We have a rare occasion on our hands: coming across a casino that has been around for over a decade, something that isn’t typical to see nowadays. Due to this level of knowledge and presence within the sector, it goes without saying that Sportingbet delivers an outstanding experience. Not only does it cater to casino needs but to live betting as well, meaning you can get involved with your favourite sports, if the lights of casino games aren’t cutting it. A fact that’s emphasised by the happy-go-lucky atmosphere and palette of the brand.
Bonuses and Promotions
When it comes to navigating the bonus section, it’s important that you utilise the menu given to you on the left hand side, rather than the subheading ‘offers’. This is because the latter will show you only sports betting related promotions, which might not interest you, whereas the promotions listed via the other menu state all the casino orientated ones. It’s a slight design flaw, but we can see why the two have been separated, we just feel more clarity should be given in regards to which are which.
Upon joining this brand, which also means depositing cash as well as registering, you’ll be gifted 10 free spins and a 100% bonus. As you’ll have probably expected, the spins can only be played on a specific game, that game being Starburst, and then you can only access the bonus by depositing £10 or more. This is all typical of such sites though, so nothing unusual has been offered, a factor that is further strengthened by the presence by the x50 wagering requirement, another standard amount.
In terms of other bonuses, there’s several available, though some are month specific and so will change on a regular basis. Thereafter, it all depends on whether you play the game of the week to unlock additional spins, or whether you want to enter cash prizes and win trips to LA. However, with no VIP in sight the impressiveness of these rewards soon diminishes, even more so when you note that nothing is in place for loyal returning customers.
Software and Casino Games
Discovering all the software on hand, which consists of Playtech, Play’N Go, and Microgaming, is a cause for celebration. As you can see from the software given, especially that of Playtech, there’s a lot of vast experience within the pages of this website. However, accessing them with ease isn’t as simple as it first appears. You see, you get two different lists of games depending on which section you visit, the Casino or the Games category, which doesn’t take into account the live casino feature also up for grabs. For the most part, we found by visiting the casino subheading, you uncovered all the titles available, with categories in place to aid navigation and accessibility.
Should you decide to look through the games, you’ll notice that some of the thumbnails shown have a phone icon displayed – this refers to whether they’re mobile friendly or not. The vast majority of them are, but some are not due to their age and/or software. What does disappoint us though isn’t this occasional lack of portability, but the fact that there’s no free play options. If you want to play you have to register or login. This severely limits how some will engage with the brand because it feels forced, you can’t simply come and go at your leisure while you figure out whether you want to commit or not.
Banking
By scrolling to the bottom of the screen, you will come across the list of payment providers, which you can then click on to open up a new window of information. Although opening a new tab might seem tedious, it does mean you can still explore other areas of the site while you browse this information section.
Even though there’s payment options listed, most of it is surrounding that of withdrawals and not deposits, which does mean we’re a little uncertain of whether they utilise the same methods or not. However, for the most part the information we receive is most helpful, helping us to identify the uses of credit/debit cards, Neteller, bank transfer, and PayPal. In terms of any surprise fees attached to using any of these, Sportingbet assures customers that there’s no fees whatsoever, which is unusual but not unheard of.
As far as the monies allowed goes, there’s a broad selection in play here; users have Australian dollars, US dollars, British pounds, Euros, Yen, Kronor, Swiss francs, and so on. What this tells us is that this is a diverse and embracing brand rather than one that limits its users, a factor that is most important in today’s society.
Company Background and License
Owned by Headlong Casinos Ltd, we’re aware that an experienced brand is in ownership of this casino. What is more, we understand that that experience has been grown and developed since the late 1990s, which offers more confidence in the label itself. However, beyond that we know very little about this casino, other than it’s said to have been established in 2014, and that it’s got a license from the UK Gambling Commission.
In addition to this, there’s also information given in regards to responsible gaming, something that virtually every casino now alerts players to upon their arrival to the site. It isn’t anything unique, but it creates a further sense of security.
Customer Service
To access the customer service features, users will need to tap on the help and support section, followed by the contact us. By doing so you’ll then find an extensive list of means to get customer support, which consists of email, telephone and live chat. Although there’s many avenues to go down, there’s time limits imposed, with the availability between 10am and 8:30pm.
In terms of the telephone numbers displayed, some of them will cost you nothing extra, while others will do due to the country you’re contacting or residing in. The fact that there’s different ones for different nationalities is a smart move by the company, as it should technically cut down waiting times.
Conclusion
As you can see throughout this review, there’s many good points to go with the bad ones: you have excellent gaming software, like Play’N Go and Playtech, and you have a thorough means of customer service. However, you then have restricted waiting times when accessing help, as well as a slightly confusing layout and design. These are small matters in truth, as the casino works as a whole, but they’re issues that may put some potential gamers off. All in all though, we’d say that Sportingbet works well and delivers on most fronts.