Picklebet Review

Introduction

Picklebet review

The following is an in-depth Picklebet review. This review covers the history, features, interface, sports & racing markets, upsides and downsides of the service.

This review is part of our comprehensive Bookmaker Reviews section. The Betting Agencies page provides information and reviews for other sports betting agencies that are suitable for Australians. The following details are updated periodically to keep them up to date.


History, Location and Licence

Picklebet is an Australian-owned, Queensland-based bookmaker that employs a Northern Territory licence. The brand is owned and operated by Puntaa Pty Ltd (ABN 56 601 575 240), which has a registered office in Darwin. Puntaa has been a registered business name since 2014 while the Picklebet brand was registered in February 2020.1

Picklebet launched as an esports bookmaker in 2020, then added sports betting in early 2021 and fixed odds racing in 2022.2

Picklebet was founded by CEO Nick Heaney and Damon Oudejans. Two of the investors are the Sydney-based PAC Capital and the Sydney-based Tribeca Investment Partners.3

The Picklebet website employs the Oddin product suite as part of its esports offerings. According to CEO Nick Heaney, “Esports is the core of our business, as a next gen betting platform. We want to offer our customers the greatest depth and breadth of esports content to wager on, providing a best in class esports betting experience.”4 Picklebet has since evolved to offer a strong complement of sports and race wagering.

Picklebet’s contact details are:

Mailing address:
Picklebet Australia
PO Box 458
Fortitude Valley
QLD 4006
Australia

Support email : support@picklebet.com

Services and Features

Deposit options Visa & Mastercard debit cards, PayID
Withdrawal options Electronic funds transfer
Transaction fees None
Currencies AUD
Languages English
Odds formats Decimal, fractional, American
Minimum deposit $10.00 for debit cards
Minimum bet $0.20 online, phone betting isn’t supported
Deposit turnover requirements 1x
Win limits Unknown
Accepted countries Australia, New Zealand
Mobile betting The website uses a responsive design that tailors the display to the screen resolution of your device. Apple and Android apps are available. At the time of review the iOS (Apple) app had a 4.6 star rating from 1.1K reviews and the Android app had a 4.4 star rating from 500+ reviews.
Identity verification Picklebet employs a third party service to verify your identity during the sign up process.
Dormant account fees Picklebet reserves the right to charge a fee of $10 AUD, NZD, USD or €10 EUR, respectively per month and an additional $50 AUD, NZD, USD or €10 EUR, respectively at the end of each year to accounts that have been inactive for a period of 12 months or more.
Support Email, online chat
Problem gamblers Picklebet is particularly strong on its features for problem gamblers. They provide the option to set a deposit limit during the sign-up process and you can also set a ‘Cooldown’ period to take an enforced break. We applaud the fact that Picklebet offers easy access to a link to close your account.

 

Betting Interface and Website Layout

Picklebet navigation screenshot

Picklebet employs a responsive web design that tailors the layout to the screen resolution of your device. This review will focus on the layout that is displayed to PC & laptop users.

Picklebet uses the ubiquitous three-column layout with sports listed on the left, leagues & odds in the centre and the betting slip on the right. The dark layout is easy on the eye and non-fatiguing.

In the Preferences section you can change your preferred betting category out of sports, racing and esports. The tabs for the two categories not chosen are contracted by default. To expand a list you click on the relevant category.


Picklebet odds display

When you select a sport, the upcoming fixtures are listed in the centre, along with icons for other sports and a list of popular leagues. One row of just the most popular leagues is displayed. For a popular sport like soccer you click on a numbered icon to view the full list. A search function is also available to find the league you’re after. One neat feature is you can select (and de-select) multiple leagues. For example you can view upcoming EPL and A-League fixtures at the same time.

A ‘sgm’ icon is shown next to each event for which same-game multis are available. The total number of markets is displayed next to each fixture. When you click that number, the centre column is refreshed to show a list of market categories for that fixture. The head-to-head market odds are shown by default. You click on the category headers (handicap, total, odd/even, first half…) to view the other markets. The tab approach highlights the responsive design of the website’s template. PC users may find the quantity of tabs annoying, but the approach likely had mobile users in mind.

One minor nuisance is there are no breadcrumbs to navigate back from a specific fixture to the list of upcoming games for that league. The fastest way is to click back on your browser.


Picklebet betting slip

The betting slip is intuitive and feature-packed. Tabs at the top of the slip enable you to switch between Singles and Multi options. One novel feature is your pending and recently settled bets can also be accessed from the slip. All of these options have numbers displayed to indicate the associated number of bets.

Any item that is added to the slip is highlighted in the odds area. When more than three items are in the slip, you can construct ‘combination multis’. For example, if four items are in your slip, you can back any two to win and/or any three to win.

Overall the interface is fast and works very well.


Bookmaker Margin

The bookmaker margin (overround) is a measure of the bookmaker’s profit margin for an event and is a hidden transaction cost for punters. This profit is how bookmakers finance their services but bookmakers vary in the margins they apply. From a punter’s perspective, the lower the margin, the better. Learn more about bookmaker margins.

Picklebet finished second best out of nine surveyed bookmakers for fixed odds racing margins in our latest bookmaker margins survey. Picklebet offered the (joint) best available odds on an impressive 35% of the surveyed runners.

Picklebet was less competitive for sports betting. They recorded an average margin of 6.6%, compared to the survey average of 5.8%.

Sports Markets

A strong range of sports and leagues is offered. For example, at the time of review we observed odds for upcoming events in 31 soccer leagues, 8 tennis tournaments and 6 baseball leagues. The list of sports during our most recent visit was: Aussie rules, basketball, American football (NFL, NCAA), tennis (ATP, WTA, ITF), table tennis, baseball (MLB, KBO & more), cricket, rugby league, rugby union, golf, ice hockey (NHL, OHL, AHL & more), Formula One, UFC/MMA, politics, darts, snooker, boxing, novelties and motorsport.

The number of markets per league has jumped drastically since our first review. For example, we have observed 139 markets for an upcoming A-League fixture, compared to 17 in our initial review.

The number of markets per fixture rises during the week and peaks just before the event start. Using the A-League as an example, on a Thursday morning we observed 139 markets for a Friday night game, 55 markets for a Saturday game and 2 markets for a Sunday game.

Some recent market numbers we have observed are:
A-League: 139
English Premier League: 133
English Championship: 165
Formula 1: 3
La Liga: 149
MLB: 274
NBL: 21
NCAA Football: 38
NFL: 103
Rugby league international: 39
Serie A: 97
WNBA: 23

Since we first reviewed this service, Picklebet has added same-game multis for a range of sports. This includes the AFL, NRL, the top European football leagues, MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, rugby union and FIFA tournaments.

Outrights (futures) betting is available. At the time of review, we observed 81 futures markets on various soccer leagues and tournaments. This included 5 active markets for the English Premier League. Picklebet also offers ‘to be relegated: yes or no’ markets for each team.

Picklebet’s sports offerings have improved over the years to the point where, if you’re happy to wait until close to the event start, this service can work as a standalone bookmaker membership.

Esports

Picklebet started life as an esports-focused service and this shows in their strong esports offerings.

At the time of review we observed markets for eSoccer, NBA2K, LoL, Counter Strike, Dota 2, Valorant, Rainbow Six, StarCraft 2, King of Glory, Warcraft 3 and PUBG.

Horse Racing

Picklebet racing screenshot

Picklebet’s racing offerings have improved dramatically over the years. The only notable feature missing these days is tote win/place markets.

Thoroughbreds, greyhounds and harness racing is offered for venues across Australia and overseas.

Typically, SP (Starting Price) is offered in the days leading up to the race and fixed odds are offered on the race day. For metropolitan racing in Melbourne and Sydney, fixed odds are often available in the days leading up to the event.

One standout feature is, rather than just offer win and place markets, Picklebet provides fixed odds win, top 2, top 3 and top 4 markets for most races. This provides the flexibility to back a runner in the top X market of your choosing, depending on the circumstances.

Exotics are one of their newest service additions, with Trifectas, Quinellas, First Fours, and Exactas on offer.

The interface employs a clean look by default. Buttons are provided to access additional features such as race previews with tips, fluctuations and speed maps.

Picklebet performed incredibly well our most recent bookmaker margins survey for racing. The service recorded the joint-lowest margins for thoroughbreds and greyhounds. Picklebet was also joint top for the frequency of offering the highest available fixed win odds on any greyhound runner (55%).

Upsides

  • Picklebet is Australian-owned
  • Their features and market breadth are increasing all the time
  • Low $0.20 minimum stake
  • Highly competitive fixed odds for racing
  • Fast, modern interface that isn’t fatiguing on the eye
  • Free to enter weekly pick’em contests
  • Top 2, top 3 and top 4 fixed odds for racing
  • Same-game multis for the popular leagues
  • Identity verification is completed automatically during the sign up process
  • Can choose the default category for the homepage in your Preferences
  • Can set a deposit limit during the sign up process
  • Strong features to assist problem gamblers, including easy access to a link to close your account

Downsides

  • Less competitive sports odds than the leading bookmakers
  • Smaller range of markets per fixture earlier in the week
  • Dormant account fees
  • In-play phone betting isn’t supported

Bottom Line

Picklebet was launched with a focus on esports but their sports and racing services are now incredibly strong. The fixed racing odds are highly competitive and the range of markets per fixture steadily growing. Some of the other highlights are the $0.20 minimum stake, the fast & modern interface and the fact that they verify your identity automatically during the sign up process. Racing enthusiasts will also appreciate the fixed odds top 2, top 3 and top 4 markets for every race.

Notes and Sources

 

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