Established on the market since 1997, Sportingbet is now a household name in the online bookmaking industry and already has many loyal customers.
Based in the UK, Sportingbet is part of the Entain family and so is from the same stable as such well-appreciated brands as Bwin, Coral, and Ladbrokes among others.
With a good range of betting markets and features to choose from, Sportingbet sits comfortably within many punters’ lists of the best betting sites available and now we take an in-depth look at everything they have to offer in our comprehensive Sportingbet review.
As expected during our Sportingbet reviews we discovered both areas of strength and relative weakness. Overall, this is a very strong brand however and it’s difficult to mark Sportingbet down too much in most key areas.
This is how we rate each section of their platform:
As we’ve found with a number of brands, the areas marked down still have some major good points but also have an easy fix that would rank them much higher.
For instance; the lack of a phone number and the 9 am – 9pm availability means that the otherwise excellent customer service cannot be given top marks, while the bonuses and promos could definitely use some work but do offer the basics.
There are simply always obvious pros and cons about all major online casinos and sportsbooks. For a punter, it’s important to know what works for you, meaning you can simply ignore the negatives in some cases. These are the key highlights and lowlights with Sportingbet:
The point must be made that Sportingbet’s customer service is excellent, however that is only the case when you can get hold of them so given that they are not available for 12 hours in what is a 24/7 industry, it does rather let them down a tad.
All of Sporingbet’s company information in one place.
We liked Sportingbet, but one thing becomes abundantly clear and that is where certain brands sit on the pecking order within a major company. In Sportingbet’s case, they are owned by Entain who have lots of huge brands in their stable.
Each one has to pay its own way of course, and that’s noticeable by the fact that more investment could in theory easily be made to drag Sportingbet up the ladder further, but so far hasn’t been. For example; some extra bodies in customer service to push it to 24 hours a day would be greatly appreciated.
Betting odds are strong, the design is good and we recognise that each betting platform within a large company has to look and feel different, with Sportingbet very much having its own identity which is a satisfying one across web and mobile.
Sportingbet are known to change their welcome bonuses fairly frequently, so make sure to be familiar with the current offer when you go to sign up.
One of their best, and current at the time of writing, is the Welcome Challenge deal that brings a generous cash amount along with an opportunity to try out the casino too. The welcome bonus shapes up like this:
Welcome Challenge – Sportingbet offer new players up to £50 in free bets, an Odds Boost token, 20 free spins and a £10 casino bonus. Players gain rewards for completing four welcome challenges, plus an extra £20 free bet for completing all four.
The bonus is a little long winded, but it ends up being rather valuable in comparison to other welcome deals. New players have to take part in four separate challenges; the Acca Challenge, Football Challenge, In-Play Challenge and Casino Challenge.
Naturally this is the best bonus if you are not interested in the casino side of the platform at all, but given that the free spins come with no strings it’s at least worth giving it a go.
Overall, this is a good bonus if you can complete all the challenges but you’ll need to do some reading as all four individual challenges have their own rules, terms and conditions which you will need to bone up on in order to get the maximum from the offer.
The promotions section, for existing customers, could be a lot stronger in truth and covers only the very basics.
As always, promotional offers can change throughout the year as major sporting events take place. The typical promos offered by Sportingbet include:
Enhanced Accas are pre-decided by the brand, offering for example two football teams to win at slightly higher odds. These odds aren’t exactly spectacular, and the fact that the brand is essentially telling customers what to bet on doesn’t sit well with us. Any promo is better than nothing of course, but many better sporting betting promotions are better than this and we’d love to see improvement.
Again, this is very much a minimum offer. BOG is available for all UK and Irish horse races, which it is with just about every recognised brand on the market. For those who don’t know; BOG means you can accept the odds for your horse when you back it, and if it wins and the SP is bigger, you are paid at the bigger price.
Two other items are listed under ‘promotions’ with Sportingbet, but are not promos at all. Their ‘new and improved’ Virtual Sports page is simply a revamp of a feature they have, while their basketball bet builder is again a feature rather than a promotion.
Only two permanent promos are therefore listed, one being the same thing all major bookmakers have and the other offering little freedom.
As we touched on before; any promo is better than nothing but this really is just about the minimum a bookmaker could offer meaning these promotions alone would not be what entices new players at Sportingbet to become regular ones.
For international customers, there is a very wide range of deposit and withdrawal methods at Sportingbet and while this is less so in the UK, the options are still good. The process is easy and fast, which is a major plus point for the brand.
Available options are Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, paysafecard, Trustly, PromoCode and MuchBetter. Debit card options allow for instant and free deposits, while withdrawals are also free and are very quick with around 1-2 days allowed for processing.
PayPal comes without fees, though as always when you put that money back into your account a fee will be charged for transferring it to your bank, with processing taking only a matter of seconds.
One good thing about PayPal here is that you may withdraw more than you put in; so even an initial £10 deposit if becoming hundreds in winnings can be withdrawn the same way.
Banking is very quick here and as far as we can see, no players have had any major problems with Sportingbet in this regard. Getting payment methods, their fees and their timings right is crucial for an online bookmaker and it’s an area this brand has excelled in so far.
Sportingbet does get two simple yet important things right; the range of betting markets it has and the odds offered within. There are almost 40 sports and events listed in the A-Z, which is among the best in the industry, including:
Alpine skiing, American football, badminton, bandy, baseball, basketball, biathlon, boxing, chess, combat sports, cricket, cross country skiing, curling, cycling, darts, entertainment, floorball, football, Formula 1, football, Gaelic sports, golf, handball, horse racing, ice hockey, Olympics, politics, pool, rugby league, rugby union, snooker, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and water polo.
The usual suspects have the most markets, with football, horse racing, tennis and American football well catered for. Odds are strong and stand up very well against competitors, a good sign being when the brand is top-priced on a number of fancied selections in major events.
The range of sports is good, and the markets contained within those sports are not to be sniffed at either. If this list continues to grow, Sportingbet would have one of the most comprehensive lists of betting markets available in the entire sports betting niche.
Security may not be the first thing the average casual punter looks at, yet it remains one of the most important things about any sports betting brand.
First of all, Sportingbet is fully licenced and regulated by the Gambling Commission in the UK among other things, meaning it is heavily regulated and has to follow some extremely stringent industry regulations.
The brand utilises 256-bit encryption, a comprehensive security system containing five levels with multiple firewalls so your personal and financial data is always kept safe.
As well as keeping adults’ data safe, this security means that vulnerable people and underage gamblers cannot access the markets, while of course players can also set their own bet limits and take time-outs whenever required.
Self-exclusion is another added layer put in place in order for the brand to meet their responsible gambling targets, which they clearly take very seriously, with no major breaches or instances of fraud having been mentioned in recent times.
Sportingbet is a very safe and secure online bookmaker to work with, their added security perhaps being a welcome benefit of them being part of such a huge brand as Entain.
Customer service is one of Sportingbet’s biggest strengths and weaknesses, all at the same time.
On the one hand, their actual service is superb with all agents being friendly, amiable and knowledgeable. The downside is that they are not available all the time and this is where the whole thing just unfortunately falls down.
If your query isn’t urgent, then you can email the team via the website. You’ll need to jump through a few hoops to reach this point, as when you click ‘contact’ the whole page is basically one big FAQ section.
The trick is to go straight to ‘other’, then ‘I haven’t found what I’m looking for’, then ‘yes’ after being asked if you still need more help.
From there you’ll be given four options. Recommended options are to contact the team via Facebook or Twitter private message. A team member will be in touch within a couple of hours, often sooner, while the email form will do a similar job.
If your query is more urgent, then you’ll need to hit the live chat bot as this way you will be chatting live, as the name suggests, and will have your queries answered in writing. This is the way we suggest.
The let downs really are partially how long it will take the uninitiated to reach these options in the first place, along with how often the team is available.
You can chat to the team only from 9am to 9pm each day. Given that sports betting is a round-the-clock business, we really need to see this enhanced.
This brand offers strong markets on American sports, many of which take place during the night for British backers, as well as international horse racing, tennis and cricket. If you have a query while your bet is live, there is a strong chance you won’t be able to get in touch with what is admittedly a very good customer service crew.
Sportingbet does come with some extra features over and above its basic, comprehensive betting markets.
These features are available with their main competition, so we can’t claim that they truly stand out in this regard, though they work pretty well in the main and include:
Not available on all sports, but perhaps becoming more widely available in the future. The bet builder allows punters to select various markets within one match, essentially creating their own accumulator as a way to look to extend potential profits while keeping an eye on one game.
Cash out is available at Sportingbet on most major markets. The usual things apply; if your bet appears to be doing well or its odds have shortened significantly then you may be offered a cash out value that hands you guaranteed profit, if not then you may be able to take a smaller amount than your stake to at least cut some of your losses.
live, in-play betting is offered on a number of sports and is live right up to the second. Odds remain accurate and betting in-play means you can afford to wait to see how an event is beginning to play out before deciding whether or not to place a bet.
Live streaming is offered, primarily on certain tennis and football games. Other sports are periodically offered too, and we really hope this is something that is expanded on in future as punters in the modern day are more than happy to bet and watch in the same place, while on the move, instead of having to jump between formats.
A dedicated Sportingbet app is available to download (details below).
You can bet on the move with Sportingbet via any modern Android or iOS-powered device.
The same excellent interface is offered on the mobile site that you’d find on desktop, while the dedicated sports app allows you to access all the same bonuses and promotions, live betting, cash-out facilities and customer service.
The app can be downloaded via Google Play or the App Store, with no obvious flaws. No major parts of the desktop site are missing, so other than watching a smaller screen your betting experience is not lessened by using the app meaning you can bet with confidence on the go.
If you prefer no download, then simply use your mobile or tablet to access Sportingbet via a browser. This works very well, but log-in is easier on the app.
The app is very slick, user-friendly and is one of the better ones we’ve seen on the market recently with no major complications to note.
True, we’d love more promotions to be offered and we certainly want the customer service team to be allowed to operate during more hours.
That said, the basic markets, the user interface, the features and certainly the banking options are all very good and security here is first-rate.
Odds are very competitive, a basic punter’s right that so many bookmakers let themselves down on, while given the range of sports covered you are also unlikely to struggle to get a bet on even if your chosen sport is somewhat niche.
Overall, Sportingbet has things to work on but is certainly an online bookmaker we could recommend with some confidence.
Yes. The brand is fully licenced and regulated by the Gambling Commission in the UK and held to the highest of standards.
There are almost 40 different sports and events to bet on with football, horse racing, tennis and NBA given special attention.
Many of the top casino software developers work with Sportingbet, chiefly NetEnt, Microgaming and Playtech.
Sportingbet offers new players up to £50 in free bets, an odds boost, 20 free spins and a £10 casino bonus for joining. Ongoing promotions also exist for current players.
Sportingbet holds a full licence to operate from the Gambling Commission in the UK, as well as in other territories.
Customer service is excellent, though via the site you can only access it from 9 am to 9 pm. Their recommended way to get in touch is via social media message.
Customers can deposit from £10 at Sportingbet. Maximums can be capped by the player upon joining.
£10 via all payment methods.
Very fast. Withdrawals to eWallets are processed in seconds, while even for debit card payments, the process typically takes only a day or two at the most.
No, but various casino bonuses and sports promotions are always available.
Yes, available to download for both iOS and Android devices.
Yes. Tennis, football, ice hockey, and snooker are all featured live, among other sports.
Yes. Streaming is available on a host of sports. With some, you may only need to be logged in; with others, you may be required to place a small bet first, i.e., £1 per horse race.
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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