look out for.
Here are the main pros and cons of betting with BetVictor:
BetVictor’s key company information at a glance.
Company
BV Gaming Limited (trading as BetVictor)
Via Account
Phone
No
Live Chat
Yes
Founded
1946
Location
Gibraltar (headquartered)
Licence
UK Gambling Commission
Mobile App
Yes – for iOS and Android devices
In-Play Console
Yes
Live Streaming
Yes
Minimum Deposit
Customer Support Types
Email, live chat, social media
BetVictor deserves its place among the bookmaking elite. They have earned the right to stay in the Premier League of online sports betting services as they have moved with the times.
Their dedicated app is one of the best out there, the customer service team is a credit to the brand and their odds are fair at worst, excellent at best on many market-leading contenders, especially within focus sport horse racing.
The overall experience was in fact a good one. While more sports markets could be offered, we note that this is a brand that focuses on football and to an even bigger extent horse racing. To that end, their various sign-up bonuses are tailored for such players.
The overall promotion list for existing players however is disappointing. Perhaps without realising it, when a bookmaker advertises a whole fistful of new player deals and very little for existing players, it shows where their focus lies which leads us to worry about whether or not they care about those already on the books.
That said, with those competitive odds offered we don’t really need too many bonuses thrown at us. Live betting and streaming is available and the app can handle everything, meaning we can take advantage of this excellent service while we’re on the move.
BetVictor, despite changes in ownership and branding, has a positive long-standing reputation with the betting public stretching back decades.
As one of the old-fashioned betting elite, BetVictor doesn’t need to offer the world to keep its customers but it does need to do as much as any to entice new ones in. With that in mind, we could have expected more from their new player bonus but it is a fairly standard one in all truth:
First up; not everyone signing up to a well-recognised sportsbook on a deal aimed at sports bettors wants to be tempted into the casino side of the business, leaving us with £20 to bet on sports.
The very quickest look on social media will tell you that, owing to their representation of certain football clubs and their appearances on television, Michael Owen and Harry Redknapp can be as divisive as they are enticing.
So, using their images simply due to their fame to get people in smacks of throwing money at sports celebs and marketing instead of concentrating on offering a better bonus.
BetVictor also offers different welcome bonuses for different punters, which is much more positive. They are:
All of these individual welcome offers require an opt-in and all are better than the main sign-up bonus. These are targeted at those who like certain sports which we much prefer to the £5/£30 deal.
We discovered some very positive bonuses for new customers, more than we see elsewhere and more targeted too. That said, our BetVictor reviews also threw up the fact that the vast majority of sports and casino bonuses are aimed at new players only, with precious little offered to loyal, existing customers.
Here’s what ongoing promotions are generally on offer:
– once a week per customer, bet 5 x £5 on any sports and get a £5 casino bonus.
– get a real cash refund if your horse loses all chance at the start of a race, i.e., when it doesn’t leave the stalls or refuses when the tape goes up.
– BOG means you can take the price on your horse or greyhound and if it wins and the SP is bigger, you are paid out at the better odds.
The ‘loyalty’ club only works if you want to be drawn into the casino, and only at a fiver at that, while versions of Run for Your Money are given routinely by other bookmakers and BOG is standard with all other major firms.
The first major plus is that all deposit types are instant according to BV, while there are also no fees. You can deposit via Visa, Mastercard, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill and PaysafeCard.
Minimum deposits are £5 for all bar PayPal, which is £10, while maximums are £50,000 for debit cards and Neteller, £5,500 for PayPal, £25,000 for Skrill and just £750 for Paysafe.
BetVictor doesn’t specify a maximum withdrawal so this is something customers would have to negotiate with the team. Withdrawals take 1-3 days with eWallets, though should be near enough instant, PayPal is within a day and others should take around 2 days.
It would be nice to see a few more options as well as better advance information given to customers.
A standard but not market-leading A-Z brings up 30 sports and events you can bet on at BetVictor. Not all of these have comprehensive submarkets either.
At BV you can bet on:
American football, Aussie rules football, baseball, basketball, boxing, cricket, cycling, darts, entertainment, eSports, football, Formula 1, futsal, Gaelic football, golf, greyhounds, handball, horse racing, hurling, ice hockey, MMA/UFC, politics, rugby league, rugby union, snooker, speedway, table tennis, tennis, virtual sports, volleyball and winter sports.
BetVictor’s traditions and Michael Tabor’s interests are primarily within horse racing, making that the main focus. Odds there more than anywhere are more than fair, often BetVictor being best-priced on a number of leading market fancies in horse races which offers good value for money.
Their football odds are generally pretty good too, which compensates for the apparent lack of available markets overall. As long as you are looking to bet on a major sport, you shouldn’t struggle to find a bet here nor to get good value for your selection.
With a full licence to operate shops and online entities from the Gambling Commission, BetVictor is heavily regulated and perfectly safe to use.
All customer data, personal and financial, is fully encrypted so there are no worries about your information ending up in the wrong hands. BetVictor’s full privacy policy is available to read for anyone who still has doubts, or wants to know how the information gained is used.
What is also of great importance to BetVictor is their responsible gambling policy. Bet limits, deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion can all be put in place by customers to ensure their gambling habits are safe and manageable.
The company is linked to BeGambleAware and GamStop, where those who feel they may be vulnerable or are suffering the effects of gambling-related harm can go for further help.
The brand has a pretty safe reputation in all honesty and there are no major data breaches to speak of. Unusually among online casinos and bookmakers, general customer feedback is very good for BetVictor with not too many people reporting major issues, including with payouts and bonuses etc.
The BetVictor site, including the help section, is very easy to use. Another positive is their attitude towards customers and the ease of use of some of the ways to get in touch in the first place. There are a couple of negatives however that we’ll touch on later.
There is a strong FAQ section which will answer most everyday questions you may have without the need to get in touch. Full details of bonuses and bet types are also given in their relevant sections.
The ‘contact us’ section now contains options for live chat, message us, text us, message us on Facebook and message us on Twitter.
There were more options in the past, with the ‘request a call back’ option now gone which is disappointing. It’s hoped that as staffing situations improve in the future, this will be reinstated.
The ‘message us’ option appears to take you to the live chat, making it somewhat redundant, though live chat is our preferred option anyway. Here, the response is instant and those answering messages are helpful, have the correct knowledge and are always friendly.
The attitude of the customer service team at BetVictor is first-class and we will always note that as the most important thing here. We would like to see more options though, as a push towards social media and live chat leaves some punters feeling a little isolated so a phone option being returned would be very beneficial.
As a leading name on the sports betting scene, we expected to find at least the same features we’ve experienced with BetVictor’s main rivals and we were not to be let down.
As more standardised online sports betting features are being developed all the time, it would be good to see BetVictor continue to stay up with the competition by integrating it all. As of now, they have everything we need including all the below:
– you can cash out bets with BetVictor. In your live or unsettled bet, if there is a cash out value available it will show there. You can get your cash out with one click, locking in a profit before the event is over if it’s doing well, or cutting your losses if you now believe it will go on to lose.
– you can create your own bet with BetVictor, though not on any fixture you like. The Bet Builder section lists the football games you can build bets on each day, which puts this service a little behind some other similar features on rival sites.
– in-play betting is a key feature at BetVictor. The in-play section features dozens of football games each day, along with tennis, ice hockey, basketball, cricket, darts and many more. You can bet on horses in-running too.
– nowadays this is a must for a major bookmaker. A few obscure sports are streamed live, such as table tennis and eSports, but the main concentration is on horse racing with every British and Irish race streamed every day. You’ll need to make a minimum £1 bet on the race in question to watch live, though the quality is very high.
– an excellent BetVictor sports betting app is available, full details below.
If you need to bet on the go, want to move away from the larger desktop site and don’t want to wait for a download then you can simply use your smartphone browser to access BetVictor’s mobile site.
The site works in the same way as the main desktop page, containing all the same information and features, with a good interface and an easy-to-use layout making it one of the better mobile sites we’ve seen. For better security and quicker login however, it would be best to download the dedicated BetVictor sports betting app.
The app really is excellent here. It’s available on a free download for both Android and iOS customers, offering every single feature you’d see on the main website in a more compact layout.
If anything, sports markets and bonuses appear even easier to find and to use with the app as opposed to the desktop, making this a fantastic experience for betting on the go.
The app is intuitive and slick, appearing to work just well no matter which device type you use it on. Live streaming and in-play betting works very well this way, while all promos and bonuses can be accessed on the app too meaning you can join via mobile rather than ever having to use the main site.
With the competitive odds offered arguably compensating for the lack of ongoing promotions, live streaming, in-play betting and all other features being available on what is an excellent app, BetVictor really does cover most bases in our view.
Though we’d like to see the phone option reinstated, customer service is good overall and the banking options are adequate. All-in-all, BetVictor remains a brand we can recommend to both new and existing sports bettors and it appears that one of the oldest names around will be in the game for quite a while to come yet.
Yes. The brand is fully licenced and regulated so there are no worries when using their various platforms.
There are 30 different sports and events you can bet on with BetVictor, including football, horse racing, tennis, rugby, cricket and many more.
BetVictor works with some of the best software providers in the business, including NetEnt and Microgaming.
There are various sign-up bonuses available depending on your sports preference, while ongoing promos include Best Odds Guaranteed for racing fans.
BetVictor is fully licenced by the Gambling Commission in the UK, as well as in other territories including Gibraltar.
Customer service is excellent, though is now restricted to live chat and social media.
You can deposit from £5 up to £50,000 with BetVictor.
No maximums are listed, with each customer required to agree this with BetVictor before cashing out large amounts.
Most withdrawals are handled inside of a day, though this may take up to 3 days for debit card withdrawals.
There is a loyalty program, with bets required each week to ensure a £5 casino bonus is given.
Yes, the app is available for iOS and Android smart devices.
Yes, many sports are available to bet on in-play including football, tennis, darts, cricket and more.
Yes, mostly for football and horse racing. A minimum £1 bet per race will be required.
New players only. 3x buy-in bonuses. % varies between 50% and 100%. Min £20 cash buy-in per bonus. Max bonus £700 in total. Bonus valid on classic slot games only. Exclusions apply. Max £2 stake. 20x wager requirements on total of buy-in and bonus amount. Bonus valid for 7 days. Keep it fun - set your deposit limit. T&C's apply.
Applicable to users over the age of 18.
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