Sportingbet Bookies

✘ Sportingbet is not recommended

Sportingbet Bookies is not recommended by this website anymore. Join a top online bookmaker instead. The best ones are listed to the right.

It is a leading player in the online gambling and gaming industry and an established online gaming name across Europe, in the Emerging Markets and Australia.

Founded in 1998 by Mark Blandford, it was only the third British-based internet bookmaker to launch, not the first as it falsely claims. It now employs over 400 people and has been listed on the London Stock Exchange main market since May 2010. It was previously one of the largest companies listed on AIM, the Alternative Investment Market.

Sportingbet's UK licensed activities were relocated to the Channel Islands following the introduction of the UK Gambling Act. The company now retains a presence in the UK, the Channel Islands, Antigua, Ireland, Italy and Australia.

In the year ending 31 July 2009, it accepted wagers totalling over £1,500 million. The product range includes not only online sports but poker, casino and virtual games. Paradise Poker is a worldwide brand that is part of Sportingbet.

Sportingbet's international bookmaking business provides an online service in over twenty five languages, aiming to bring local people their local sports market, wherever they are located in the world. It offers an impressive panorama of sports markets which may include as many as 8,000 in a single day.

✘ Sportingbet Bookies - why we no longer rate them

Sportingbet has no issues with the way it treats its clients but the way it has dealt with its business partners is nothing short of a disgrace. The firm reneged on a deal with its affiliate partners when closing their partner program and cheating their affiliates out of commissions on referrals. Then after a few years gap they started a partner program again from scratch. In 2009 they were up to their old tricks again, moving the goalposts after the game had begun and changing the terms from lifetime revenue share to two years only. They did this without informing affiliates, in this way they could continue to get the benefit of the previous clients referred without paying as much for it. This company is pretty disgraceful and has shown it has a very economical relationship with honesty.

Sportingbet Bookies - the pros and cons

Sportingbet endeavour to deliver competitive odds and certainly they can be complimented on the sheer range of markets on offer. Finding water polo on their list of sports covered is an indication of the diversity of sports covered.

As you would expect with a well established site, opening an account is quick and easy and customer service is generally of a good standard with truly 24/7 support on hand.

The choice of language options available at Sportingbet Online Bookies is impressive and the number of currencies accepted is a major benefit.

For horse racing enthusiasts, there is a John Reid homepage giving the former top jockey's views on big races and occasional interviews with top trainers like Richard Hannon. Ante post markets are easy to find and promptly covered.

On the negative side, the homepage is not the most attractive with relatively unsophisticated design and graphics. The seemingly endless lists on the left coupled with the glaring banners on the right hand side make the pages appear rather cluttered.

The horse racing cards are distinctly unimpressive and do not easily yield the information given by many other providers. Failing to list trainer and jockey details on the basic card is an irritating omission.

Sponsorship

The global reach of Sportingbet is reflected in the range of their sponsorships. They are the main shirt sponsor of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC in England, Steaua Bucharest in Romania and Slavia Sofia in Bulgaria. Sportingbet are also the key sponsor of the Brisbane Broncos, one of the leading Rugby league teams in Australia and Carlton Football Club, one of Australia's leading Aussie Rules teams.

The company also endeavour to support the communities in which they operate, donating a significant sum to fund the building of a library for the Island Academy School in Antigua and providing bursaries for a large number of children in the area. In Guernsey, which houses their main European operation, the online bookmaker sponsors Heather Watson, a progressive young tennis player who recently won the junior US Open for girls.

In the UK, Sportingbet are also a leading supporter of HEROS, the charity dedicated to the welfare of former racehorses.

Overall opinion of Sportingbet Bookies

They offer good coverage of sporting markets across the globe. For UK based sports, Sportingbet Bookies tend to offer odds that are competitive but, if you want additional information before placing your bet, other bookmakers' sites will provide it more readily. Because of the way they have mistreated their business partners on a consistent basis we can not recommend them. Irrespective of that point, there are many better firms than Sportingbet Bookies to choose from and we list them in the right-hand column.