Swopstakes Review

– Dave

Swopstakes is the first and the only sweepstake online betting platform in Australia. The whole concept is interesting, but they are still rough around the edges. You should probably wait a bit more before joining.

– Dave

Swopstakes is Australia’s first sweepstakes betting site. They offer a unique platform where you can trade betting tickets and interact with other players. However, don’t get your hopes too high. Our general impression is that this betting site is far from being a great option. It just isn’t as fun as other great bookmakers like bet365.

I’ll reveal all of my insights in this Swopstakes review. Since this is a completely new way of betting, I’ll first explain how to play at Swopstakes. You’ll also learn more about the security, payment methods and every other important aspect of this betting site.

Swopstakes Overview

Swopstakes brought sweepstakes betting back to Australia. They launched in 2018, however, their product still isn’t fully functional. Sweepstakes betting used to be a very popular way of wagering on sports and racing. Swopstakes just took an old recipe and brought it online.

I like what they did with the site. Online sportsbooks tend to look sterile and boring, but the Swopstakes website is surprisingly modern and fun. Even though they offer a completely new concept, navigation is pretty straightforward.

Swopstakes has solid sports and racing coverage. They have made a name for themselves in the past few years, and now this operator is an approved betting partner of renowned leagues such as the NRL and AFL. On top of that, racing lovers will be pleased to hear that Swopstakes is also partnered with many racing organisations, including Racing NSW, Racing Victoria, Greyhound Racing NSW and so on.

How Does Swopstakes Work?

When you enter the Swopstakes site, you’ll see a bunch of different contests available. They can be for AFL matches, horse racing or any other event available. Each contest contains several real-life sports events. I’ll take as an example a contest with 3 horse races where each race has just 4 contenders. Contests you’ll find at Swopstakes are usually more complex, but I’ll try to make it simple just so you can understand the basic principle.

There are 64 possible outcomes for the racing contest I mentioned above. So, 64 tickets are created. Each ticket is unique, which means that only one of them will have the winning combination at the end. Each card has its own, individual value. The value of each ticket is automatically calculated based on the betting odds. As time goes by, the value of tickets will change.

You’ll need to buy one or more tickets before the next event starts. In our case, the first of 3 races in our contest. If you own the ticket with the name of the winner of the first race, you proceed further. At that point, many tickets will be eliminated, so the value of your ticket rises. You can either proceed with the competition or cash-out since the value of your ticket is now significantly higher than at the beginning. When the last race is finished, there will be only one winning ticket.

To sum it up, there are 4 actions altogether you can do with the tickets on offer:

Swopstakes App – Native Android App Only

Android users will be thrilled to hear that they also offer a native app. As an iPhone user, I was kind of disappointed that the iOS app isn’t available. However, Swopstakes states on the site that the iPhone app is soon to come. If you’re specifically looking for an app that’s available on iOS, take a look at our Unibet mobile overview. They have excellent apps for all platforms!

I tested the Android app for a few days, and it seems that everything is working more or less fine. Some pages take a lot of time to load, which can be very annoying. Also, the navigation looks a bit cluttered on a small screen, so new players will probably take some time to adjust.

Keep in mind that you’ll have to download the app directly from the Swopstakes site since Google doesn’t allow betting software on the Play Store. It’s the same process as with any other betting app in Australia. In case this is your first time doing it, take a look at the guide below.

If you’re not a fan of native betting apps or you don’t have an Android device, feel free to use Swopstakes web-based app. Just enter their site via a mobile browser and start playing. Since the iOS app still isn’t available, I use Swopstakes’ mobile website all the time. It has the same features as the desktop site, so you won’t miss out on anything even when playing on the go.

Payment Methods – Slim Selection

Swopstakes offers a slim selection of betting payment options. You can only deposit via credit/debit cards or bank EFT. A selection like this won’t satisfy almost any punter, so I hope they’ll introduce more methods in the future. Adding POLi, BPAY, or at least one e-wallet such as PayPal would make Swopstakes a whole lot better.

The only withdrawal method available at the moment is bank EFT. Note that every deposit has to be turned over at least once before requesting a withdrawal. Also don’t forget to verify your account, because they won’t let you withdraw otherwise. This is all due to Australia’s gambling regulations. Once the request is processed, the money should be in your account within 3 working days, which is a bit above industry standards.

Safety at Swopstakes

I checked all the security features as soon as I registered an account. From what I could find, everything seems to be top-notch! They hold a license issued by Australia’s Northern Territory Government, which is by far the most important thing to look for when determining whether the bookmaker is reliable or not. On top of that, Swopstakes also has plenty off other security features in place, including the 2048-bit encryption. This all tells me that Swopstakes is a trustworthy betting operator.

Swopstakes Info

Owner

Six Faces Pty Ltd

Founded in

2018

ABN

2147483647

Headquarters

Broadmeadow, NSW

CEO

Shaun Pyrah

Speciality

Sweepstakes betting

In order to promote responsible gambling, they don’t offer any bonuses that encourage players to open an account of place bets. However, I would like to see more info about safety tools, such as Deposit Limits and Self-Exclusion, on their ‘Responsible Gambling’ page. Also, we’d like to see Swopstakes display the contact details for some of the Aussie agencies that deal with problem gambling, like Gambling Help Online or Gamblers Anonymous.

Customer Support – Swift and Friendly

Swopstakes offers excellent customer support. You can easily get in touch with their support agents via the live chat button in the lower right corner. The button is there even when betting on the phone, which makes the mobile experience even better.

When I was starting with Swopstakes, I had to contact customer support a few times just to ask how to place bets or request a withdrawal. They always answered within 5 minutes and explained everything in a friendly tone. Because of all that I don’t have a single bad thing to say about Swopstakes’ customer support.

One more thing I liked here is that Swopstakes offers a bunch of guides on how to use their platform. From extensive FAQs to an array of how-to videos, Swopstakes made it very easy to start playing. Since we’re talking about an entirely new way of betting, this part is especially important. Luckily, Swopstakes nailed it! They’ll be with you every step of the way, so just relax and enjoy your playing time.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for something new and exotic, Swopstakes may work for you. All others should avoid this betting site because it simply doesn’t provide almost anything you would expect to have. They don’t have fixed odds betting and any of the advanced features, such as live streaming. I highly suggest you join some other betting site because Spowstakes still isn’t good enough.

We believe that classic betting sites are still much better option in every way. Click the button below and take a look at the full list of top Australian bookmakers.

Best online bookies in Australia