Australia Sports Betting » bet365 Review

bet365 Review

Introduction

The following is an in-depth review of the betting agency bet365. This review covers the history, features, interface, sports & racing markets, upsides and downsides of the service.

This review is part of our comprehensive Bookmaker Reviews section. The Betting Agencies page provides information and reviews for other sports betting agencies that are suitable for Australians. The following details are updated periodically to keep them up to date.

History, Location and Licence

bet365 is based in the UK, but is in the process of obtaining an Australian license in the Northern Territory. It offers online sports and race betting, casino, games, poker and bingo. However, because of bet365′s Australian license application, the casino, games, poker, bingo and online in-play services are no longer available to Australians. The sports and financials betting are licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, while the the casino, games, poker and bingo operations are licensed and regulated by the government of Gibraltar. bet365 is one of the world’s leading online gambling services with over 4 million customers in 200 countries. The Group employs over 1,700 people and is the UK’s 7th largest private company.^{1, 2}

Services and Features

New member offers	Open an account, make a deposit of $20 or more and receive a 100% bonus on your qualifying deposit up to a maximum of $200. To bet with your bonus, play through the amount of your qualifying deposit once. This offer is not available to customers residing in Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, China and Taiwan.
Deposit options	For AUD accounts: Credit card (Visa & MasterCard), cheque, wire transfer, Neteller, Fast Bank Transfer, Moneybookers, Entropay, Click2Pay, Ukash
Withdrawal options	For AUD accounts: Credit card (Visa & MasterCard), cheque, wire transfer, Neteller, Fast Bank Transfer, Moneybookers, Entropay, Click2Pay, Ukash
Transaction fees	None charged by bet365. Your bank may charge a fee if you use credit card, because bet365 is not currently based in Australia.
Currencies	AUD, ARS, BGN, BRL, CAD, RMB, CZK, DKK, EUR, HKD, HUF, ISK, JPY, MYR, MXN, NZD, NOK, PLN, RON, SEK, SGD, ZAR, CHF, TWD, THB, GBP, USD
Languages	English, Español, Deutsch, Italiano, Dansk, Svenska, Norsk, 繁體中文, 简体中文, Български, Ελληνικά, Polski, Português, Română, Česky, Magyar, Slovenčina
Odds formats	Decimal, American, fractional
Minimum deposit	Depends on the deposit method. The minimum ranges between $1 and $100, and is $5 for credit card deposits.
Minimum bet	$0.25
Maximum payout	With a few exceptions, the maximum winnings in any 24 hour period range between £25,000 and £1,000,000, depending on the sport and league. Where a multiple bet has been placed which involves events with different maximum payout limits then the lowest limit will apply.
Deposit turnover requirements	None. However, if the value of a deposit is not played through in full before a withdrawal is requested, bet365 reserves the right to make a charge to the customers account to cover all reasonable costs relating to both the deposit and withdrawal.
Bonus credit turnover requirements	1x for qualifying deposit, 3x for bonus funds. Wagers must have odds of 1.50 or more to count towards the turnover requirement.
Bookmaker margin	bet365 odds are not as competitive as some other bookmakers. In our bookmaker margin survey, bet365 had an average margin of 105.4%. This was slightly above average compared to other bookmakers surveyed. It should be pointed out, however, that the range of services is far superior to most other bookmakers. The additional features such as live video feeds are financed by the higher margins.
Credit facilities	None that we’re aware of.
Forbidden Jurisdictions	bet365 is limited to residents of countries where online gaming is legal. The site does not currently accept players who reside in the United States of America, Turkey or the Netherlands.
Mobile version of the website?	Yes. You can even bet in-play using your phone. bet365 is currently offering an Initial Match Bonus on your first bet placed using their mobile service. Simply place a qualifying bet of $2 or more and you will be entitled to a 100% bonus, up to a maximum of $100. Important: Once you have placed your qualifying bet, you will need to obtain your Offer Code from the main site, by selecting Members, then Offers and viewing Offers Available. You will then receive an email with your Offer Code to your registered email address.
Identity checks	bet365 will confirm a customer’s address by posting an address verification letter to the customer.
Dormant account fees	None

Betting Interface and Website Layout

The bet365 interface is arguably the best we’ve ever seen. Rather than use standard HTML, the entire website is driven by Adobe Flash. This facilitates a far greater range of interactive features.

The left column features the ubiquitous sports navigation panel. However, unlike most bookmakers, the navigation frame doesn’t load subcategories. Instead, when you select a sport the available leagues are displayed in the centre column. You then select the leagues you wish to view. This feature is great when you wish to view numerous leagues at once, but it does take longer than a typical drop down menu if you’re only looking up one market. At present, you cannot display odds for different sports at the same time.

When viewing the odds you can click on the >> icon to view additional betting markets for the selected fixture. The additional odds are dynamically displayed on the same page to save you from unnecessary page reloads.

bet365 betting interface

Displayed betting markets

bet365 betting interface

Displayed betting odds

When viewing odds you can also click on a stats icon to view the form guide for the participants. This launches a statistics window that provides a plethora of form and fixture history data for the two sides.

If you’re viewing the guide for two football teams, you also have access to the league table and results matrix for the entire league, not to mention a full fixtures list, form table, players guide, team statistics, and much more. The information provided is fantastic, and the statistics navigation menu enables you to view form guides across a other sports while you’re there.

bet365 form statistics

Form guide & statistics

The betting slip operates much like an online shopping cart. It is displayed to the right of the odds display and is maintained as you navigate around the website. Your net profit is calculated and displayed automatically as you input your stake amount. This is in contrast to Australian bookmakers, who usually display total profit rather than net profit for each fixture.

The slip features a ‘Multiple Bet Options’ panel, which when selected displays numerous combinations of multibets using items in your bet slip. Multi betting fans will appreciate the functionality, with Trixie, Yankee, Super Yankee, Heinz, etc., available.

Sports Markets

bet365 offers a huge range of sporting markets. Given that it’s based in the UK, it is of no surprise that football (soccer) is heavily covered, with virtually every league catered for. The popular Australian sports are all present, although bet365 doesn’t offer as many betting options as some Australian bookmakers. This is one of the compromises you have to make when using an international bookmaker. On the flip-side, the breadth of sports covered eclipses virtually every Australian service.

At the time of review over 50 odds markets were available for each English Premier League fixture, including Asian Handicap.

Horse Racing

Horse racing and greyhounds are available, but we get the impression these aren’t bet365′s forte. The venues are all in the UK and Ireland. bet365 broadcasts live video feeds of most horse races.

Multi Betting on the Same Fixture

With most bookmakers you can’t create a multi bet using selections from the same fixture. In general, multi bets are not accepted if the outcome of one of your chosen events affects the outcome of another. These connected outcomes are called related contingencies. Many punters would like the ability to create multi bets using events in the same fixture, and bet365 offers a workaround by offering single bets that incorporate more than one event within a fixture. Below is a screenshot of the Scorecast options for a fixture between Manchester United and Benfica.

By using the drop down menus you can select a player and game result of your choosing. The odds on the right are updated automatically when you make your selections.

These single bets are essentially two-leg multi bets. For example the Anytime Scorecast above is for Rooney to score a goal and for Manchester United to win 2-0, at 14.00 odds.

Live Sports Betting

bet365 no longer offers live online betting to Australian customers. Australians must now phone in to bet live. This due to bet365′s application for an sports book license in the Northern Territory. According to the Interactive Gambling Act, bookmakers aren’t supposed to offer live online betting to Australians. Note that adherence to the Act is the responsibility of gambling operators and not individual Australians. It is not an offence for Australian residents to bet live “in-play” online.³

Numerous sports are accompanied by live video, many with English commentary. Often, punters log in simply to view these feeds when the sport isn’t broadcast on local TV. To be granted access to the feeds you only need a non-zero account balance or some outstanding wagers. This makes bet365 an affordable way to watch sport online. Examples of sports and leagues covered are Scottish Premier League football, English Championship football, South American football, WTA and ATP tennis events, squash, volleyball, table tennis and badminton.

Live video feed

Summary and Conclusion

Upsides

Generous new member offer
Well designed interface
Low minimum deposit
$0.25 minimum bet
Access to a substantial depository of statistics
Video and audio feeds during many live events
Incredible betting selection, especially on football
bet365′s license application in the Northern Territory will most likely result in an improved range of deposit and withdrawal options for Australian residents.

Downsides

Your bank may charge a transaction fee if you make a credit card deposit
Live online betting is no longer available to Australian punters. Australians must phone in to bet live.
Margins are above average compared to other bookmakers
Paypal isn’t available as a deposit method for Australians, and POLi is only offered through a Moneybookers account
Coverage of Australian sports isn’t as deep as the leading Australian bookmakers.

Bottom Line

bet365 is our pick of the international services because of its extensive range of features and slick interface. Usage of the site from Australia is convenient. Australian dollar accounts are accepted, and a wide range of deposit options is offered. The odds aren’t the most competitive around, but this more than made up for by the provision of frequent live video feeds and in-depth team statistics. With a minimum bet of $0.25, bet365 will also appeal to those who place low stakes bets. Punters who focus on Australian sports will find the selection not as broad as Australian bookmakers, but the majority will be satisfied, and the overall selection of sports dominates most local services. Overall, bet365 is fantastic bookmaker.