TexBet Review

– Nikola Jekic
Content Manager

TexBet comes with more than a few serious downsides. They lack native apps and live betting feature, while the live streaming is as basic as it gets. But the biggest problem here is the lack of sports betting options. Because of all that, we can't recommend you to join TexBet.

– Nikola Jekic Content Manager

Terry ‘Tex’ O’Shea is another well-known on-track bookmaker who decided to go online. TexBet offers a nice selection of Australian races but very little apart from that. We can’t skip saying that they’re lacking advanced betting features, like sports live streaming or live betting.

The other thing you should know is that TexBet covers only around ten sports for betting, which is way less than bet365’s or Unibet’s 35+ sports. They also offer only around 20 markets for top sports. That’s a very lousy offer if we know that top Aussie bookies offer even over 130 markets for big events.

With all this being said, we believe that TexBet is a fine bookmaker with a very simple website, but they’re just lacking too many things for us to recommend them. When we compared them with some of the top Australian bookmakers, like bet365, it’s clear that TexBet still has a lot of room for improvement. You can take a look at side by side comparison below or check out their websites and see for yourself.

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Payment methods (7 in total):

Minimum Deposit:

AU $1

Withdraw Time:

1-5 Days

Licences:

Northern Territory

App availability

App availability:

Close – Open +

Geo restrictions apply. You must have a funded account or have placed a bet in the last 24 hours to …Read more

TexBet Overview 

O’Shea Bookmaking, now known as TexBet, has a long history of excellence. Terry O’Shea started the family betting business back in 1973 and has been active ever since. He came to be one of the best on-track bookmakers in Australia, so going online was a natural next step. After joining forces with the popular ‘BetMakers’ platform, TexBet was born in early 2020, making them one of the newest bookies in Australia. 

They offer a full range of Australian racing events so there’s definitely something for everyone. Of course, betting on horse racing is TexBet’s strong point, but they do fall behind when it comes to betting on sports. They claim to even have some betting promotions on offer, but you’ll have to register first to see them. 

Their sports betting offer isn’t that impressive, but it should be good enough for most casual punters. All of the most popular leagues are there, such as the NRL, AFL, NBA, NFL and so on. But they lack most of the less common sports that are usually available at other top betting sites. 

But the thing I liked here the most, apart from the racing offer, is the site design. TexBet is simple and minimalistic, so even complete beginners can use it with ease. It looks very similar to other popular BetMakers sites, such as BetDeluxe and RobWaterhouse.com.

The downside here is that TexBet just doesn’t bring anything new and exciting. Their site looks very generic. 

TexBet Horse Racing 

Since Terry O’Shea is the man behind TexBet, it shouldn’t surprise you that their horse racing betting offer is so strong. Here you can bet on almost any race from Australia and New Zealand. Plus, they cover a range of international events as well. TexBet foreign racing offering isn’t quite as good as what bet365 and Unibet have in place, but it can be acceptable for beginners. 

The selection of markets is also pretty good. You can find everything from a usual win/place bets to all of the exotics, such as quinella, trifecta and exacta. They also have tote betting, including Top and Mid. In case you need more info about the horses, feel free to take a look at the form guides. They are nicely organised, so I used them before almost every bet. 

The upcoming races are listed in the centre of the home page, but if you want to browse TexBet’s complete offering, go to the ‘Racing’ tab in the top menu. Races are organised into ‘AU/NZ’ and “International” tabs. It makes it really easy to browse around and locate bets, so I’m sure that even complete beginners won’t have a hard time with TexBet. 

Horse Racing Odds Comparison

In this instance, TexBet came in last place. As you can see from the table below, both Unibet and Palmerbet had better odds for the selected race. But keep in mind that I did this test based on only one event, which means that it can be quite a different story in some other case.

The most important thing is to do a test like this before every race since that is the only way to always end up with the best offer possible. 

Sports Betting at TexBet 

Sports aren’t the main focus of TexBet. This is clear as soon as you enter their homepage where upcoming racing bets are in the centre, while sports are way below. However, there are enough betting options to satisfy most casual punters. I counted just 11 sports altogether, including all of the popular ones like AFL, NRL, NBA, NFL and so on. It’s a decent selection, but not even close to what the likes of bet365 or Unibet have on offer. 

When it comes to markets, they are far from being the best in the business. Just to put it in perspective, TexBet was offering between 10 and 15 bets for State of Origin matches, while Unibet had over 80 markets for the same events. TexBet has all of the basic bets, such as total points and handicaps, but if you want to try some of the more complex markets, you’ll be much better off some of the more prominent Australian betting sites. 

Sports Odds Comparison 

As you can see from the table below, TexBet’s offers sports odds that are a bit lower than the industry standard. Both Unibet and bet365 had better odds in this case, which just confirms that TexBet is still far from being the best bookie out there. 

Stream Live Races via TexBet TV

TexBet features a free live streaming service – TexBet TV. You can watch live horse and greyhound races both on desktop and mobile.

The selection of broadcasts isn’t nearly as comprehensive as at bet365 or Unibet. But I like it because the platform is very simple to use and comes completely free. They won’t ask you to deposit money or even register account to start watching. Just enter the TexBet website, click the ‘Play’ button in the lower right corner and start streaming. It can’t get any simpler than that!

Live Betting Isn’t Available

TexBet doesn’t accept in-play bets at the moment. It’s a shame since I love live betting, but hopefully, they’ll enable it sometime soon. Keep in mind that TexBet is a new betting site that’s still improving. So, don’t be surprised if you see in-play betting available at some point in the future. 

If in-play betting is a dealbreaker for you, I suggest you visit bet365. They have, by far, the best in-play betting platform. It’s intuitive, easy to use and have all of the live markets you can imagine. Other solid options are Unibet and Betfair. They are both great bookmakers, so pay them a visit in case you want to look around first. 

Best Live Betting Sites

• Plethora of live markets
• Reliable brand

• Long sign-in form

bet365 review

• Great betting apps
• User-friendly site

• Not Aussie owned

Unibet review

• Live betting on horses
• Exchange bets

• No fixed odds betting

Betfair review

TexBet Mobile Betting – Web App Only 

TexBet only offers a web-based mobile app at the moment. If being able to use native smartphone apps while betting on the go is important to you, you’d likely be better off looking at some of the other bookmakers we’ve reviewed that offer native apps for betting on sports. The lack of native iOS and Android apps is a big minus in my books! 

Their web-based app looks very similar to the desktop version, with the same simple design and intuitive navigation. Everything you need is in the menu at the bottom of the screen, which makes the app very easy to use. TexBet even offers mobile live streaming.

Since this is not a native app, there is no need to download or install anything. Just visit the TexBet website using a mobile browser, and you’ll be ready to roll right away. 

Payment Methods 

You’ll find all of the usual payment methods at TexBet. You can deposit via credit/debit cards, POLi, BPAY, bank EFT or make a cash deposit at your local Westpac bank. 

Since I usually deposit with POLi, TexBet’s selection suits me just fine. However, I could see how e-wallet users may get upset because neither Skrill nor PayPal isn’t available. Hopefully, TexBet will introduce at least some of them in the near future. 

Punters can make withdrawals either on the credit/debit card you previously used or via bank transfer. Waiting times can vary drastically depending on your bank. In my case, the money was usually back about four business days after sending the request.

Also, don’t forget to verify your account as soon as you register. They’ll ask you to send over copies of personal documents to confirm your identity. After it’s all done, you can deposit, bet and withdraw money from TexBet whenever you please. 

Customer Support

TexBet offers decent customer support that you can contact via phone, live chat or email. Probably the easiest way to get things done is by sending them a message on live chat. The button is always available in the lower right corner on both desktop and mobile. 

The only problem is the response time. It says on the site that they respond within 2 hours, which is incredibly long. However, from my experience, you’ll get a reply in about 30 minutes. It’s bearable but still miles behind the industry standard. I hope that TexBet will improve its customer support very soon, as most punters won’t find this acceptable in the long run.

Is TexBet Safe?

Since TexBet is owned and operated by Terry O’Shea, who is a highly respected Aussie bookmaker, you can be sure that this betting site is 100% safe to use. Apart from having a proven track record, TexBet is also licensed by Racing NSW and Liquor, Gaming and Racing NSW. This means that they are 100% legal and fair.

On top of that, the BetMakers platform is extremely secure, with features like SSL encryption. It all means that you can relax knowing your account is safe when playing at TexBet. 

TexBet Company Info

Name

O'Shea Bookmaking Ltd

Founder

Noah Rose

Launched in

2020

ABN

73 636 316 286

Headquarters

Tamworth, NSW

Speciality

Horse racing

This bookmaker also huge on promoting responsible gambling. If you think your behaviour may be becoming problematic, don’t hesitate to use some of the tools like self-exclusion and pre-commitment. Even I use them from time to time when there are a lot of exciting sports going on. You’ll also find a list of phone numbers of a few agencies that deal with problem gambling on the TexBet’s ‘Responsible Gambling’ page. 

Final Verdict 

TexBet lacks many advanced features, like native mobile apps and live betting, which is a great minus for this bookie. From what we could hear from their customer support, it seems that they don’t even intend to introduce these features anytime soon. 

On top of it all, the TexBet sports offer is very weak. They cover just a handful of sports and don’t even offer that many markets. With all this being said, it’s safe to say that you’ll be much better off with some of the bigger Australian bookies, such as bet365 or Unibet.

TexBet isn’t that good, so we recommend you click the button bellow and check out the best alternatives!

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