bet365 Review

Note:

This article has been superseded by a more recent, in-depth review. View the most recent review of bet365.

Introduction

The following is a review of the betting agency bet365. This review is updated periodically to keep the details up to date. The Betting Agencies section provides information and reviews for other sports betting agencies that are available to Australians.

bet365 is a UK based gambling company that offers sports, casino, poker and bingo betting. Any funds that you deposit can be moved around between each account with ease, making bet365 an excellent choice for punters who are looking for a variety of gambling options. For Australian betters, bet365 enables you to use an Australian dollar denominated account.

From an Australian standpoint, the main thing that stands out with bet365 is the ability for Australian punters to bet live online rather than by telephone. This alone makes bet365 worth joining.

Overview

• New member offers – new members receive a 100% bonus of their initial deposit up to a maximum of $200. This may seem generous, but there are a lot of terms and conditions attached. The initial deposit must be rolled over once to receive the bonus credit, and the bonus credit winnings must be rolled over three times prior to withdrawal. Furthermore, any bets with odds less than 1.50 don’t count towards the required account activity. On top of this, the turnover requirements must be met within 90 days to avoid forfeiting the bonus balance.
• Deposit options – Credit/debit card, direct deposit, Moneybookers, cheque, POLi, wire transfer, Entropay, Ukash. If you deposit using credit card, they will keep your credit card details on file, making future deposits easier. This isn’t necessarily a good feature! Having said that you can impose deposit restrictions on yourself.
• Withdrawal options – Credit/debit card, direct deposit, Moneybookers, cheque, wire transfer
• Transaction fees – none, although “if the value of a deposit is not played through in full before a withdrawal is requested, bet365 reserve the right to make a charge to the customers account to cover all reasonable costs relating to both the deposit and withdrawal.”
• Minimum bet – $0.25 AUD. It varies for other currency denominated accounts. This is very low compared to most other bookmakers.
• Sports – An excellent selection of sports, racing, and financial bets is available. If you’re an adrenalin junkie you can try out their 5 Minute betting on the FTSE index! You won’t get as many sports options as the likes of Betfair but the selection is more than adequate for casual punters, especially soccer fans. One of the strengths of bet365 is the fact that you can easily move your money around to play casino, bingo, and other games if you get tired of sports betting.
• Live betting – Live betting during matches is available, and unlike Australian bookmakers, they enable Australian punters to bet live online, rather than by telephone.
• Credit services – None that I’m aware of.
• Upsides
  • bet365 offers a variety of gambling options such as casino and bingo games for those who are looking for an all-in-one betting account.
  • In the navigation menu, you can select to view betting options for multiple events/leagues at once, which I really find handy when looking at the English football leagues.
    
  • bet365 offers live video streaming of selected events.
    

  • The minimum bet amount of $0.25 is fantastic for those who want to put a small amount of money into the occasional huge odds bets, i.e. bets with over 100-to-1 odds. It also enables you to get a lot of use out of a small initial deposit.
  • The live online betting feature is fantastic. All live events are displayed on the left navigation menu, along with up to date scores. For many of the live events, you can watch them live online while you bet.
• Downsides
  • High turnover requirements for new member bonuses.
  • While it looks great, the Flash interface can sometimes be slow to display. It also gives you less control over your browsing experience.
• Bottom line – bet365 is a great option for anyone who wants the ability to participate in casino, bingo, and sports betting from one account. Sports punters are well catered for, although there aren’t as many betting options as Betfair. The layout is fairly intuitive, making it a good choice for first time betters. While this is a UK based operation, they do offer Australian denominated accounts and transaction-free deposits and withdrawals, thus mitigating the main downsides of using an overseas bookmaker. All in all, bet365 is a fantastic service that easily meets the needs of most punters. It is worthwhile signing up for the live online betting service alone. Just be aware that live betting can easily lead to ruin if you are ill-disciplined!