SportingBet bookmaker review

Do you enjoy betting on your favourite team? Online, there seem to be so many bookmakers that it's hard to figure out which ones are worthwhile and which ones are best avoided.

This review will look at one online bookmaker, SportingBet, to help you decide if this is the kind of website you would like to spend your money on.

Brief overview

SportingBet started in the UK in 1998. As you can probably tell, this was before the internet took off. So, when they first started, most of their bets would have taken place in physical "bookies" that you would have to walk to.

Today, their website has around 90 sports that you can bet on.

License and Legality

According to their website, SportingBet is operated by a company called "LC International Ltd", a gambling company that owns other websites such as Paddy Power.

In the UK, they are licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, their number is 54743.

Of course, in other countries where they operate, they will be regulated by different commissions and probably have different numbers.

Minimum and maximum rates

We've found that SportingBet doesn't seem to have a minimum stake. It's the first time we've seen a website that lets you bet from as low as £0.01 ($/€0.01). This means that even if you're extremely careful with your money, you can still make a bet with SportingBet.

The maximum rate is slightly more complex than it is on other websites. There isn't so much a "maximum stake" as a "maximum winning". No bet on SportingBet can be worth more than £7000 ($/€8100).

Therefore the maximum amount you can stake will depend on the odds for the outcome you wish to bet on.

Rating

To find out what the general public thinks of SportingBet, we've taken a look at the internet - forums and review sites. We also asked for the opinion of experts. And 40% of people rated SportingBet as "bad".

They said the website didn't provide enough rewards, and the service was terrible. However, having read many of these reviews, a good number of them seem to just be bitter about the fact they didn't win.

How we evaluated the bookmaker

Overall, we're not too sure how many of these reviews are genuine and how many are just sore losers. But, from our experience, SportingBet seems to be a decent enough website, with its licensing entirely in order.

Although the website was cluttered, it was easy to use, and the low minimum makes it very budget-friendly.

Although there is room to improve, SportingBet is a legitimate and honest website.

Pros and Cons

As with most things, SportingBet is neither perfect nor evil. Here is a list of some of the pros and cons of the bookmaker. Feel free to use these to make your own mind up.

Pros

• The low minimum makes SportingBet an excellent option for people who only want to gamble for fun and don't want to stake too much money.
• All of the payment methods you can use are safe and secure.
• When your team plays, go to SportingBet. Livescores are displayed for games which are being played right now.
• SportingBet has a casino filled with slot games.

Cons

• The layout of the website is a little bit cluttered. You need to wade through a lot of unwanted buttons.
• There are not as many offers and special deals as on other sports betting sites.
• The colour scheme is a little immature and childish.
• Compared to other gambling sites, there are a limited number of sports.
• Compared to other gambling sites, there are a limited number of teams.

Marginality

The word "marginality" refers to the difference between the official odds and the bookmaker's odds. If the bookmaker used the official odds, it would be impossible for them to make any money as people could bet around it in a way that would guarantee a win.

Therefore, bookmakers manipulate the odds to increase their profit margin. However, when the odds are manipulated too much, it can be challenging for people to make money from them.

To learn a bit more about the marginality of SportingBet, we looked at high-level football, low-level football, Tennis, Politics, and horse racing.

For high-level football, we found an average margin of 13%. This is a fair bit higher than on other websites. We looked at "Leicester vs Manchester United", "Atalanta BC vs Torino FC", and "AZ Alkmaar vs NEC Nijmegen".

Low-level football was very interesting. Usually, lower-level football has a higher margin than higher-level. But, this is the first website we found where the low level has a lower margin than high-level football. The margin for low-level football was 12%.

The matches we looked at were "Aldershot Town vs Barnet", "Bromley vs Eastleigh", and "Dorking vs Wrexham".

The next sport we looked at was Tennis. We wanted to see how the marginality would be impacted when we remove the possibility of a draw. Tennis had a lower marginality of just 6%. The matches we looked at the odds for were "Hurkacz vs Ivashka", "Kubler vs Tiafoe", and "Fognini vs Nadal".

The next thing we looked at wasn't a sport at all; it was the 2024 US presidential elections. We were curious as to how the marginality would be for something that wasn't a sport. We found that the 2024 US presidential elections had a large marginality of 30%.

And finally, horse racing. Unlike football and Tennis, horse racing has multiple participants, one winner, and no chance of a draw. We found that horse racing must be where SportingBet makes a lot of its money as it had an average marginality of 124%.

The races we looked at were Clonmel, Thistledown, and Delaware Park.

Average margin

Finding out the average marginality for all of SportingBet would be nearly impossible.

We'd need to figure out the marginality of every sport on the website! Could you imagine how long that would take? And because SportingBet doesn't publish information about their marginality, we need to do the maths ourselves.

As seen in the previous section, the marginality varies greatly from sport to sport. Tennis has just 6%, whereas horse racing has 124%. So, finding an average based on our maths isn't 100% accurate.

However, if we take an average of all the averages in the previous section, we get about 17%. The actual average marginality may be higher or lower than this.

To be honest, 17% is probably the worst marginality we've seen on any betting site.

Financial operations

When you want to make a deposit on SportingBet, login to your account and select the little person symbol in the top right.
Under "Banking", select "Deposit".

This section will examine how you can put in and take out money. And what the terms and conditions are.

Account replenishment

If you want to put money into your account, you can use your credit/debit card, so long as it's Visa, MasterCard, or Maestro.

But, you can also use one of the following E-Wallets: PayPal, PaySafeCard, and MuchBetter.

Or, you can even transfer the money directly from your bank account with a "Trustly Bank Transfer".

Please note this information comes from the UK version of SportingBet. Payment options may be different in different countries.

Whichever option you choose, there is a minimum deposit of £5 ($/€5.77). And to stop you from spending too much, each deposit method has its own daily limit.

Withdrawals

The withdrawal methods are the same as the deposit methods. Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, PayPal, PaySafeCard, MuchBetter, and Trustly.

They all have a minimum withdrawal amount of £10; again, different rules and methods will apply to other countries.

Commission

Like most bookmakers, SportingBet does not charge a commission on winnings. If you win it, you get to keep it. Probably because they make so much from losing bets, there is no need to charge extra to winners.

However, they do run an affiliate programme. People can get a small commission of bets made via their affiliate link. However, this will not impact the average gambler, only those participating in the affiliate scheme.

Tax on winnings

Whether or not your winnings are taxed is not up to SportingBet but to your government. If you want to know about gamblers' taxes, Google "Are bet winnings taxed in [My Country] to find out.

If you live in the UK, bet winnings are not taxed.

Bonus program

There is no SportingBet welcome bonus. Yes, you read that right.

There are, however, 4 welcome challenges.

1. The football challenge. Bet £10+ in football, and get 20 free spins and odds boosters.
2. Acca challenge. Make an accumulator bet with 3+ selections, and get £10 in free bets.
3. The In-Play challenge. Place £10+ on an in-play (live) game and get a free backup bet.
4. Casino challenge. Wager £50 in the casino, and get £10 for free.

Please note all of these challenges come with their own terms and conditions.

As well as the welcome challenges, SportingBet also has deals and promotions that anyone can participate in.

Go for goal. At the start of a match, pick three players you think will score. If you guess correctly, you'll get rewarded.

Enhanced accas. Make an accumulator bet; you will get bonus rewards if you win.

Best odds guaranteed. If the odds change after you place your bet and win, your winnings will be based on the best odds. This only applies to horse racing.

Casino tournament. Compete against other players for a larger prize.

Application and mobile version of the bookmaker

As with most other online bookmakers, there is a SportingBet app.

You can download it on Android or iOS.

If you have an android, go to SportingBet official site to download the apk file onto your phone.

Those with an iPhone can also get the SportingBet app. Install it from the App Store.

Supported Devices

If you want the SportingBet app, download it now!

You will need an Android or iOS device (such as iPhone or iPad), and follow the instructions in the previous section.

However, you can still use SportingBet if you don't have either device. All you need is a device with a browser and internet connection. This could be your computer, laptop, or even smart tv.

Just open Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, or whatever browser you use, and type in sportingbet.com.

Comparison of the mobile version of the site with the application

The app and website have the same features but a different layout.

Official site

The official website is sportingbet.com. And to be honest, when we first used it, we found it rather cluttered.

There is so much stuff going on that it can be difficult to find what you want. You need to wade through all sorts of other sports and information to get to the game you want to bet on.

On the top menu, you'll find the following options.

• Live. See the games that are happening right now. Some games even have a live video you can watch.
• Sportsbetting. Where most of the betting happens. This is the button to press to find your game.
• Virtual. E-Games are becoming more popular, and some people enjoy betting on them.
• Casino. Play table or slot games if sports aren't your thing.
• Live Casino. From an external company, play along live with others.
• Promotions. See what deals and promotions SportingBet has right now. These vary from country to country, and they change over time.
• Safer gambling. Information about addiction and where to get help.

Below the top menu is another menu of the most popular sports. This feature allows many people to quickly find the sports they're looking for. And underneath that, on the homepage, you will find the matches most people are betting on.

They're straightforward to find if you want to bet on popular games.

You will also find an A-Z of sports. And on the right, you'll find your bet slip. The bet slip has the bets you've said you'll make but haven't yet.

Features of the site functionality

Of course, the primary function of SportingBet is to allow people to place bets on sporting events. You can quickly navigate to the sport or game you wish to put your money on, searching by the league, team/player name, or sports name.

You can also play in the casino, we'll talk more about that later, but if you like slot games, it's a great casino.

Viewing your account information, making a deposit, checking your inbox, and getting information about gambling safety is just a click away.

Casino

If you don't like sports, don't worry. There are plenty of other betting options in the casino.

There is a minimal selection of table games. The only two available are roulette and blackjack.

SportingBet's casino is heavily focused on slot games. These games are nice and easy, all you do is pull the lever and hope for the best. But, we understand that one man's "nice and easy" is another man's "boring and unexciting".

If you're the kind of person who likes to play games such as poker, baccarat, etc., SportingBet might not be the casino for you.

Live

On SportingBet, live games are updated in real-time. Check not only the scores but additional information such as corners, red cards, and player stats whilst the game is happening.

Broadcast matches

Yes, SportingBet has live streaming. But, we advise caution.

It's only a limited number of games they provide live video footage for. Don't expect to be able to watch your team play on SportingBet.

Tote

Tote betting is where the money comes from those participating in the tote scheme, not the bookmaker itself.

However, there is no tote betting with SportingBet.

Account registration

If you want to use SportingBet, register for an account.

To register on SportingBet, go to sportingbet.com and select "Register" in the top right. You will need to fill out your details, such as your name, email address, home address, and currency.

Usually, they don't require extra verification beyond verifying your email address. Still, SportingBet may request you to send in a photograph of your ID if they suspect fraud or other criminal activity.

Verification

After completing your SportingBet registration, you must verify your email address.

Usually, this is the only form of verification they require. However, if the algorithms become suspicious, you may get asked to send a picture of your ID to be verified by a human. This ID could be your passport, driver's licence, or anything else that shows your face.

Personal Area

If you click the little person icon in the top right and then click the "My Hub" button, you'll be in the personal area.

Here, you can see an overview of your profits and losses. This helps you understand how successful you've been, and you can decide to change how you bet, keep doing what you're doing, or throw in the towel.

You can also edit your personal details. This may be important if you move home or change your phone number. Honesty about these things is the best policy.

If you don't like how the odds are displayed, you can change it in the settings.

In the personal area, you can also view your tasks and messages.

Bookmaker's rules

SportingBet's rules are remarkably similar to any other online bookmaker's rules.

If you're familiar with online bookmakers, you should be able to use SportingBet without issues.

The first rule is that nobody under 18 may use the site. Allowing anyone under 18 to gamble is a crime; you can be prosecuted if you allow it.

All the information you provide needs to be accurate. If you try committing fraud to win more money, SportingBet will remove your account.

Remember, SportingBet has the right to remove your account anytime for any reason. So think carefully before doing anything stupid.

And finally, once a bet is settled, you cannot get your money back. This means don't expect a refund if your team doesn't do as well as you were hoping they would.

Safety and reliability

Overall, the safety and reliability of SportingBet are excellent.

Firstly, they have easy-to-access information about gambling addiction. As with all addictions, gambling addiction is horrible and takes the fun away. If gambling goes from a game to a problem, it's time to stop.

The payment methods you can use are all safe and secure. There is little to no chance of money being lost or stolen during the transfer.

And the licensing is all in order. They have to obey the strict rules of the UK gambling commission.

Our only criticism is that verification could be better, as most users will not need to send in their ID.

Customer support

If you're struggling or have an issue with SportingBet, you can visit their help page here: https://help.sportingbet.com/.

If you'd rather speak to a real person, call 0800 028 0348.

Annoyingly, there is no live chat or email to contact.

Social activities and Sponsorship

SportingBet sponsors a couple of football teams around the world.

Firstly, CFR Cluj, in Romania.

And secondly, Serie B in Brazil.

As far as we know, they do not sponsor any clubs or leagues in the UK.

Conclusions

Our final word on SportingBet is that it's a good website. It has all the features you would expect in an online bookmaker, and it's a fully licensed and very safe place to bet. The layout is a bit cluttered, and marginality is very high. But, so long as you just gamble for fun, it's a great place to go.