SBK Review

SBK is a different type of sportsbook. Many betting sites have moved to mobile-friendly formats, while SBK launched in 2019 as a purely app-only service. It also claims to offer true price odds – meaning there are more than a few interesting things to consider in our SBK review.

Registration Process

Deposit and Withdrawal Options

You can use the following payment options through SBK:

• UK Debit Cards
• PayPal
• Bank Transfers
• Neteller
• Trustly
• Skrill

The minimum deposit at SBK is £10, though for PayPal you will have to pay in at least £20 to get started.

The minimum withdrawal amount at SBK is £10. You’ll normally find your money comes back to you within six working days, though this will be longer if you transfer back to your bank. Also, there is a fee of £10 that applies to all bank transfer withdrawals.

Welcome Offer

SBK leads with a £20 free bet deal that makes up much of its marketing. Providing you deposit using Trustly, debit cards or bank transfer, you’ll be able to take part in this bonus deal. Essentially, the app will refund you by up to £20 based on a qualifying bet settling up. You’ll get this in the form of cash credited to your account, which is pretty refreshing.

This welcome offer does come with a few terms and strings attached, so make sure you check the finer print before you go any further.

Sportsbook Promotions

Oddly enough, SBK doesn’t actually seem to offer any other kinds of sportsbook deals, not least at the time of writing.

The brand is still relatively new and is trying to find its place. It’s refreshing to see a sportsbook app that’s daring enough to go against this grain, but it’d be nice to see a few odds boosters or equivalent popping up here.

VIP Program

There’s no VIP program available through the SBK app at this time either, at least not from what we can see. Again – it’s not a huge deal, but as the app gets more popular, it would be nice to see these features added on.

Right now, the argument may be that SBK offers enough in terms of odds value for it to be worth negating offers and VIP bonuses altogether. We'll have to wait and see!

Pre-Match Betting

The main focus with SBK is football, and that’s certainly not a bad thing. Some of the other popular sports you’ll find at alternative sportsbooks aren’t given much of a platform, but you can at least go in deep on Premier League, Champions’ League and more besides.

There are live markets, popular markets and more. There's a bit of a social side to SBK which sets it apart from other apps and gambling services, meaning finding sports markets here might be a little bit different compared to what you're used to.

There are markets for horse racing, cricket, rugby, and NFL – meaning that if you do fancy taking a break from football for a while, there’s nothing to say you can’t change it up. Just be prepared to note that football really is the name of the game here.

The odds here work much differently to competing sportsbooks mainly because SBK runs on an exchange system, rather than as a straightforward bookmaker. This means you get what the brand refers to as ‘true prices’. It’s actually well worth keeping SBK and your own favourite sportsbook on one side so you can compare rates. Or you might want to give matched betting a try.

Esports Betting

There doesn’t seem to be anything at present to suggest esports are available through SBK, but that doesn’t mean this won’t change in future. SBK is a modern app and esports are very much rising in popularity. Therefore, don’t be too surprised if you see this get added to the line-up soon enough.

Golf Betting

PLEASE CHECK THE BELOW IS CORRECT – THERE ARE CONFLICTING SOURCES

Very strangely, golf is absent from SBK completely, at least at the time of writing. Could this be an oversight? Maybe SBK doesn’t see golf as the sort of sport with markets that appeal to its main audience.

Again, time will tell if golf gets added in the long run. We do think punters are missing out here, meaning it may not be worth giving up your main sportsbook just yet.

Price Boosts

As SBK is an exchange, price boosts are pretty much out of the question. This isn’t your run of the mill sportsbook app where you can expect the bookie to boost your acca. It’d be a nice addition, but it would rather go against the flavour of the app and what it’s aiming for.

Keep an eye on the app for updates, however, as there’s nothing to say it won’t change again in future.

Other Betting Specials

There’s not much information on specials via the app just yet – again, the focus really is on football, with all of the odds and markets based on the Smarkets exchange service.

There does seem to be a small politics section in the app, meaning if you feel you know which way the next election is going to sway, you can have at it!

Cash Out and Bet Builder

Neither cash out nor bet builder options appear to be available at SBK at this time, again, largely as a result of its place as a betting exchange, not as a traditional sportsbook.

Once again – let’s keep a close eye on the app and see where it goes in future, as you never know quite what surprises they’ll have up their sleeves for us.

Live Sports Betting

SBK offers a brilliant in-play and live betting service which is easy enough to navigate. You can whittle your way through the different late stage markets that most football punters are going to want to keep lookout for.

If you’re really into diversifying your football bets then SBK probably is the best choice for you. However, there’s no live streaming available, meaning you’re pretty much going into it blind. What’s more, there aren’t too many statistics for you to crunch along the way, if at all. It is what it is – but SBK might not be everyone’s cup of tea in this regard.

Security

SBK is registered in Malta and also receives full regulation from the UK Gambling Commission. It is, of course, also backed by the Malta Gaming Authority, or MGA.

As an app, it’s largely one of the most secure ways for you to bet. Everything is self-contained, which means that you’ll be able to control all of your banking and sensitive transactions purely within the confines of the program.

Customer Service and Support

Customer support at SBK really benefits from being all in-app, which means that you can simply tap through and check out their help library to see if you can self-diagnose your problems and concerns.

The team is also very social on Twitter and Facebook, meaning you can contact them there, too. There’s also a number you can call directly through the app if you wish.

We’d love there to be a live chat option, too – something for the next release?

Responsible Gambling

SBK is a responsible betting provider and therefore has links and options for both GambleAware and GAMSTOP.

Website User Experience

SBK’s app is really intuitive. It is clear that the whole experience has been built around this shell, which is refreshing compared to some sportsbook mobile sites elsewhere.

We like the fact that it’s easy enough for you to hop from one market to another, and while betting exchanges can sometimes be very confusing to the everyday user, SBK helps to make this all the easier to understand.

Mobile

SBK is purely mobile – so there's not much we can really say here! However, the app is available for free from both iOS and Android's app stores, meaning if you're really interested, all you do is download straight from the site or search for it on your equivalent store.

Other Betting Options

There are no other betting options or services available at SBK right now, with the pure focus being the betting exchange (which, again, is mainly football).

This is refreshing in one way, as it means that SBK really does stick to what it does best. There’s no casino bits and pieces tagging on, and everything is nice and streamlined.

Conclusion and Thoughts

We like SBK a lot – it’s not going to be your average sportsbook experience for a lot of reasons. However, what it does offer is a brilliant alternative to the betting exchange, which is really easy to just pick up and launch straight from your home screen. It’s missing a few of the deals and bits and pieces other sportsbooks lead with, but what SBK offers really is a unique experience that’s all its own. With that in mind, we really don’t see a problem. Take a look and download the app for yourself for free.