Sportsbet (sportsbet.com.au) review: rules, support, sign up, free bets, site

Sportsbet is a popular Australia-based betting company. Managed and run by Flutter Entertainment, a British-owned company, since December 2010. Sportsbet established itself in the gambling market in May of 1993. Although Sportsbet started in the gambling industry in 1993, it wasn’t until 1994 that it registered its name. Later in 1999, it acquired its very own domain.

The CEO of Sportsbet is Barni Evans, but in 1994 all shares of Sportsbet were acquired by Matthew Tripp. Sportsbet is licensed by the Northern Territory Racing Commission and is supervised by the South Australian Gambling Codes of Practice.

It is no surprise that Sportsbet is a popular betting platform for Australians. Sportsbet is ranked in the top three and has an average daily visitor count of 183,000.

Sportsbet enjoys a great reputation in Australia, where it offers all its services without any restriction. However, the services of Sportsbet are not available in various countries. Given below are the countries where the betting platform isn’t available. 

• Greece
• China
• Canada
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Kazakhstan
• Iran
• Korea
• Poland
• Laos
• Portugal
• South Africa
• Russia
• Spain
• Romania
• Sweden
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• United States

Design, Layout and User Friendliness of the Site and App

The design and layout of Sportsbet are exceptionally user-friendly. It supports a clean look and color that isn’t harsh on the eyes. There are three different columns on the main page. The left dark blue column displays the list of sports events and races available for bet placements. The middle white column, which is also the largest of the three, presents information on the current markets. And last but not least is the right column which shows you your bet slip.

Sportsbet’s main page has all the relevant information. But at the same time, the website isn’t cluttered or hard to navigate. You can also view all the running promotions by clicking on the ‘specials’ tab in the left column.

Owing to the ever-increasing use of smartphones, it is no surprise that a smart betting platform would develop an app to extend its services. Hence, Sportsbet has developed a mobile app for users of Android and iOS.

Services and Live  

Sportsbet offers a wide variety of sports and racing matches to bet on. One can never get tired of the betting platform’s seemingly limitless alternatives..Sportsbet’s sportsbooks feature allows clients to wager on the following sports:

• Australian Football League (AFL)
• National Basketball Association (NBA)
• National Rugby League (NRL)
• Tennis
• Soccer

For racing enthusiasts that love to place bets on races, Sportsbet has a collection of racing matches to choose from. These include:

• Horse Racing
• Greyhound Racing
• Harness Racing

Horse racing matches one of the most popular selections on Sportsbet. Hence you’ll find racing tips provided by experts for various markets. The platform provides fixed odds that customers can bet against. Additionally, Sportsbet supports Flexi betting. 

For the first time in Australian Sportsbooks history, Sportsbet has allowed race multi-option. It lets you choose the top 2, 3, or 4 runners so you can place your bets against multiple (1-4) legs. This drastically increases your odds of winning on your stake.

This multi-race feature works by letting you choose horse 1 as your winning bet for first place and horse 2 to finish in the top 4. Or opt for horse 1 as the winner while horse 2 as top 3 and horse 4 as top 4. You can always play around with the mix and increase your odds of winning on Sportsbet.

There are some novel Sportsbet betting options for users to place bets on. Such as the Academy Awards, the UK General Elections, UEFA Euro, and E-sports. Amongst the E-sports, the ones Sportsbet features are:

• Counter-Strike 
• Rocket League
• League of Legends (LoL)
• Dota 2
• Starcraft
• NBA2K
• Call of Duty (CoD)
• Overwatch

Live Line

To place a live bet on Sportsbet, you’ll need to use a fast code to place bets on call. Head over to the “live bets” and pick the market of your choice. Once you click on the selection of your choice, the fast code is generated. When the code is generated, call 1800 138 238, the operator will place your bet.  There are a variety of bets that can be placed, which include the following:

• Win
• Each Way
• Handicap
• Over/Under
• Index

Sportsbet provides a live streaming option on all sports events, racing matches, and E-sports gaming events. You must have either placed a bet in the past 24 hours or had a deposit in your account to use the streaming option.

The customer-only feature on Sportsbet allows only those registered on Sportsbet to stream. Hence to begin watching the live stream, log into your account and head over to the ‘Bet live’ tab. Following that, click on the game you’d like to begin viewing by selecting the ‘watch live’ icon.  

Some of the sports events currently being streamed by Sportsbet include Tennis, Hockey, and National Basketball Association games. Unfortunately, Sportsbet has a minimal variety of streams in comparison to other sportsbooks.

Freebies, Bonuses, and Promotions

Betting is difficult in Australia due to the government’s restrictions on many offers that are permitted in other countries. Besides the prohibition against online live betting, the Australia Gambling Act also prohibits providing welcome bonuses or promotions, including free bets.

Whatever the case may be, this doesn’t stop new customers from joining since Sportsbet provides some of the most competitive odds in the gambling industry. Moreover, there are plenty of promotions on Sportsbet that existing and new customers can browse through.

To get your hands on the Sportsbet promotions, first, create an account. Then head over to the ‘specials’ tab, and select the promotion that piques your interest. Remember to read all the Terms and Conditions for each promotion since they vary from one to the other. You’ll need to keep an eye on:

• Min deposit: Some promotions require you to have a minimum deposit in your account to qualify for bet placement.
• Qualifying wager: To get the bonus, there will be times when promotions will ask you to place a qualifying bet.
• Turnover requirement: The turnover requirement is the additional terms you need to qualify to withdraw your winnings as cash.
• Time constraints: From when to when will the promotion be available and whether it applies to certain sports/races.

Customer service

Excellent customer service is what makes a betting platform worth investing in. When placing bets, time is money. Hence instant replies are crucial to many customers. Keeping in mind these factors, Sportsbet is offering 3 methods of contacting support:

• Live chat: This feature is available around the clock.
• Email: If your query doesn’t require urgent attentio/n, you can email the customer services team at [email protected]
• Telephone: You can also call customer service when needed by dialing 1800-990-907. Remember, this number cannot be used to place bets, and it isn’t available 24 hours.

Registration

To start taking advantage of the incentives and betting on Sportsbet, you must first register an account by clicking on the ‘join now’ icon. You’ll then be redirected to the sign-up page. Here you’ll be asked to add essential information that is given below. 

• Your name (as stated on your legal documentation)
• Email address
• Country of residence
• Mobile number
• Date of Birth

After entering the above-mentioned details, you’ll need to create a username and a strong password. 

At the time of registration, you won’t need any documentation for verification. However, before placing any bets, you’ll be asked to verify your account by clicking on the ‘verify now’ link in my account section. Here you’ll need to use a legal ID to verify your details.

Financial Information

Unlike other popular betting platforms that accept different currency options, Sportsbet only accepts Australian Dollars and New Zealand Dollars. To fund deposits into your account, you can use:

• Credit or Debit card
• Bank transfer
• Skrill
• PayPal
• BPay
• PoLi. 

To withdraw winnings from your Sportsbet account, you can avail of POLi, bank transfer and Paypal.

A transaction fee is charged by your bank when you use bank transfer. You can use PayPal or PoLi in order not to pay charges. Deposits can be made instantly by using PayPal, PoLi, and Credit/Debit cards. The min deposit is $5.00, and min bet is $0.01 for online betting and $50 on call.

Reliability, Integrity, and Safety

There is no doubt regarding Sportsbet’s reliability as it’s one of Australia’s most renowned sportsbooks. To prove its integrity, we can rely on the fact that it is regulated by the Northern Territory Racing Commission and is licensed by South Australian Gambling Codes of Practice.

What Does the Site Not Have?

Sportsbet has a minimal number of games/races that customers can view. Increasing the number of streams will help increase site traffic and convince more users to place bets. Additionally, there is no casino betting option which could be another bonus for the website if implemented.