Introduction
The following is a review of the betting agency Centrebet. The Betting Agencies section provides information and reviews for other sports betting agencies that are suitable for Australians. Note that the following review is based on the Australian, not UK, version of the Centrebet website. The following details are updated periodically to keep them up to date.
History, Location and Licence
Centrebet originated in Alice Springs in 1992. It was the first bookmaker to be licensed in Australia, and in 1996 was the first bookmaker in the Southern Hemisphere to offer online betting. Centrebet was acquired by the SportOdds Group in 2003. In 2005, SportOdds merged its Centrebet, SportOdds.com and SuperOdds.co.uk businesses into a single entity, branded as Centrebet. The company was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2006. In June 2011 the company was purchased by Sportingbet making the combined entity one of the largest operators in Australia.1, 2, 3
On top of its sports and racing products, Centrebet offers poker and casino games. However, due to Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act, Centrebet is not permitted to offer these products to Australian residents.4 In Australia, Centrebet’s sports and horse racing markets are offered through its licence in the Northern Territory. Centrebet’s UK betting services are licensed in the United Kingdom, while its gaming services are licensed in Malta.
Services and Features
| New member offers |
Use the promo code NEW200 when registering. If your first single bet doesn’t win you will automatically receive a bonus bet token to the same value as your bet, up to $200. Learn more. Alternatively, use the promo code AUS09 when registering. Make a deposit and place your first bet. Centrebet will then credit your account with the same amount up to a maximum of $50. Learn more. |
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| Deposit options | For AUD accounts: credit card (Visa & MasterCard), Moneybookers, Neteller, Ukash, bank transfer, BPAY, Paypal, POLi 5 |
| Withdrawal options | Bank transfer, credit card, debit card, Moneybookers, Neteller, Paypal |
| Transaction fees | None. The only transaction fee Centrebet may charge is a 1% administration fee in cases where authorisation of a deposit is required from a financial institution. |
| Currencies | AUD, CAD, DKK, EUR, GBP, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, USD |
| Languages | English, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish |
| Odds formats | Decimal, fractional |
| Minimum deposit | No minimum deposit amount if depositing via bank deposit or credit/debit card. |
| Minimum bet | $1.00, or one unit of equivalent currency. For Euros the minimum bet amount is €0.20. The minimum stake for bets placed over the telephone is AUD $20. |
| Maximum payout | Bet limits are determined on a bet-by-bet basis. The maximum amount that may be won in any calendar week (Monday to Sunday) is AUD $250,000 or the foreign currency equivalent. |
| Deposit turnover requirements | None |
| Bonus credit turnover requirements | 2x for winning bonus bet tokens |
| Bookmaker margin | In our bookmaker margin survey, Centrebet had an average margin of 104.9%. This was the second lowest of the Australian bookmakers surveyed. The margin is a measure of bookmaker profit per market. From a punter’s perspective, the lower the margin, the better. Learn more about margins. |
| Credit facilities | Members may be offered a credit betting facility at Centrebet’s discretion. Apply here. |
| Forbidden Jurisdictions | Belgium, China, France, French Overseas Territories, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Macau, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States of America |
| Mobile version of the website? | Yes. You can place bets, deposit and withdraw funds, view bet history and more. |
| Identity checks | Centrebet will attempt to verify your details electronically. If they are unable to, they will request that you provide further information within 90 days. 6 |
| Dormant account fees | Accounts with no betting activity for 53 consecutive weeks will be subject to a dormant account servicing fee of AUD $5 + GST for each calendar month, debited directly from the balance of the account. The dormant account servicing fee will apply until the balance in the dormant account has been exhausted or betting activity resumes. |
Betting Interface and Website Layout
| At first glance, the user interface appears to be quite simplistic, and the use of white text on a black background is a bit harsh on the eyes. The website uses three old fashioned HTML frames. The left frame displays a list of sports and betting markets. The centre frame displays betting options, and the right frame displays the betting slip. It is when you start to place bets, however, that you realise how good the layout is actually is.
In terms of functionality, the interface is excellent. The drop down menu on the left makes finding sports markets very easy. The website uses a stacking feature in the centre frame. You can select and view odds for more than one market at a time, with your latest selection displayed on top. This comes in handy when you wish to look at, say, Champions League and Premier League fixtures at the same time. If a [+] sign is displayed to the right of a particular event, you can click on it to view additional betting options for that market. The new options are displayed below the event without reloading the page, which reduces unnecessary navigation around the website. The betting slip frame is highly intuitive. Once your bets are selected they are added to your slip much like an online shopping cart. Placing multibets is easy. You can tab between single bets, boxed multi bets and custom multibets within the betting slip. The multibet tabs display every possible combination of multibets available, and calculate total wagers and payouts automatically. |
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Sports Markets
Centrebet offers both a great range of sports markets and a good depth of betting options for each fixture. Because the service has bases in both Australia and the UK, you get solid support for both Australian and European sports. Fans of NRL, AFL and Super Rugby won’t be disappointed, neither will be followers of handball. As is always the case with bookmakers, football (soccer) is well covered, as are boxing, golf and cycling. Centrebet also provides betting markets for popular American sports such as NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL and NCAA tournaments. The selection for entertainment betting is strong as well. At the time of review, markets for American Idol, the Eurovision Song Contest and Australian Dancing with the Stars were available. If you’re looking for just the one bookmaker membership, Centrebet will suit most punter’s needs.
Horse Racing
Centrebet offers betting on horse racing, greyhounds and harness racing in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Great Britain and South Africa. The site also provides race results for the previous seven days. The racing interface is intuitive, and you can combine sports and racing wagers in the same betting slip.
In October 2011 Centrebet launched a Pick Your Own Field feature, which enables you to create your own customised field of runners within an existing race. You can bet on which runner will win in your race at odds dependent upon the runners you choose.
Live Sports Betting
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Live online betting is only available to customers outside Australia. Australian customers must phone in to bet live.
Unlike the rest of the website, the Centrebet live betting odds interface uses Adobe Flash. The live score and game clock are displayed at the top of the screen, with live odds below. The betting odds are displayed in a similar manner to the rest of the side, except the odds are colour coded to highlight odds changes. The live betting features are adequate. However, only popular sports are catered for, and no game audio or video are available. If live online sports betting is what you’re after, we recommend bet365. |
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Upsides
- Wide range of currencies and languages supported
- No minimum deposit level
- Fantastic range of deposit options, notably including Paypal and POLi 5.
- Low turnover requirements
- Strong betting selection
- Fantastic user interface, in particular for multibets.
Downsides
- Centrebet charges dormant account fees for memberships not used for a year.
- The heavy use of white text on a black background is harsh on the eyes.
- Live online betting is not available to Australian residents (due to Australian law).
Bottom Line
Centrebet is one of the best bookmakers in Australia. The betting interface is excellent, albeit in a harsh colour scheme, and the service has no major weaknesses. Most importantly, the odds are competitive and the betting selection is very impressive. Centrebet’s live online betting service is simplistic, but this is irrelevant to Australian residents. Centrebet is more than adequate for the majority of punters, and would make an excellent choice for someone looking for only one bookmaker membership. Centrebet is a solid service that we can recommend with confidence.
Notes and Sources
- 1 http://centrebet.com/cust?action=GoAdmin&content=About
- 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrebet
- 3 Sportingbet approves Centrebet deal
- 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_Gambling_Act
- 5 POLi facilitates online bank transfers that are acknowledged by the bookmaker instantly. This enables you to log into your banking provider, transfer money to the bookmaker, and place bets immediately.
- 6 http://centrebet.com/cust?action=GoAdmin&content=Help
