Welcome to our Bet365 review, there's lots of useful information ahead to help you make an informed decision about whether to join the UK's biggest online bookmaker.
About Bet365
Bet365 is massive, they're the biggest bookmaker in the UK by quite some margin, and at the time of writing, they're the largest in the world.
Peter Coates left school at the age of 14 in 1952 to get a job to help support his family. Fast forward to 1974, and he started a betting shop in Stoke.
This grew into a chain of successful shops, and in 1995 his daughter Denise Coates became Managing Director. A forward thinker, Denise purchased bet365.com in 2000 and in 2001 Bet365 was launched. They've never looked back, regularly appearing in annual rich lists!
Anyway, that's quite enough about the Coates family, let's delve into whether the site and product are any good.
Registration at Bet365
Signing up to new bookmakers can cause apprehension if the process seems overly complicated or too lax. Thankfully, the best bookmakers make this process as easy as possible and allow you to sign-up securely within minutes. A betting site renowned as Bet365 makes their registration a straightforward end-user procedure.
Seeing is believing, so we're going to walk you through signing up an actual registration at Bet365, so you can see just how simple it is to get started with this bookmaker.
The beauty of signing up to Bet365 is that it is all on one page. We've taken three screenshots to show the process in its entirety, but please note they're all on the same easy to use page.
In the image above it starts off with the usual required information to identify you as eligible to join, including your country of residence, title, name, date of birth, contact number and email address.
The country of residence drop down quickly helps you make sure that Bet365 is available in your country.
Once that's complete, Bet365 will want a few more details.
You get to choose how to get notified of Bet365 Promotions and Bonuses, and, whilst you may quickly want ot click no to all, I would say keeping Messages in Bet365 turned on as a minimum.
That way, if you log into Bet365 and they've an offer on, you won't miss out.
You will also enter your home address, choose a username & password.
The final piece of registration allows you to choose a 4 digit security code, which you will need when contacting customer service, so make sure you write that down somewhere safe.
For preferences, you get to set your time zone, bonus code (if required) and odds display format (fractional/decimal etc). Finally, you must agree to the terms and conditions before hitting green ‘Join bet365' button, which will then create your account.
Bet365's registration process is one of the simplest around and it's difficult to find any faults, it covers everything neatly on one page and is very intuitive and easy to follow. Customer service is there 24/7 to help iron out any creases with the registration process.
Deposits & Withdrawals at Bet365
Bet365 offer lots of options when it comes to getting your money in and out of the site.
Let's start with depositing at Bet365. For deposits, they accept all major debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, paysafecard, Click to pay, Wire Transfer, Fast Bank Transfer. Most notably, they have their own Bet365 Mastercard, which is a prepaid card. Finally, they even accept cheques (yes, cheques).
Bet365 permits 18 currencies to choose from when depositing via a debit card, 14 currencies using a paysafecard, 15 currencies using a wire transfer and 13 currencies using a cheque. Bet365 have no deposit fees with instant deposit times for debit cards an ewallets. If depositing via a personal cheque, it can take up to 28 working days for the payment to clear.
Minimum deposits range from £5 to £100 and maximum deposits begin at £770 all the way up to a staggering £100,000.
The deposit methods above are the same for Bet365 withdrawals except for cheques. Bet365 has no withdrawal fees and withdrawal times at Bet365 are super-fast, withdraw up to £2,000 via a debit card, and you will receive the cash immediately in most circumstances thanks to Fast Bank Transfers. Minimum withdrawal amounts range from £5 to £100 depending on the method selected. The maximum withdrawal request varies from £2,000 up tp £100,000; this is dependent on your withdrawal method.
Bet365 Bonus Codes & Promotions
Bet365 has always had one of the more generous welcome offers available, which's still the case. You can get up to £100 in bet credits for signing up. It's a 100% match on your first deposit and requires a minimum deposit of £5.
Open Account Offer
- New customers only
- Receive up to £100 in Bet Credits
- Join Bet365 and deposit £5 or greater and Bet365 will match your deposit in Bet Credits after you place qualifying bets (which are settled) equal to the same value of your deposit, up to a maximum value of £100
Significant Terms & Conditions
- Available to new customers only. Make a qualifying deposit of £5* or more and claim the offer within 30 days of registering your account to qualify for a 100% matched amount in Bet Credits, up to a maximum of £100*. Once claimed, your Bet Credits will be held in your account balance and are non-withdrawable.
- To release your Bet Credits for use, you must place qualifying bets to the value of your qualifying deposit (capped at £100*) and they must settle within 30 days of claiming the offer. Only qualifying bets settled after claiming the offer will count towards this requirement.
- Apple Pay, Fast Bank Transfer, Google Pay, PayPal, paysafecard and all other prepaid credit and debit cards, where available, cannot be used for either your qualifying deposit or any subsequent withdrawal of returns from Bet Credits stakes unless we have successfully verified an accepted form of your Identity Documents and you have entered a Postal Verification Code (PVC), or we have successfully verified two accepted forms of your Identity Documents. See condition 2 of full Terms and Conditions for details.
- Bets placed must meet certain conditions to count towards the release of your Bet Credits:
- Must contain at least one selection at odds of 1/5 (1.20) or greater.
- In market/fixture combinations that only have two or three potential outcomes (for example Soccer Full Time Result), where you have placed bets on more than one potential outcome, either pre-match or In-Play, only the outcome with your highest cumulative stake will count.
- Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, only the remaining active stake will count.
- Where a bet has been edited using our Edit Bet feature, only the new stake on the new bet will count.
- Fully Cashed Out, Instant Games, Gaming, void bets or In-Play bets which are settled as a push will not count.
- Your Bet Credits are non-withdrawable, and Bet Credits stakes are not included in any returns. Any returns from Bet Credits placed will be added to your Withdrawable Balance. Bet Credits cannot be used on certain products, offers/promotions and bet types. See full Terms and Conditions for details.
- Your Bet Credits will be forfeit and removed if your account is inactive for 90 consecutive days.
* or currency equivalent
Ongoing Sportsbook Promotions
However, the fun doesn't stop there, there are lots of ongoing sports promotions available. One of the most popular racing offers sees you earn up to £50 in bet credits on a minimum of 2 races per day if you can back a winner at 4/1 or greater.
Bet365 is the first to bring the hugely popular 2 goals ahead football offer. You simply back a football team of your choosing (specific leagues apply), and, if they go 2 goals in front at any point, Bet365 will pay your bet as a winner. If your team is 2-0 up, but ends up drawing 2-2 or losing, then no drama, you get paid out, in cash, at the point they went 2-0 up.
There are many other great promotions on offer for betting on soccer, NFL, NBA, tennis. The offers available don't chop and change each week like they do at Paddy Power or Coral. However, that's okay because the promotions are solid and offer tremendous value to bettors on the site.
Pre-match Sports Betting
There's a huge variety of sports you can be betting on at Bet365. We know that the most popular sports are covered with Soccer (hundreds of leagues), American football (NFL & College Football), basketball (NBA, European, college), tennis (worldwide), ice hockey (NHL & European), horse racing (worldwide) and fighting (boxing, MMA, UFC).
Away from well-known sports, there is a mind-boggling amount of things you can bet on. Handball, table tennis, speedway, snooker, darts, surfing make up some popular other sports. However, this review really needs to highlight that you can bet on water polo, bandy, floorball & trotting!
The odds available at Bet365 are amongst the best in the industry and frequently come out on top for bookmaker horse racing odds. Soccer odds are competitive although not quite on a par with fairly new upstarts Novibet & VBet.
Overall, the sportsbook at Bet365 is very impressive, and one that comes highly recommended.
Is eSports at Bet365?
Yes, esports are available to bet on at Bet365.
All the major esports leagues are available for betting. Here are some highlights: Overwatch, League of Legends, StarCraft II and CS:GO. There are many other leagues, and sub-leagues covered too, and the odds are more competitive than other providers.
Like the rest of the Bet365 Sportsbook, then esports coverage is comprehensive and contains both upcoming events and live events to bet on. Esports championships all around the world are covered.
Golf Betting
Golf Betting is covered extensively within Bet365 and they are on of the top bookmakers with the best golf odds. For major tournaments, Bet365 pay extra places, often paying 8 places.
Price Boosts
Bet365 don't have price boosts in the same way that other bookmakers do. You can take an Enhanced Price on the full-time result of the following competitions: English Premier League, English Championship, English FA Cup, English League Cup, Champions League and Europa League.
Other Betting Specials
May betting specials are within Bet365. Betting on the latest political betting markets or wagering on who will win Strictly Come Dancing are options for interested punters.
Cash Out and Bet Builder Options
Bet Builder and cash out are features available at Bet365. If your bet is losing in-play, then cash out allows you to receive a percentage (determined by Bet365) of your bet back before the event has finished, which can prevent you from losing your full stake. It's also possible to receive a part cash-out or even to cash out for a profit target that you choose.
Bet Builder allows you to create interesting bets from scratch within the same event. The feature is intuitive to use and is quick to master. The sample bet below took less than 30 seconds to create.
Live Sports Betting
Bet365 have a superb reputation for the number of live sporting events available to watch on the site. The live statistics that accompany them are industry-leading. The stats are so good that lots of sports traders routinely watch them closely to decide their next moves on betting exchanges. You can view live streams and statistics with a funded Bet365.
Customer Service and Support
Bet365 offers solid options when it comes to resolving any queries or issues you may have. Once you click ‘help', you are presented with an extensive knowledge base, which will answer your question in most cases.
If that doesn't resolve your issue, then support is available via email, web message, phone, post and live chat. You can access support on the phone and live chat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's phenomenal support!
Security
You don't needy to worry about Bet365 acting illegally. Bet365 is regulated by the British Gambling Commission and holds several international gaming licences, including ones from Malta and Gibraltar. Encryption technology is used in all the operating jurisdictions which ensures user information is protected.
Responsible Gambling
Bet365 are committed to ensuring its users gamble responsibly. Tips are provided on how to recognise gambling addiction in the early stages. You can also view your entire spend at the site or complete a budget calculator to make sure you are betting within safe limits.
Setting deposit limits on Bet365 is easy and you can restrict deposits based on days or hours. A temporary break from gambling can be engaged with a Bet365 time-out which allows you to take a break for hours/days of your choosing. Reality check notifications are useful and alert you when you have been logged into the site for a set amount of time.
The most powerful responsible gambling tool is the self-exclusion which allows you to take a complete break from gambling. A self-exclusion can be for months, years or permanently, you get to choose.
Bet365 has great processes in place to help players to gamble responsibly.
Website User Experience
The site stands alone in the betting world as it is completely based on Flash. This makes for a fairly standardised format throughout and slick navigation. The only niggle is that if you use a VPN to browse the internet, you'd need to disable that to access Bet365.
The site is straightforward to navigate and has the usual betting verticals available on the top menu bar, Sports, In-Play, Casino, Live Casino, Games, Poker & Bingo.
Mobile
Bet365 have a superb app available for download via the Google Play app store and Apple's app store. The app is well designed, intuitive and sections load quickly. As a result, it's a fantastic mobile betting experience. Cash-out options are available on the Bet365 mobile app, which is massively important when betting on the move. Bet builder options are also prevalent throughout. As expected, Bet365 must have spent an incredible amount developing the app and it shows!
Other Betting Options
Bet365 covers all betting options, with Casino, Live Casino, Games, Poker and Bingo all covered in the site. Although this Bet365 review is focussed on the sportsbook, there are occasionally interesting cross-product promotions.
Bet365 Conclusion
It's easy to see why Bet365 is so popular across the globe. The website is easy to use, deposit/withdrawals are fast, and the sheer number of sports you can bet on is unrivalled.
Allied to the fact you're getting some of the best value at an online bookmaker and the variety of promos makes betting at Bet365 a compelling proposition.
It's a thumbs-up from us, and Bet365 Sportsbook is highly recommended.