The following is a review of the betting agency SportsBet. I will update this review periodically to keep the details up to date.
SportsBet was the first agency that I signed up with and is currently the betting agency I use the most. It is licensed in the Northern Territory but is available Australia wide, as well as internationally.
- New member offers – New members receive a 20% sign up bonus up to a deposit amount of $500 (resulting in a bonus of $100). The bonus is given as a free bet where the net proceeds (if it is a winning bet) are credited to your balance. You must make at least one bet using these proceeds prior to withdrawing them from your account (referred to as turning over the proceeds). You can also earn $50 free bets by referring your friends.
- Deposit options – credit card, POLi (enables you to pay by bank deposit instantly), BPay, direct deposit, cheque/money order, eWallet (MoneyBookers)
- Withdrawal options – Bank account, BPay, cheque, eWallet
- Transaction fees – None
- Minimum bet – $1.00
- Sports – A wide range of sports, racing, and entertainment betting options are available. Some of the more “exotic” bets on offer include Academy Awards, Australian Idol, and politics.
- Live betting – Live betting during matches is available but over the phone only for Australian residents
- Credit – I currently have a $200 credit facility which is a great way to make bets without depositing money into my account first. If my bet wins I receive the net profit from the bet. If my bet loses I have to add funds to my account within seven days to make up for the shortfall. It somewhat resembles CFD equity trading.
- Upsides
- SportsBet offers a huge range of betting options, and based on my own experience, they process match results very quickly. I have even seen them pay out with a couple minutes left on the clock!
- The credit feature is fantastic in that it enables you to make bets without worrying about your credit levels. It also doesn’t require you submit an application.
- The SportsBet interface is fairly easy to use for beginners.
- SportsBet is the only service I know of that provides a form guide for many head-to-head bets which enables you to see previous results for the competitors involved.
- Downsides
- My biggest complaint is the navigation menu for browsing available bets. The navigation menu is static, which makes it slower to browse available bets. For example you have to click Soccer Matches -> England -> Premier League, each time reloading the navigation menu.
- SportsBet doesn’t offer Paypal as a payment method, but given that they offer the POLi service I don’t have too many complaints about that.
- SportsBet can sometimes be be a bit slower at providing betting odds than some of its rivals.
- Bottom line – having made hundreds of bets with SportsBet, I can recommend them with confidence. I have experience with quite a number of bookmakers, and SportsBet appears to be one of the more reputable agencies in Australia.
