Sky Bet Review tells about the online bookmaker owned by BSkyB, and there are not many UK companies that can compete with this company. One in every three households in Britain uses Sky services, mainly because they hold the rights to the Premier League football matches. A lot of people enjoy watching football, so it is not surprising that many fancy betting on the sport. That is why Sky decided to enter the gambling market by creating the sports betting site Sky Bet.
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Sky is one of the most influential companies in the United Kingdom. Sky customers can also benefit from watching games from competitions such as La Liga, Copa Del Rey, Eredivisie, and some of the domestic cups in England such as the Capital One and the FA Cup. The lower English leagues are also present, so Sunday League fans can also watch some of the teams there. Their investments have immensely helped improve the state of English football, and it is not a surprise that the Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world.
Even though football is the primary focus of Sky, that is not the only sport in which they are interested. You can also find things such as F1, cricket, tennis, NFL, snooker, horse racing, rugby, golf, boxing, darts, and even WWE wrestling. The people who like to watch these sports really cannot complain about the coverage provided by Sky. Especially when you compare the current state with the coverage before a decade or two, you will know why most people prefer things like they are today. Back in the days, the only way you could follow some events was listening to the radio and hoping that the signal is strong enough.
In the beginning, Sky was not as profitable as it is now. In fact, the company had only four channels when it was created in 1989, and they were losing a lot of money back then. They began a 50/50 partnership with British Satellite Broadcasting – who were their rivals at the time – and thus established the new ‘British Sky Broadcasting’. After two years, Sky Sports was created, and in the next year, Sky got the rights for the Premier League matches. That was also the first year when Sky made a profit.
- In 1999, viewers could for the first time choose a different camera for the game or the replays. There was also a player cam which focused on a particular player. In 2006, Sky became the first high definition television operator when they launched Sky HD.
- In 2009 – the 20th anniversary of Sky – Sky Mobile TV was introduced. It was a mobile app for iOS devices which allow them to stream Sky Sports via Wi-Fi.
- When Sky reached the milestone of 10 million customers in 2010, they started to broadcast 3D television to their audience for the first time. The next year marked the introduction of Sky Go – a way for users to watch TV on their desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablets.
Now that you know more about the company behind Sky Bet let’s learn something about gambling at the site. In the beginning, Sky Bet was divided into three companies – Planet Football, Surrey Sports, and Opta index. After Sky bought them in 2000, they were rebranded two years later so that Sky Bet could be formed. The football section at Sky Bet is represented by the expert Jamie Redknapp who is used in a lot of advertisements. Due to the enormous influence that Sky has in the UK, we think that the bookmaker will continue to grow in the future.
Welcome Bonus and How to Claim it
You can receive a £20 free bet through our Sky Bet Review, but you need to make a wager on an each-way £5+ event at odds of 2.00 or more. Then, you will instantly receive your free bet. You need to know that if you already have an account at Sky Poker, Sky Bingo, or Sky Vegas, then you are ineligible for the bonus. Those of you who want to deposit money using e-Wallets like ‘Neteller’ and ‘Moneybookers’ also cannot use this promotion.
Other Promotions
Sky offers a £5 free bet each week thanks to the Sky Bet Club promotion. In order to claim this bonus, you need to opt-in to the club, place £25 worth of qualifying wagers on events with odds of evens or bigger. After you have fulfilled all of these requirements, the bookmaker will credit you the £5 free bet. Unfortunately, cashed out bets do not qualify for this promotion. Keep in mind, that this is a weekly promotion, so if you miss one week, you will have to opt-in again by wagering £40.
There is also a promotion where you do not have to wager anything, and you can still win a huge jackpot. The way to do that is by participating in the Super 6 promotion. You need to correctly predict the results of 6 games chosen by Sky for this game week. If you manage to get all six of them right, then you win the massive £250,000 bonus. If no one manages to do so, the highest scorer receives a £5,000 consolation prize.
Sky Bet offers best odds on horse racing events, so if you have placed a wager and the starting price is better – Sky Bet online will pay out the bigger sum. This promotion offer can be used when betting on UK and Irish horse races and isn’t available when you make ante-post bets, enhanced accumulators, special markets, or wagers on international races.
License Information
Sky Bet is licensed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, in addition to being regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. The second license means that the betting site has to:
- Assist people with gambling problems who are using their site
- Prevent minors from gambling on their website
- Provide transparency when it comes to transactions
How to sign up
Signing up with Sky bet online is an easy and straightforward process. It will take you no more than a couple of minutes. All you have to do is provide them with some of the usual information gambling sites ask of you upon registration such as names, address and age and after that make your first deposit. Yes, it is that easy.
Design and Layout
The Sky Bet online website falls smoothly in line with the BSkyB brand. It is obvious that it is technically excellent and well-presented so there is nothing to worry about. The use of graphics is good, and there is a consistent colour scheme that is being kept alongside the stylish betting interface.
The navigation is easy as there are A-Z markers which help you find your chosen sport as well as sensible sub-sections to find the market that you require like a fixture that is coming up or an outright market.
Betting Markets
Sky is one of the largest companies in the UK because they provide coverage for numerous sporting events across their channels. That means that their gambling site will also have a lot of betting markets to offer, which is ideal for the customers who want to try out betting on different sports. Here is a list of the current betting markets at Sky Bet Review:
MMA, darts, boxing , cycling, American football, baseball, golf, football, rugby union, Olympic sports, formula one, Aussie rules, cricket, basketball, greyhound racing, handball, horse racing, winter sports, rugby league, volleyball, ice hockey, TV/Film Specials, politics, netball, wrestling, Gaelic Games, e-Sports, and tennis.
Thanks to the “Quick Links” section located on the left-hand side of the page, you can bet on some of the most popular competitions such as the Premier League and Sky Bet Championship simply with one click of the mouse.
It is very likely that if you can watch the sport on Sky, then you can also bet on it by going to Sky Bet Online. The company has invested a lot of money and resources into providing incredible coverage for a wide variety of sports so that you can find almost anything on their site.
In-Play Betting
Of course, a big name like Sky will also have an in-play section where you can bet on live events. You can go to the In-Play console by clicking on the live menu located at the centre of the website. There you can find additional details about the match and the various betting options. After you have chosen the event you want to bet on, you will see the score, odds, and the current events popping up on your screen. There is also the option of seeing the match stats by clicking on the icon located at the top right-hand side.
Even though Sky Bet Online has a decent live console, there are certainly better options available. To learn more about them, check out our bookmaker reviews section.
Video Regarding Sky Bet
Live Streaming
Many people think that due to Sky having rights to a lot of sports, the live streaming section of their gambling website will be enormous. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Their live streaming service only shows UK and Irish horse racing, and the minimum amount that you have to bet to watch the event is £1.
We were very disappointed with Sky Bet, mainly because there are bookmakers like Bet365 who can afford to broadcast more than 10,000 live events during the year. That is one of the main reasons why we cannot put Sky Bet Online and Bet365 in the same category.
Mobile Betting
If you want to take this action on your mobile device, then you will be able to download the Sky Bet Mobile Tracker. When you do so, you will have the opportunity to access copious amounts of live stats as well as accurately follow the result of your wager throughout a game. Thus, when it is time for you to cash out your Sky bet online bet you will be able to make an informed clever decision.
Overall the app is pretty cool, the main reason for that is that you really feel like you are in the game. So we advise you to download it if you can, it is worth it.
Customer Service
You can contact Sky Bet’s online customer support team via live chat, phone, e-mail, or post. We tested out their services and were impressed with their live chat. The answers were very quick and insightful. One thing that we did not like was that sometimes the staff member simply responded by giving a link without sharing any other information. You can also stumble upon answers to many questions on the site itself. Some of the most discussed topics are deposits/withdrawals, promotions and bonuses, rules, and creating an account.
Banking
Some customers complained about having problems when making withdrawals, but according to Sky Bet Review, the reason for that were ‘Net Deposits’. That means that those people want to withdraw money by using a different method from the one they used to make a deposit. The ‘Net Deposit’ is a security measure so that Sky Bet can prevent things like card theft, fraud, and money laundering. If somebody steals your card, that person cannot transfer money to someone else except you due to the net deposit.
When withdrawing money from your account, you usually have to wait between two and five work days. Unfortunately, those of you who want to make a deposit through PayPal via their mobile device will not be able to do so, seeing as this option is available only to PC and Mac users. There are no withdrawal fees as from the bookmaker.
Tools and Features
If you are looking for a betting site that has a lot of features, then this can very well be it because Sky Bet offers their users numerous price boosts which enhance the odds for specific events.
The website is easy to navigate due to the ‘Quick Links’ section located on the left-hand side of the page. The in play section can be easily found because it is placed conveniently in the centre of the main page so that gamblers can quickly access it.
At Sky Bet Online, gamblers have access to a tools section where they can find a form guide for horse racing and a betting calculator that lets them calculate their potential winnings.
We also enjoyed listening to Sky Sports News Radio which can be accessed by clicking on the link from the main menu. Other cool add-ons include the Super 6 game which is completely free and gives you the opportunity to win a huge jackpot by predicting the correct result of six matches.
Many pundits are offering you betting tips at Sky Bet online, for example, Alex Hammon for horse races, Ed Chamberlin and Jamie Redknapp for football. They even have their own blogs that you can access if you are looking for some sort of advice or general tips. There are many sports at their websites on which you can place wagers. For those of you who like to gamble on more extravagant events, there are sections such as the ‘Film and TV specials’ one.
Sky Bet Review Pros & Cons
- Excellent odds for British football.
- Enticing free bet.
- Reliable and fast payouts.
- The betting is restricted in several countries.
- They can better the customer service they offer.
Contact Details
Name: Sky Bet
Website: http://www.skybet.com/
E-Mail: [email protected]
Address: 2 Wellington Place, Leeds.
Post Code: LS1 4AP
Phone: 08000 725 181
Fax: 01133 895999
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I cancel a wager at Sky Bet? – It is not possible after you have placed a bet. However, according to their official site, a bet can only be cancelled with the company’s agreement. Moreover, you cannot cancel it if the price has changed or if the event has already started.
Is there a Sky Bet online promo code? – We work constantly and very hard to give you the best offers and bonus codes. Unfortunately, we do not have one right now but if you sign up here and bet £5 you will get £20, plus an extra £5 every week from the day of your sign up.
I got less than I expected from my Sky bet online wager, why is that? – Sky Bet can offer you many explanations in their help section for why a thing like that might occur. For example, you might be involved in a Dead Heat scenario. This is when two or more selections were both judged as a winner of the event.
Alternatively, if it was a horse racing bet, then it might be due to a Rule 4 deduction. This is the late withdrawal of a horse at a race. There are more reasons you can find on their help page. However, if you cannot find an answer to your issue, we advise you to contact their customer support.
Our Verdict
Even though the giant Sky owns Sky Bet, we feel that the bookmaker could still use some improvement and is not up to the level of some of the leaders in the industry, so we decided to give them an 8.5 rating.
When it comes to honesty and transparency, Sky Bet online is certainly a reliable website, but they lack some of the major features that other bookies possess. For example, almost all of the big gambling sites offer at least a decent selection of live streaming events to their customers, whereas Sky Bet only has UK and Irish horse racing, which simply is not enough.
We enjoyed the design of the site as it resembled the regular Sky Sports one. The interface is easy to navigate because all of the important things that you may look for are located in the ‘Quick Links’ section on the left-hand side of the page. The in-play console can be found right in the middle of the page, so it is impossible for you to miss it. One negative that we found about the design was that the betting slip is located on the bottom of the page, and not on the right-hand side as it is on so many betting sites. Of course, that is our personal preference, and some people might like it that way, but it is not actually comfortable when your slip consists of more than two events.
Even though the £5 free bet bonus may seem tempting at first, we were not impressed by the fact that you had to make a £25 deposit each week and if you miss one, then the bet which allows you to opt back in becomes even bigger.
Overall, Sky Bet online is a decent gambling site that has some basic features and doesn’t look bad, but our expectations from one of the biggest companies in the UK are high.
