Founded in April 1992, Sporting Index is a company with an emphasis on sports spread betting. While Sporting Index also operates a normal bookmaker service, it is spread betting that they are most famous for.
So, how do these two differ from one another you might ask? In simple terms, the fixed odds service which most bookmakers provide gives the bettor a scenario where they place their wager, and their selection either wins or loses. If it loses you lose the amount of money you staked, if the bet wins, you gain a set amount of money based on the price given.
In spread markets, you still win or lose. However, depending on the outcome you could make more money than with a fixed price, then again you could actually suffer losses stretching beyond your original deposit.
An example of this is in Cricket. If you are gambling on a player to score a certain number of runs on fixed-odds if he fails you lose, if he makes or surpasses the number of runs needed you to win.
When gambling on the spread every run makes a difference, because for every run scored above the spread your winnings increase. In turn, if the player failed to score the amount of runs needed, every run below the spread will cost you more money.
While Sporting Index is regulated by the Gambling Commission in the UK, they are also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as the spread betting option is considered as wagering on Contracts for Difference.
Sporting Index also has an affiliate scheme where you can earn 30% of the net revenue across all of their products.
Sporting Index doesn’t have an extensive list of restricted countries. However, they state the customer is responsible for ensuring they are acting in accordance with the laws where they reside. And that they do not attempt to access Sporting Index if they are in a country where gambling is illegal.
Design
While Sporting Index’s website is quite plain-looking it is easily understood and easy to navigate.
They have their main sports going across the top of the screen or you can click all sports and everything they offer betting on appears to the left of the screen in a drop-down menu in alphabetical order.
In the main body of the screen, they have their in-play opportunities listed. To the right, they advertise promotions such as their welcome offer and the early payout promotion where they will pay out on football bets if a team goes 2-0 up.
The betslip also appears in the top right corner of the screen once you make a selection.
Sporting Index also has an app that is equally easy to navigate and built in the same mould as the website version. This is available on various app stores.
Services
Sporting Index offers a wide range of betting opportunities in their normal sportsbook across major sports such as Football, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Boxing. They also offer major sports from overseas such as American Football, Basketball as well as the obscure such as Bowls and Handball, however, their spread betting option offers far fewer sports.
Unfortunately for those who like their casino games and slots, Sporting Index does not have a casino offering on their site.
In a recent Premier League match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, Sporting Index offered the best price about the Man City win when compared to some top bookmakers by quite a distance, while offering slightly worse odds about the draw. Their odds on Aston Villa to win were considerably less but this is understandable given their favourable price about a draw or Man City.
The average margin for pre-match betting is between 5-7%.
Live
Sporting Index offers in-play betting on most sports such as Football, Tennis, Snooker and Darts. With the fast-paced nature of in-play betting Sporting Index helps make it easy for the customer to understand whether odds are shortening or drifting. It provides a key at the bottom explaining that if the odds go blue the price has shortened, or if it goes pink the odds are drifting out.
Sporting Index does not currently offer a live streaming service, but they hope they will be able to introduce this in the future.
The average margin for in-play betting is between 6-7%
Promotions
Sporting Index offers a welcome bonus for both of their services. On spread betting, they offer you a complimentary £25 to wager which lasts seven days. At the end of the seven days, if you have won, that cash is yours to keep, if you lose you are only liable for any losses beyond £25.
On the fixed odds site if you place 4x£5 bets you will be credited a free bet of £10.
No code is needed for any of these offers and they will email you to remind you to cash in your bonus.
Promotions wise Sporting Index also have the Bad Beat Special where on selected matches if your team loses but won according to the Expected Goals measure, they refund your stake as a free bet.
Also, on Premier League and Champions League fixtures Sporting Index payout early if your team takes a two-goal lead.
If you introduce a friend to Sporting Index you will both receive a £25 free bet if certain conditions are met.
Customer Care
Sporting Index is available on live chat, by email, phone, post or Twitter. Wagers can also be placed over the phone if you prefer this to the website.
If you have any queries about Sporting Index’s service, the live chat is the quickest option as they respond within a few minutes.
If contacting via email they also advise that they are happy to call you back if you provide a phone number to call.
Registration
As Sporting Index is based in the United Kingdom of course you can register for an account from there.
The time it takes to create a fully activated account can vary depending on whether your application is accepted straight away or referred. Sometimes Sporting Index will even reject your application for an account.
Like any other online gambling site, you are required to enter personal information such as your name, address and date of birth. However, you are also required to enter in your employment status and job and whether you have any spread betting experience.
You then tick to say you have read the Risk Disclosure Notice, Account Operating and Sportsbook Policy and Privacy Policy before clicking register.
From here your application for an account with either be accepted, referred, or rejected, so there is no guarantee you will be eligible to open an account with Sporting Index. As Sporting Index is also governed by the Financial Conduct Authority and spread betting is considered as CfD activity this may be the reason for the more stringent checks than you would normally see.
There is nothing on the Terms and Conditions to say that any official identification is needed to verify the account, but as always be aware this might be requested from time to time.
Financial Information
Sporting Index accepts bets in Pound Sterling. There is no specified minimum and maximum bet allowed and this will vary depending on the sport of market that is gambled on.
The maximum daily payout is £500,000. Some sports carry a maximum payout of less than that. In Tennis, for example, the maximum payout is £250,000.
Reliability and Safety
Sporting Index has a good reputation in the gambling world. The fact that they are not only governed by the Gambling Commission but also the Financial Conduct Authority should give the customer confidence that they are acting legitimately and above board.
There is lots of information about spread betting on their website as they are keen to make sure the customer understands spread betting and the enhanced risk attached to that.
Customer reviews on Trustpilot are largely favourable towards Sporting Index. One customer review is pleased with Sporting Index’s personal touch advising that someone calls you to make sure you understand spread betting – presumably, this is upon account opening.
In general, other customers state they have not ever had a problem with Sporting Index in over 20 years of using them and that they are very honest.
There are some bad reviews regarding Sporting Index withholding winnings or not accepting customers for a spread betting account. However, Sporting Index normally responds to both good and bad feedback and show a willingness to investigate these matters.
The site is SSL secured by Thawte so Sporting Index is reliable security-wise.
What’s missing?
There is not too much missing with Sporting Index. Within their standard sportsbook, they offer betting on a wide range of sports. However, not all these sports are available on the spread betting side of the site.
The website itself could look more attractive. However, as one of the few bookmakers offering spread betting opportunities, they will attract niche customers who may not really be too concerned about whether the website is flashy as long as they can trade on spread betting.
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