SBOBET
QUICK FACTS
Established in 2003
Located in Isle of Man
support@sbobet.com
Awarded the Asian Operator of the Year in 2009 and 2010 at the eGaming Review Operator Awards.
Licensed by the Philippines for its operations in Asia.
Licensed by the Isle of Man for its operations in Europe.
The parent company is called Celton Manx Limited.
pros
Initial bonus: SBOBET offers a signup bonus which goes as follows:
- 15% cash bonus up to €200 (approximately 300$ CAD). There is a 14 times rollover requirement associated with the bonus which must be met within 60 days of the account activation. Only non-live markets whose odds are -200 or higher (decimal odds: 1.50+) will count towards the rollover requirement. Not applicable in Armenia, Australia, China, Indonesia, Latvia, Malaysia, Russia, Slovakia, Thailand, Ukraine and Vietnam.
- 30% cash bonus associated with a 26 times rollover requirement. That’s a pretty hefty demand! Applicable only for China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Live betting market diversity: They are known for their live betting options which are numerous. They once offered in-play wagering on football (soccer) games involving players as young as 14 years old. That raised some major concerns about putting teenagers at risk of corruption by international organizations who might try to exploit their vulnerability. SBOBET eventually stopped offering such in-play bets, but it just shows you how much they aim to have a broad range of live betting events.
Lowest juice in the business on live betting: SBOBET have among the most competitive margins I have ever seen on live betting. I saw several occurrences of -110 lines (1.91 in decimal format) and sometimes even better which is seldom seen on in-play wagering where sportsbooks tend to increase their juice significantly. If you are a live betting fan, this is a huge benefit for you and your bankroll.
Low juice: Their lines in general (not just on live betting) are above-average in terms of how favorable they are to the players. I found -106 lines on baseball games (i.e. 12-cent lines). Many sportsbooks have -115 lines on proposition bets, while I found them to be around -109 at SBOBET. In other words, their juice (or commission) isn’t too bad, which is a nice gain for you in the long run.
Winner-friendly: I have never personally used SBOBET, but I read several comments online about players confirming SBOBET does not limit winning players.
Lines on smaller leagues/sports: One thing I like about SBOBET is the fact they are posting odds on a wide variety of markets, including smaller leagues. It is possible to wager on the Serbia basketball league, beach soccer, badminton, hurling and squash.
Historical statistics: A nice feature on their website is statistics about the two teams facing each other. You can quickly get access to scores from the previous matchups, or the percentages of over/under specific total number of runs by each team, for example.
cons
No reload bonuses / cashback specials: Other than the initial deposit bonus, there isn’t any promotion worth of note. Clearly, that is not a point of emphasis for SBOBET.
Few proposition bets: I’m not impressed by their prop bet selection. On MLB games there are few ones; nothing you couldn’t find elsewhere. They are the most common ones that you usually see, like which team is going to score first or the total hits+runs+errors in the game. The same ascertainment could be made regarding football (soccer) games, where you can bet on the total number of corners, which team will score first or last or the correct score (either full game or first half only). Nothing that will blow your mind.
"Okay"-looking website: The interface won’t flabbergast you either. It is certainly not the most visually appealing website with very few images. The good side of it is the site runs pretty fast.
Absence of game tracker: I have praised SBOBET regarding their live betting options for different reasons, but there is one aspect that may bother some people. On some sports, it’s hard to follow the current status of the game since there is no game tracker. For example, during tennis matches they are only showing the number of sets won by each player. That’s pretty basic information! For this reason, I highly recommend opening a third-party website if you wish to track live scores, unless the game is already playing on your television right in front of you!
- Visa, Mastercard
- Skrill (not supported for CAD dollars)
- Neteller (not supported for CAD dollars)
- Bank wire
- EntroPay
- Visa, Mastercard
- Skrill (not supported for CAD dollars)
- Neteller (not supported for CAD dollars)
- Bank wire
- EntroPay
STORY 1
A new sports bettor asks for advice on the best betting sites. Another poster said: “Pinnacle and sbo are good for odds but offer just classic lines."
SOURCE: http://www.covers.com/postingforum/post01/showmessage.aspx?spt=36&sub=102432934
ANALYSIS: Being put in the same category as Pinnacle is a nice testimony because most gamblers will tell you Pinnacle is the best online sportsbook by far.
STORY 2
I was blown away to find out almost all 30 comments on Top100Bookmakers.com were positive. The few players giving low grades to SBOBET complained about them not allowing gamblers from Germany, or withdrawals being sent without cents (for example if your balance sits at 50.95 they send you 50). I think it’s safe to say we have all seen worse issues. Here are some quotes from other commenters:
- “Best bookmaker, they have not cut my limits even after I won large amounts over the last 4-5 years. Best bookmaker for live betting having in mind that they do not limit you to small amounts.”
- “I consider it the safest bookmaker that has the best odds and wide coverage of soccer matches. The best.”
- “I've known this bookie since I was young. SBOBET always gives the best odds for their players and they got the best services too. SBOBET deserves "The Best Online Bookie of All Time" title.”
SOURCE: http://www.top100bookmakers.com/comments/sbobet.php
ANALYSIS: This basically confirms we are talking about a very well-established sportsbook who has earned sports bettors’ trust.
STORY 3
Here is a short review by a user on AskGamblers.com: “This isn’t an unknown name for me because I played here, at their sportsbook, a good one in my opinion with good odds and a wide variety of sports and bets! Regarding the payment methods,they have almost all the options possible but I used only Skrill to deposit and to withdraw, I will give a 9! I didn’t have the chance to use the support option but I took a look at it and I saw that they have live chat, very important for me! A bad thing about this casino is that they don't have a welcome bonus or at least a reload bonus or any kind of promotion!"
SOURCE: https://www.askgamblers.com/online-casinos/sbobet-casino-review/
ANALYSIS: Here is a guy that has been a customer and seems pretty satisfied by the service provided by SBOBET. His only negative concerns bonuses; they are now offering signup bonuses, but still none on reloads.
All in all, I do believe SBOBET is a solid sportsbook. They have been in business for a long time and their odds are very competitive (reduced juice). This may not be your best choice if you are a bonus hunter because the requirements are harder to achieve, nor if you are an avid proposition bet gambler. This bookie is especially recommended for sports bettors who enjoy live betting because of their fantastic odds and market variety. SBOBET’s main target seems to be Asia and Europe, but gamblers from Canada will still find all of the main North American sports (even smaller markets like the AHL).