Introduction
|
The following is an in-depth review of the betting agency Sportingbet Australia. This review covers the history, features, interface, sports & racing markets, upsides and downsides of the service. Please note that this review pertains specifically to the Sportingbet Australia website, and not Sportingbet’s European 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
Sportingbet Australia is a Northern Territory licensed bookmaker that offers sports and race betting. It is owned by the UK company Sportingbet Group, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company has corporate offices in Guernsey, as well as offices and call centres in the Republic of Ireland, Costa Rica, and Australia. The Sportingbet Group has been in operation since 1998, and Sportingbet Australia was launched in 2003. In June 2011 the Sportingbet Group acquired Centrebet.1, 2, 3
Sportingbet Australia is one of the biggest brands in Australian bookmaking, thanks to its TV advertising, event sponsorships and Last Man Standing competition.
Services and Features
| New member offers | Deposit $30 or more and receive bonus bets of equal amount up to $200. The bonus balance doesn’t have to be wagered in one go. This promotion is only available to Australian (excl Vic and SA) and New Zealand residents. |
|---|---|
| Deposit options | Credit card (Visa & MasterCard), Moneybookers, Paypal, bank transfer, BPAY, POLi 4 |
| Withdrawal options | Bank transfer, BPAY, Cheque, Moneybookers, Paypal |
| Transaction fees | None |
| Currencies | Australian dollar |
| Languages | English |
| Odds formats | Decimal |
| Minimum deposit | $30 |
| Minimum bet | $0.01 online, $20 by phone for sport, $50 by phone for racing. |
| Maximum payout | The maximum payout for a telephone wager is $500,000. The maximum payout for an online wager is $50,000. In addition, all multiple wagers are subject to a maximum win of 2,500 times the wager. The maximum permitted odds on a free (bonus) bet is 101.00. |
| Deposit turnover requirements | 1x |
| Bonus credit turnover requirements | 1x |
| Bookmaker margin | In our bookmaker margin survey, Sportingbet had a margin of 105.2%. This was about average compared to other 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 | None that we’re aware of |
| Forbidden Jurisdictions | Italy, United States of America |
| Mobile version of the website? | Yes. You can place sports and race wagers, view the day’s race results and view your recent transaction history. Apps for iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones are available. |
| Identity checks | Australians can quickly verify their identity online. If you have two of the following documents the identity check is a piece of cake: tax file number, Medicare card, Australian passport. Alternatively, you can verify yourself through a 100-point check at your local Australia Post Office. Customers outside Australia will have to post a certified copy of proof of identity to Sportingbet Australia. Customers who make a deposit by credit card will have to verify ownership of their card prior to making a withdrawal. |
| Dormant account fees | None |
Betting Interface and Website Layout
| The betting website was given a facelift in September 2011. The result is a more beginner friendly interface, especially when it comes to navigation.
The left column of the website displays a permanent navigation panel, featuring a drop down menu for second tier categories. When you click on a second tier category, e.g. Soccer -> Internationals, the page refreshes and the third tier categories (Euro Qualifiers, etc) are displayed in the main odds panel to the right. This arrangement isn’t quite as fast as the previous setup, where the navigation menu was a nested drop down menu, but it is far more beginner friendly and it avoids the frustration of having the menu reset if you move your cursor into the wrong area. The betting odds are displayed in the large centre column. One quirk of the odds area is you have to switch between ‘Multi Bet’ and ‘Single Bet’ tabs at the top right. This determines whether your next selection is added to your betting slip as a single bet or as a multi bet. This unique feature is unintuitive for novices, but it does enable you to add single and multi bets to the same betting slip. One downside of the odds display area is that it doesn’t present head to head odds for a round of matches in a concise manner. A lot of scrolling up and down the page is needed to find your market of choice. For this reason, a drop down menu is provided above the odds to enable you to find a fixture more easily. The betting slip is displayed above the betting odds in a wide panel. To speed things up, it is dynamically displayed and refreshed when you add and remove items to the slip. Due to the large area in which it is displayed, the slip is highly detailed, enabling you to view the market, selection and bet type for each item. This is convenient when adding a large quantity of bets, because you can easily identify what each selection is. The multi betting functionality in the slip is very good. You can create exotic multi bets such as a Trixie, Patent, Yankee, etc, with one click. |
Navigation menu
Odds display
Betting slip
|
Overall, the latest website overhaul provides an improved, more beginner friendly interface than what it used to. It’s just a shame that the odds aren’t displayed in a more concise manner.
Sports Markets
Sportingbet offers both a great range of sports markets and a good depth of betting options. Its biggest strength is Australian sport, with the likes of NRL, AFL and Super Rugby heavily catered for. International punters will appreciate the wide coverage of international sports. To illustrate the depth of coverage, at the time of review, betting on domestic Italian, German, French and Spanish basketball fixtures was available. The other major international sports like the major US leagues, cycling, golf, motor sport, surfing and tennis are well catered for. As is always the case with bookmakers, football (soccer) is well covered, with a vast range of world leagues on offer. In addition to sport, entertainment and politics betting are available. The betting selection easily surpasses the needs of most Australian punters.
Horse Racing
Sportingbet has a strong Australian horse racing line-up, with both local and selected international events covered. Win/Place, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First 4, Multi and “Super Exotic” markets are offered, and both Tote and fixed odds are available on selected races. In addition, “Maxidiv Gold” betting is available on selected events. With a Maxidiv Gold bet, for each length you winner wins by you get an extra 5% on your winnings. If your runner wins by 1 length you get a bonus 5%, if it wins by 2 lengths, you get a bonus 10%, and so on.
Live Sports Betting
Due to Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act 5, live online betting is not available. Australian customers must phone in to bet live. If live online sports betting is what you’re after, we recommend bet365
Upsides
- Fantastic range of deposit options, notably including Paypal and POLi 4.
- Very low turnover requirements
- Strong betting selection, particularly for Australian sports
- Frequent betting promotions on popular events
- Low $0.01 minimum bet
Downsides
- Live online betting is not available to Australian residents (due to Australian law)
- Non-concise display of betting odds
- Limited help section (although a live help feature is available)
- Withdrawal amounts can only be in $1.00 increments.
Bottom Line
As one of Australia’s largest bookmakers, Sportingbet Australia is a solid betting service. The site offers a good range of deposit methods and a very strong betting selection. The website is very much catered to Australians, with only Australian dollar accounts and decimal odds available. Punters outside Australia are better off using the European version of the website. The generous sign up bonus and low turnover requirements are a huge plus, and race betting enthusiasts will enjoy the selection as well as the unique markets, including “Maxidiv Gold” bets. Our only gripe with the service is that the betting odds are not displayed in a more concise manner. Sportingbet Australia is a great bookmaker, and is one we particularly recommend to serious betting enthusiasts.
Notes and Sources
- 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportingbet
- 2 http://www.sportingbetplc.com/about-us.aspx
- 3 Sportingbet approves Centrebet deal
- 4 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.
- 5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_Gambling_Act
