Sportsbet.com.au Review

– Dave

SportsBet is a well-known Australian betting brand with a broad user base and lots of sports and racing events on offer. Even though the selection of markets is great for most sports, we found that their odds are usually below the market average. Also, the site interface would use a bit of polishing, since some of the less experienced punters may find it hard to move around.

– Dave

You are probably reading this SportsBet review because you are considering opening an account with one of the biggest bookies in Australia. If so, you have come to the right place. We will reveal all of the hidden downsides of this operator.

Our independent research showed that bet365 outperforms SportsBet in a few very important areas, such as the quality of odds and the selection of sports. On top of that, bet365 is a market leader in live streaming and a number of payment methods. Take a look at our bet365 reviewS today and see for yourself why we think they’re great.

SportsBet Information And Facts

SportsBet was the first-ever bookmaker granted a commercial licence in Australia all the way back in 1993. The company went from strength to strength in the following two decades, and in 2009 Paddy Power became the majority owner. The Irish giants have since merged with Betfair, and as of 2018, Paddy Power Betfair owns SportsBet Australia. SportsBet is licensed in the Northern Territory.

SportsBet covers all of Australia’s favourite sports, with odds available on horse racing, AFL, NRL, cricket, soccer and golf. SportsBet also displays in-play betting odds, but to avail of the service, customers must phone their in-play bets in. You can keep an eye on the live odds via the website. They also offer sports betting bonuses and promotions, but you’ll first have to register to see them.

How Good Are SportsBet Odds?

SportsBet usually has an over-round of between 106% and 108% on most sports betting markets, which is below average in comparison to their market rivals. Odds couldn’t be considered one of Sportsbet’s biggest strengths. Overall, Sportsbet’s odds could be better, but they could also be a lot worse too.

SportsBet Horse Racing Odds Comparison

As you can see from the table below, Sportsbet offers just the slightly worse odds for betting on horses than their rivals bet365 and Unibet. The difference is just 1.3%, so we can say that SportsBet offers prices in line with the industry standard. But be sure to always do the comparison test before betting since odds differences may drastically vary from event to event.

SportsBet Mobile App Betting

They have some of the top punting apps available across a wide variety of platforms and operating systems. Whether you are on an iPhone or iPad, Android, Blackberry or Window’s Phone, then SportsBet has an app for you.

Their iPad app allows you to stream live race commentary, as well as providing lots of betting options, including live in-play odds. The iPhone app also has 1000s of markets available.

The android app is just as good as its iPhone counterpart, but it cannot be found in the Play Store. It must be downloaded directly from SportsBet site, and Android version 5.0 or later is required to run it. The whole process of downloading the app for android mobile devices is pretty straightforward.

Just follow instructions on their mobile app page, and you’ll be done in no time. The Android app has the same slick design as the iOS one, so you should find it very easy to navigate around and locate your bets.

If you are not a fan of downloadable apps, don’t worry, SportsBet got you covered. Just use the web browser on your mobile device to enter SportsBet site, and you’ll be ready to start betting right away. It doesn’t matter whether you prefer web-based, Android or iOS app, you’ll have access to all of the top SportsBet mobile betting features.

SportsBet Live Streaming

SportsBet offers a wide range of streaming options on both their mobile and desktop sites. On their desktop site you can bet and watch European soccer (including La Liga), tennis (including Wimbledon) and cricket too, as well as all Victorian thoroughbred racing. However, they still fall behind bet365 which offers even more events, especially around top European soccer and horse racing.

SportsBet Horse Racing Betting

Horse racing is one of the most attended sports in Australia each year, and it is also one of the most popular sports when it comes to betting. SportsBet offer markets on not just every domestic meeting, you can bet on Asian, European and American racing too. They have all the biggest and best races covered, including the race that stops a nation, The Melbourne Cup.

All the usual methods of horse racing betting are available with SportsBet, including win, place and each way. Fluctuation betting is available at all Metropolitan meetings, a useful method that secures the best possible odds. SportsBet offers daily doubles, trebles and quaddies at enhanced prices daily at most domestic meetings. Or, if you prefer to punt exactas, trifectas and quinellas, then SportsBet has got you covered too.

SportsBet AFL and NRL Rugby Betting

Sportsbet provides a solid range of markets for betting on AFL and NRL clashes. Here you can place almost any type of rugby bets you can think of, including all the most popular ones like lines, total tries and handicaps. It’s not the best offer we have ever seen, but it should be good enough for the beginners.

However, SportsBet has pretty low odds on some Australian rugby betting markets. If you are searching for a bookmaker with generous odds, we suggest you go somewhere else. We even made a quick odds comparison test to determine if this is really true. To see the results of the test, scroll down and keep reading.

Rugby Odds Comparison

For this test, we took an AFL Finals game between Richmond and Great Western Sydney to determine which Australian bookmaker offers the best odds. We compared SportsBet’s prices against the ones offered by bet365 and Unibet. Results have shown that SportsBet is way worse than both of them. Keep in mind that this test is based on only one game, so always do a similar test on your own before betting.

SportsBet Deposit And Withdrawal Methods

• Instant Deposit Methods: Credit/Debit Card, PayPal, POLi (desktop), Moneybookers/Skrill.
• Non-Instant Deposit Methods: BPAY, Bank Transfer.

Another vital factor to consider when choosing an online bookmaker is the available banking facilities. SportsBet offers customers a number of ways to deposit, both instant and non-instant. The instant deposit methods available with SportsBet are via credit/debit card, PayPal, POLi (desktop only) and Moneybookers/Skrill. Non-instant deposit methods include BPAY and bank transfers.

It is important to note that once you deposit money with SportsBet, you cannot withdraw it until you have placed bets to the same value. SportsBet recommends using bank transfers to withdraw cash, but they have other options too. Credit cards, PayPal, Skrill/Moneybookers or SportsBet cash cards can all be used to access your winnings.

Account Verification

However, before you can withdraw any money from your SportsBet account, it must be verified. This is a standard security policy for most betting companies, and it is a simple process. In the ‘My Account’ section, there is an option to ‘Verify Now’. Enter your details from an official form of identification (driver’s licence for example), hit ‘Verify Details’, and it is as easy as that.

SportsBet Limits And Payouts

Just like most other bookies, SportsBet has limits in place on the maximum winnings they payout on certain types of bets. Below you will find the different limits applied across the SportsBet site. *

SportsBet Horse Racing Limits And Payouts

• Max pay-out of $1 million on racing MultiBets (maximum 25 selections).
• Top Fluctuation pay-out limits: $20k City Racing; $5k Country/Provincial Racing.
• NSW and VIC rules: From 9 am on the day of racing SportsBet are obliged to lay bets to win a minimum amount.
• For Metropolitan races it is $2000 win and $800 place.
• For country races, it is $1000 for a win and $400 for a place.
• Place Card pay-out limit: $30k per track per day.
• Treble pay-out limits: $100k City Racing; $20k Country/Provincial racing.
• Quaddie pay-out limits: $300k City Racing; $100k Country/Provincial racing.
• Super Six pay-out limits: $300k City racing/$100k Country/Provincial racing.
• Max pay-out UK and Irish racing win and place: $50k.

SportsBet Other Sports Betting Limits And Payouts

• Max pay-out of $1 million on MultiBets (maximum 25 selections).
• Max pay-out Harness Racing: $100k.
• Max pay-out Greyhound Racing: $100k.
• Max pay-out NFL/American Football: $100k.
• Max pay-out entertainment/special bets: Bookmaker’s discretion.
• Max pay-out European Ice Hockey: $250k.
• Max pay-out for in-play Tennis bets: $3k per match.
• Max pay-out Volleyball: $250k.
• Max pay-out E-Sports: $20k.

SportsBet Customer Service

In all forms of business, providing courteous and prompt customer service is one of the keys to success. There are several ways to get in touch with Sportsbet’s support agents. They are available from 8 am to 11 pm Monday to Saturday, and 9 am to 9 pm on Sundays. This means the support isn’t 24/7, which is a huge minus, especially for bookie this size.

You can contact them in via the avenues listed below.

• Telephone: 1800 990 907 (Australia) or +61 3 8613 9600 (International).
• FAX: 1800 131 238 (Australia) or +61 3 9654 1999 (International).
• Post: GPO Box 4755, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia.
• Live chat: Available from 7 am to 12 am Mon-Sat. 8 am to 9 pm on Sundays.

Formal Complaints

If you have a formal complaint to make to SportsBet, they have a procedure put in place that must be followed. You must make the complaint via email to [email protected]. SportsBet vow to reply within 48 hours, once the following information is included.

• First and last name
• Account number and/or Username
• Is this the first time you have contacted SportsBet about this issue? Y/N
• Complaint description – Please include a bet receipt, operator name or market (if applicable)
• Preferred resolution

Is SportsBet A Betting Site You Can Trust?

When choosing a bookie, one of the most important things to consider is, can they be trusted with your hard-earned cash? SportsBet was the first Australian betting company to be awarded a licence in 1993, so they have been around since the start. Now owned by European giant Paddy Power Betfair, SportsBet is a company that can be relied upon to pay up, and not disappear off into the sunset with your winnings. Below we have listed some of their main security features.

• SportsBet encrypts all data using the latest SSL mechanism.
• This ensures that potential fraudsters can not access your personal information.
• On occasion, you may be asked to send in a picture of your credit card, as an added security measure.

SportsBet Company Info

Owner

Flutter Entertainment

CEO

Barni Evans

Founded in

1993

Revenue

$740 million

Headquarters

Melbourne, Australia

ABN

87 088 326 612

Responsible Gambling

SportsBet is a company that cares about customer welfare, and they encourage responsible gambling. They have several interesting links on their site to aid anyone who might be worried about their gambling, or the gambling of someone they love. It is always good to see a bookmaker behaving responsibly in this area, and SportsBet does just that.

SportsBet: Recommended But Not the Best on Market

SportsBet is a solid choice, we think that bet365 is a better option. It’s a smaller sportsbook, BUT with a stronger overall offer, including an amazingly slick product. We had a lot of trouble with SportsBet customer support, which is a huge minus in our books. Also, the odds are usually not near the market best. Because of all that we firmly believe that you’ll be much better off with some other betting site.

We think that there are a few much better options than SportsBet. Click the button below to check out the full list of the best SportsBet alternatives.

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