Australia Sports Betting

The following is a review of the betting agency Pinnacle Sports. I will update this review periodically to keep the details up to date. You can view other agencies that support Australian dollars here. You can view a list of other international bookmakers here.

Pinnacle Sports is licensed by the Government of the Netherlands Antilles, on the island of Curacao. With customers from over 100 countries, it is regarded as a truly international bookmaker. I hadn’t reviewed Pinnacle Sports before now, because I had wrongly presumed that it didn’t support Australian dollar accounts. Not only does it accept Australian dollars, but it also accepts POLi as a deposit method for Australian bank accounts. This enables you to avoid the hassle of sending them signed copies of your credit card after making a deposit.

The main feature of Pinnacle Sports, which separates it from its competitors, is its reduced margin-pricing model. Pinnacle Sports claims to offer 60% better odds than other bookmakers. For example, Pinnacle Sports offers between 1.95 and 1.96 handicap odds, while most Australian bookmakers offer 1.91 handicap odds. Its profit is derived from lower margins but a far higher turnover.

• New member offers – Pinnacle Sports takes the unique strategy of not offering any new player bonuses. They claim to be the first bookmaker to introduce a reduced margin-pricing model, guaranteeing the best value. According to their website, “we think you will find that the long-term savings that our odds provide, will represent far better value than any bonus, or other sign-up incentive that can be offered by any competitor.”
• Deposit options – Bank Wire Transfer, Cashier’s Cheque, ClickandBuy, Credit Card, Delta Debit Cards, EntroPay, InstaDebit transfer, Moneta, Moneybookers, Neteller, POLi, Przelewy24, Sofortüberweisung, Visa Electron, WebMoney
• Withdrawal options – Bank Wire Transfer, ClickandBuy, Credit Card, Delta Debit Cards, EntroPay, InstaDebit, Moneybookers, Neteller, Visa Electron, WebMoney
• Transaction fees – members receive one free withdrawal per calendar month. All additional withdrawals during the calendar month, for any amount using any withdrawal method, incur a fee.
• Currencies supported – AUD, CAD, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, MYR, NOK, NZD, PLN, RMB, SEK, SGD, THB, TWD, USD
• Minimum bet – $1 USD or the equivalent in your local currency
• Turnover requirements – none that I’m aware of
• Betting Markets / Options – the sports betting selection is average for the industry. The likes of bet365, Betfair and William Hill offer a better selection, but I’ve seen far worse. The football (soccer) selection is comprehensive, which is to be expected. The NRL betting is very basic and I couldn’t find any AFL markets in the midst of the AFL Finals! If Australian sports are your thing, I recommend an Australian bookmaker. Pinnacle Sports offers poker and casino games in addition to its sports betting services.
• Live betting – Live ‘in-play’ betting during popular fixtures is available
• Credit facilities – Not that I’m aware of
• Restricted countries – Pinnacle Sports is not available to residents of the United States
• Upsides
  • The array of deposit and withdrawal options is fantastic. POLi is available for Australian users
  • The range of accepted currencies is as good as you’ll ever see
  • The margins genuinely are narrower than its competitors. Most Australian bookmakers offer 1.91 handicap odds, while Pinnacle Sports offers between 1.95 and 1.96 handicap odds.
  • Poker and casino games are offered on top of the sports betting service
  • The help section is very good
  • As far as I’m aware, there aren’t any turnover requirements before withdrawing funds
  • According to its website, “Pinnacle Sports offers the highest maximum limits for Internet betting in the industry.” One interesting feature is, when you move your cursor over a betting option, the website displays the maximum bet they will accept on that outcome. This saves you the hassle of inputting a wager only to be turned down when you try to submit it.
• Downsides
  • The betting selection for Australian sports is limited
  • The minimum deposit of $30 AUD is higher than at most other bookmakers
  • The sports betting interface is very basic, although it is intuitive. The website looks like it hasn’t been renovated in ten years.
• Bottom line – Pinnacle Sports has gone to great lengths to distinguish itself as having narrower margins than its competitors. Based on my own experience, I have found this claim to be valid. For this reason alone, this is a fantastic service. Pinnacle Sports is truly an international bookmaker. Its wide selection of account currencies and deposit methods is a huge draw card for its customers from over 100 countries. The service is backed by a large company, and many punters will appreciate the access to poker and casino games on top of the sports betting lineup. One of the key drawbacks for Pinnacle Sports is its weak sporting selection for Australian punters. If you’re into soccer and American sports, however, this won’t be an issue. Another feature that lets Pinnacle Sports down is its interface. While it certainly does the job, the website looks like its design hasn’t been updated in years. Overall, for the fact that its odds genuinely are better than its competitors, I recommend adding Pinnacle Sports to your list of bookmakers.

Luxbet has launched a 2.00 lines & handicaps promotion for the AFL and NRL finals.

The “$2 LuxLine” is exclusive to the Finals. Due to the generosity of the offer, Luxbet limits bets to a maximum $250. The 2.00 odds apply to bets placed in the hour before each match.

If you’re new to sports betting, lines bets are designed to have a 50% chance of winning. They are created by adding a pre-determined number of points to the underdog’s final score (which corresponds to subtracting points from the favourite’s score). As an example, for the Friday fixture between Brisbane and Canberra, the head to head odds are:

     Brisbane: 2.50
     Canberra: 1.55

This means the bookmaker believes there’s a higher chance of Canberra winning. The corresponding lines bets are:

     Brisbane +5.5: 1.91
     Canberra -5.5: 1.91

At the end of the game Luxbet adds 5.5 to Brisbane’s score and then compares it to Canberra’s score. So if the final score is 18 – 23, the Brisbane bet would win because the line bet final score would be 23.5 – 23. Alternatively, if Brisbane loses by 6 or more, then the Canberra bet wins.

With a 50% probability of winning, these line bets usually have odds between 1.90 and 1.95, which is how the bookmaker makes its money. For example, suppose $10,000 of bets were placed on Brisbane, and $10,000 on Canberra. If the Brisbane bet won and the odds were 1.91, the bookmaker would pay $9,100 in profits to the winners, and keep the $10,000 from the losers. This nets the bookmaker $900 in profit.

Because of these odds, you should only bet on an outcome if you believe its probability of occurrence is 1/1.91 = 52.36%, otherwise your expected return will be less than your bet amount.

With the Luxbet 2.00 odds promotion, the game is actually fair! There’s no bookmaker margin, so you have a 50% chance of doubling your money.

I’ve personally never seen a promotion like this before, so if you’re into line betting, and you follow the NRL and/or AFL, then this is a great opportunity to make some money. Even if you don’t know anything about either sport, with the 2.00 odds, if you chose blindly, you would expect to break even.

If you don’t have an account with Luxbet, you can pick up a $100 Bonus Bet when you make a first deposit. To take up this offer, enter the promo code FREEBET1 at the deposit screen.

Good luck, and enjoy the finals!

With the Australian Federal election tomorrow, now is your final chance to place your bets!

Below are some of the latest odds. Please note that these odds could change quickly and radically. These odds are accurate as of 5:17 PM on August 20th. Also, as a warning, Sportsbet currently offers odds on who will be PM at the 2013 Federal Election, which some punters may misinterpret as the winner of the 2010 election. These bets won’t pay out for years!

Note that an arbitrage opportunity exists! Provided the odds don’t move, you can profit by betting against a hung parliament with Centrebet and for a hung parliament with Sportingbet. Remember, an arbitrage opportunity exists whenever the reciprocals of the odds sum to less than one. In this case 1/3.00 + 1/1.64 = 0.943. Use the arbitrage calculator to calculate your strategy. Note that you are exposed to some risk, because a bookmaker may reject your bet or change the odds after you have placed a bet with the other agency. Update: Sportingbet has shortened its odds, but the arbitrage opportunity still exists, so you better be quick!

Australian Federal Election – Winner

	Labor Party	Coalition
Sportsbet	1.45	2.75 (any other party)
Sportingbet	1.48	2.60
Centrebet	1.48	2.62
Luxbet	1.50	2.55
Sports Alive	1.48	2.60
IASbet	1.45	2.75 (any other party)

Hung Parliament

	Yes	No
Sportsbet	2.90	1.37
Sportingbet	3.00	1.35
Centrebet	2.15	1.64
Luxbet	N/A	N/A
Sports Alive	N/A	N/A
IASbet	N/A	N/A

The following is a review of the betting agency BetRedKings. This review serves as the first in a series on international betting agencies. I distinguish between local and international agencies based on whether they support Australian dollar accounts. You can view agencies that support Australian dollars here. You can view a list of other international bookmakers here.

BetRedKings is the sports betting site for the company RedKings, which is licensed in Gibraltar. RedKings offers poker and casino games on top of its sports betting service. Football (soccer) fixtures make up the overwhelming majority of the bookmaker’s offerings, with virtually every professional league catered for. At the time of this review, tennis, American football, fighting, basketball and baseball were the other most catered for markets.

• New member offers – BetRedKings is currently offering a 100% first deposit bonus up to $100. Note that BetRedKings imposes heavy turnover requirements before you can withdraw these funds.
• Deposit options – credit card, Moneybookers, Neteller, WebMoney, Click2Pay, ClickandBuy, ukash, Western Union
• Withdrawal options – credit card, Moneybookers, Netellter, WebMoney, Click2Pay, ClickandBuy, direct bank transfer
• Transaction fees – none
• Currencies supported – USD, EUR
• Minimum bet – no minimum!
• Turnover requirements – 1x for deposits at 2.00+ odds, 5x for bonus funds at 2.00+ odds.
• Betting Markets / Options – BetRedKings offers odds on a relatively narrow range of sports, but these sports are well catered for. Football is the largest market, while tennis, basketball and baseball are also well covered. Australian fans of NRL and AFL are better off using an Australian bookmaker.
• Live betting – Live ‘in-play’ betting during popular fixtures is available
• Credit facilities – Not that I’m aware of
• Restricted countries – RedKings does not accept real money players from Cyprus, Israel, Turkey, France or the United States.
• Upsides
  • The user interface is the highlight of BetRedKings. It appears to be heavily Ajax driven, which means you can interact and place wagers without reloading the page. This is great when you are trying to make bets quickly. The displayed odds update live, and are highlighted when they change.
  • The simple navigation menu makes finding betting markets quick and easy
  • There is no minimum bet level
  • Users can easily transfer funds over to the Poker sister-site if you get bored with sports betting
• Downsides
  • The deposit procedure is a little disconcerting. When using a credit card, you are redirected to payments.rk-operation.com which, it turns out, is the website of the owning company. After making my first deposit the left panel displayed “Betting Balance: $0.00″. Fortunately, the rest of the site acknowledged my deposit and I was able to bet immediately.
  • The sports betting service is tailored to a few select sporting markets. The company’s major focus appears to be its Poker and Casino sites.
• Bottom line – BetRedKings is a solid service, driven by a fantastic website interface. The betting selection is a little limited, although football fans are very well catered for. The initial bonus deposit is generous, although the turnover requirements for the bonus funds are harsh. I recommend this service to football fans as well as experienced punters who wish to take advantage of the current bonus offer. This service should also appeal to small-time punters who will appreciate the no minimum bet restrictions.

The following is a review of the betting agency William Hill Sports Betting. I will update this review periodically to keep the details up to date. You can view other agencies that support Australian dollars here. You can view a list of other international bookmakers here.

William Hill claims to be UK’s top online bookmaker. The company has around 2,300 betting shops and employs over 16,600 people. William Hill offers an extensive array of betting options including sports, poker, games, casino, skill, bingo and lotteries. The sports betting selection for football fixtures is astounding. For example there are typically 101 markets available for English Championship fixtures (the division below the Premier League). Another strength of William Hill from an Australian perspective is that it supports Australian dollar accounts.

• New member offers – New members can receive a £/€25 free bet. Simply open an account using the promo code F25. Note that the free bet must be wagered on the same day that the first qualifying bet has settled.
• Deposit options – credit card, UK debit card, bank wire, cheque, Quick Cash, Neteller, postal orders, Paypal (not available for AUD accounts), Moneybookers, Click2Pay, ClickandBuy, Paysafecard
• Withdrawal options – credit card, UK debit card, bank wire, cheque, Quick Cash, Neteller, Paypal, Moneybookers, Click2Pay, ClickandBuy
• Transaction fees – Fees apply for bank wire withdrawals. Paypal fees apply for Paypal withdrawals.
• Currencies supported – AUD, CAD, CHF, DKK, GBP, HKD, JPY, SEK, SGD, USD, EUR
• Minimum bet – 3p for singles and 1p for multiple bets
• Turnover requirements – none that I’m aware of
• Betting Markets / Options – A staggering range of sporting markets is offered. William Hill also offers poker, casino, virtual sports, skill games, bingo and lotteries. The casino games are actually dealt live in real time by the company’s croupiers.
  
• Live betting – Live ‘in-play’ betting during popular fixtures is available
• Credit facilities – Not that I’m aware of
• Restricted countries – William Hill is not available to residents of Bulgaria, Cuba, France, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Hong Kong, Iran, Israel, Italy, Martinique, Myanmar (Burma), North Korea, Philippines, Réunion, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and the United States
• Upsides
  • Fantastic array of deposit and withdrawal options
  • Incredibly low minimum bet levels
  • Well suited to big-time punters, with a large £250,000 limit on daily deposits
  • Sports statistics are provided within the site for many markets
  • ‘My Favourites’ is an excellent feature for keeping track of matches you wish to follow. It comes in especially handy on weekends when there are many simultaneous sporting events.
  • To help punters navigate their way around the extensive array of betting options, William Hill offers a search feature to quickly find betting options.
• Downsides
  • New members must wager their free bet on the same day that the first qualifying bet has settled.
  • The website layout less intuitive than at other online bookmakers.
• Bottom line – William Hill is a fantastic betting agency. It, along with bet365, is one of the few large international bookmakers that supports Australian dollar accounts. The range of betting options is fantastic, and the low minimum bet levels are a huge plus. Coupled with the fact that William Hill is a massive, well regarded bookmaker, I highly recommend this service both to Australian and international users.

In response to the large number of international visitors to this website, I have created a page dedicated to leading international betting and gambling agencies.

For Australian residents, while these services do not support Australian dollar accounts, they typically offer a greater selection of online games than Australian bookmakers. Also, the European agencies offer a jaw dropping range of football markets for each fixture.

Click here to view the international bookmakers. Individual reviews and further information will be added over time.

Click here to view Australian bookmakers and services that offer Australian dollar accounts.

Sportsbet has launched a $20,000 Super Bonus Prize pool for 1st Goal/Try Scorer (combined) winners this weekend.

To be eligible, place a $5 wager (or more) on the 1st goal or 1st try scorer (combined) market for any AFL/NRL match this weekend. If your player wins then you’ll share in the $20,000 free bet pool. As a further bonus, if your player also scores the last goal or try of the match, your bonus prize will be doubled. Any doubled prizes will be paid in addition to the $20,000 bonus pool.

Before you get any ideas about placing a bet on every player, the promotion only applies to the first wager you make for each fixture. Any additional wagers on the same fixture won’t be eligible to win. Having said that, if you make winning bets on two or more AFL/NRL matches, you are eligible for multiple bonus prizes.

To give you some idea of how much you could win, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup this promotion was run a number of times. The largest prize per winning wager was $834, and the average prize per winning wager was $45.

The Betting Agencies page has been given an overhaul with a new summary table for popular bookmakers. Due to display limitations, the agencies are presented in pairs. Simply click on a bookmaker’s name to view the corresponding details.

The summary table provides substantially more information than its predecessor, which will hopefully make choosing a betting agency easier. I haven’t listed every bookmaker I know, I’ve just listed the ones that I can recommend to Australian sports betters with confidence.

Every bookmaker that I have listed is reliable and trustworthy, but some may suit your needs better than others. If you are looking for a bookmaker and would like some advice, contact me via the contact form, and I’d be happy to give you my opinion.

It seems like every bookmaker is offering 2010 FIFA World Cup promotions at the moment. These take the form of freebies, betting bonuses, odds promotions, and refund offers. It pays to be aware of these offers if you have more than one account because they may determine who you place your bets with. As with any promotion, be sure to read the terms and conditions before placing any bets.

Below is a list of promotions that I’m currently aware of. Let me know if I’ve missed any.

Free football jersey promotion

Don’t forget, new Luxbet members are still eligible to receive a free World Cup Jersey for the team of your choosing.

bet365 – World Cup Penalty Payback

• “Place a bet on the Outright Market for the 2010 World Cup and if the team you back is eliminated on penalties, we will refund your losing bet. This offer applies to both win and each-way bets.”
• This promotion is highly valuable in the knockout stage, and irrelevant for the group stage. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, one ’round of 16′, two quarterfinals, and the final were decided by penalties, so it’s an important promotion to keep in mind. I’m not sure if bet365 will adjust their odds accordingly, but if they offer the same odds as another bookmaker, you’d be mad not to go with bet365.

bet365 – World Cup Bore Draw Money Back

• “Our Bore Draw Money Back offer is being extended to include First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer and Anytime Goalscorer bets for every World Cup game! So have a pre-match bet on any World Cup match and if the game finishes 0-0 we will refund all losing bets on these markets: First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Anytime Goalscorer, Correct Score, Half-Time/Full-Time, and Scorecast”
• This promotion obviously applies to both the group and knockout stage matches. In the 2006 World Cup there were seven 0-0 draws in the sixty-four matches.

Centrebet – Fat Lady

• “Who says it’s over? We’ll refund all losing Correct Score bets on any World Cup match if your score is beaten by a goal scored in or after the 88th minute (from 87:00 onwards).”

Centrebet – Boar Draw

• “No-one likes a 0-0 draw! We’ll refund all losing 1st Goal Scorer bets on any World Cup match that finishes goalless.”

Centrebet – Save the Best

• “For last…any goal’s a good goal! We’ll refund all losing Last Goal Scorer bets on any World Cup match if your player scores but does not score last.”
• This looks to be good value, especially for fixtures where a lot of goals are expected.

IASbet – Money Back Specials

• “Place a Match Bet (1×2) bet on any of the following matches this weekend, and if your team leads by half time but subsequently lose the match, we’ll refund your bet up to $200 per game. (Italy v Paraguay – Bonus code: ITVPAR) (Spain v Switzerland – Bonus code: SPVSW)”

IASbet – Novelty Specials

• “England v USA: If the last goal scored in this match is a header, we’ll refund all losing First Goal Scorer Single Bets on this match up to $100. To register for this promotion, you must enter the bonus code: ENVUSA on the My Account page of the website by the start of the game on Saturday, 12 June 2010.”
• “Germany v Australia: If Tim Cahill scores at anytime we will refund all losing first goalscorer bets up to $200. To register for this promotion, you must enter the bonus code: GEVAUS on the My Account page of the website by the start of the game on Sunday, 13 June 2010.”

IASbet – Refund Specials

• “Receive a 10% Rebate on your losses during the World Cup on all group stage matches. The rebate is an amount equal to 10% of the cumulative settled stakes minus returns for all Internet bets placed on Match Bets (1×2) only. Simply enter the promotional code: WCREBATE on the My Account page of the website between Friday 11 June and Friday 25 June 2010.”

Luxbet – 90 Minute Madness

• “Our 90 Minute Madness is 90 minutes of crazy odds for those who are crazy about soccer. 90 Minute Madness is available each day of the tournament between 19:30 and 21:00 AEST and there will be a maximum total bet limit of $90 per account for each daily 90 Minute Madness.”
• I’m not sure how much the odds generally change during the promotion. During the latest window they offered odds of 4.00 for South Africa to beat Mexico. After the window closed the odds dropped to 2.85. To see the promotional odds, click on ’90 Minute Madness’ in the side navigation panel once you’ve logged on.

Luxbet – First Goal Scorer Refund

• “If you place a minimum $10 First Goal Scorer bet and the game finishes nil all (0-0) in normal time, Luxbet will refund your bet up to $200.”
• This is similar to the bet365 promotion, but it only applies to first goal scorer.

Luxbet – Pre-Match Injury Time Refund

• “If you place a minimum $10 Match Result bet before the start of the game and your bet is winning but goes down in injury time, Luxbet will refund your bet up to $200.”
• “Example: If Team A is leading 1-0 at the 89:59min mark, and then the match ends in a draw or Team B wins in injury time, all Match Result market bets placed on Team A before the scheduled start time of the match will be refunded up to $200.”
• Does anyone recall Italy’s injury time penalty against Australia?

Luxbet – Half Time Injury Time Refund

• “Simply place a minimum $10 second half market bet (i.e. Second Half Result) during the half-time break by calling 132 LUX (132 589) and if your bet is unlucky enough to lose in injury-time, Luxbet will refund your money up to $200.”
• “Example: If Team A leads the Second Half 1-0 (i.e. may differ from the actual Match result) at the 89:59min mark, but the Second Half ends in a Draw or Team B wins the second half, all bets on Team A will be refunded up to $200.”

SportingBet – 2010 World Cup – Offer a Day

• “Simply head to the Sportingbet World Cup Portal everyday to see what the latest offer it, can be from match specials, bonuses, Free Bets or 2nd Chance offers.”

SportingBet – Socceroos World Cup Special Offer

• “Simply have a min $10 bet on the Socceroos in any eligible market, and we will give you a $20 Free Bet each time they advance a stage.”

SportingBet – 2010 World Cup 10% Winner’s Bonus

• “Sportingbet … is offering members a 10% Winners Bonus on selected markets. Simply have a min $10 bet on the selected ‘World Cup Finals Specials’ markets, and if your bet is a winning one, we will give you a bonus 10% on your winnings. “
• Just remember to adjust your odds accordingly when comparing the specials odds to those of other bookmakers. I.e. you would adjust 1.50 to 1.5×1.1 = 1.65.

SportingBet – Socceroos First Goal Second Chance

• “Get behind the Socceroos this World Cup, simply have a min $10 bet on an Australian player to be the first goal scorer in any of their matches, and if Australia fails to score a single goal in the match, we will give you a Free Bet. For new Sportingbet members, enter “CUP” when you register and deposit $30 for your $20 World Cup Free Bet.”

Sports Alive – World Cup Lucky 100′s

• “Every 100th World Cup bet daily wins $100 to bet during the World Cup.”
• They have a maximum bonus of $200 per person. This promotion applies to any World Cup bet. Hmmm. Time to start making a series of $1 bets!

SportsBet – Every Match Money Back offer

• “If the last goal is a header, we’ll refund all losing 1st Goal Scorer bets as cash up to $100.”
• I have no idea how valuable this is. Does anyone have any last goal header statistics?

SportsBet – Share in a $20,000 Bonus this Weekend

• “Pick the Score Super Bonus: place a Pick the Score wager for $5 or more in any or every match this weekend, if your bet is a Winner, you will share in a weekend $20,000 Free Bet Super Bonus bounty!”
• In their terms and conditions it says that this promotion applies to 11-14 June

SportsBet – Australia v Germany Special

• “If Tim Cahill scores a Goal, but Australia does not win the match against Germany, we will refund ALL losing Head to Head bets (win/draw) as a Free Bet up to $100!”
• How random! Cahill is in my opinion Australia’s best player. He has scored more goals than any other Australian at the World Cup, so if Australia does manage to score against Germany, the odds are decent that Cahill will be the scorer.

Luxbet (owned by Tabcorp) is offering new members a free Jersey of your choosing from an AFL, NRL or Super 14 team.

Sign up before May 16 2010 and deposit $150 or more to receive your jersey valued at up to $160. Be sure to use the links provided in this post and follow the instructions on the Luxbet landing page.

Click here to get your free jersey

You can read my review of Luxbet here.

I think this is an excellent promotion because in the worst case scenario you’ve paid RRP for a football jersey! Unlike other account deposit freebies at least you won’t be tempted to gamble your bonus funds away.

Note that this promotion is not available to residents of South Australia.