Sky Bet is one of the biggest bookmakers in the UK. The company are part of the BSKYB Broadcasting group and with this comes a wealth that a lot of bookmakers didn’t have upon start up. When taking this into consideration, the progress that they have made over the last decade or so is relatively unsurprising. They were able to plough huge resources into developing the Sky Bet brand, but we must review it independently to find out if they cut the mustard.
Sky Bet is regulated in based and regulated in the UK by the UK Gambling Commission (license number 038718). Unlike a lot of their competitors, Sky Bet only accepts players from with the UK, Ireland, Finland, Gibraltar, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
Probably the most impressive feature of Sky Bet has been their ability to expand outside of just sports betting. They currently offer successful casino, games, bingo and poker rooms, all of which we will discuss throughout this review.
Sports Betting at Sky Bet
The sports betting side of things is where Sky Bet have really excelled and is the area they are best known for in the gambling industry. Whilst some see the fact that they only accept players from a very limited number of countries a negative, what it provides for those punters is a much more targeted betting experience.
The sports book can be accessed on mobile devices such as iPhone and Android, allowing for betting on the move. In fact, only recently the app has seen a massive makeover and it now not only functions, but also looks as good as any on the market to date.
Odds and Markets
Sky Bet’s pricing structure for their betting odds have probably been one of the biggest improvements on the site. Originally they were well known in the industry for offering pretty poor odds for a number of high profile sporting events compared with their competitors. These days however they are right up there with the best of them and a quick comparison sees them coming out in the top 5 bookmakers for the 20 or so prices we cross checked.
The sports and markets section of the bookmaker is a bit lack lustre to be honest. But, their target market is a lot smaller than the majority of bookmakers meaning that they don’t need to include as many for it be successful.
Both horse racing and football are the two main pulls for sports bettors, which is ideal for a lot of the UK betting market. The football section is actually one of the best going and there are dozens of games promoted every day from around the world. The top professional leagues in the UK will often see upwards of 100 markets to bet on for each game, which is impressive in itself.
The horse racing side of the bookmaker is just as comprehensive and every race from around the UK, along with a decent number of international races, can all be found. Sky Bet actually sponsor quite a few races and meetings at different race courses, adding another layer of interest for the bookmaker to be one of the best in the industry.
Live Betting and Streaming
Live betting is another area that has improved in more recent times with Sky Bet, and like most bookmakers the majority of the games that provide pre game odds are turned in play. Football takes up a huge section of live betting but you can also expect to see the likes of darts, tennis, cricket, basketball, rugby and golf, depending on what events are taking place at that time.
Sky Bet don’t actually offer a live streaming service for their punters as such, but you need to remember that the company own one of the biggest sports broadcasting companies in the world, Sky Sports. The bookmaker won’t actually grant you dedicated access to these types of feeds, but its affiliation cant be ignored.
Other Features
Sky Bet do offer the cash out feature that allows punters to end a bet early, regardless of the actual outcome. The markets that are available to cash out are clearly marked on the site, so you should be able to determine what you can and cant cash out. Unfortunately, there is no sider option for cash out so it’s all or nothing with this feature.
Whilst not necessarily a ‘feature’ as such we just wanted to highlight how good the Sky Bet bookmaker looks. It’s very different from a lot of offerings in the current market and with this comes fresh approach and look to online betting.
Casino Games at Sky Vegas & Sky Casino
The casino section at Sky Bet is broken down into two sections; Sky Vegas and Sky Casino. They very much overlap each in other in a lot of ways except that the Sky Casino will offer you more live games and Sky Vegas will in turn provide you with more of your classic casino games, such as slots, table games, blackjack and roulette.
Software and Games
The modern trend from a lot of online casinos at the minute is to associate themselves with a number of software providers, and Sky Bet are no different. They actually use 10 providers, with the bigger names being that of Ash Gaming, NetEnt and IGT.
The software can be used on a both a browser based format or a download format, distinctive for both Windows and Mac operating systems. With this comes a plethora of games to choose from and like most online casinos, the slots are where the majority of the action is.
You get to choose from over 300 slots titles each ranging in genre and payouts. Betting starts on some games from as little as 1p a spin, working its way well into the thousands. Table games are well catered for in the form of both blackjack and roulette, again with differing pay-outs and stakes.
Other
Sky Poker
The poker room at Sky is a unique experience in that they run of their own dedicated software provider. This means that they do sometimes struggle in terms of numbers but then again, the community feel from the poker room is unrivalled.
Sky Bingo
The bingo hall is one of the most popular in the UK, and they have thousands of players online at any one time. Games from as little as 5p a card and work their way up into the hundreds. The bingo room is also a hot bed for one of promotions, so it’s worth registering an interest just to keep in the loop about these, if nothing else.
Payment Methods
Payment options are actually a little limited on Sky Bet compared with most sportsbooks. That being said, you still can deposit and withdraw using Visa, Visa Debit, Visa Electron, Maestro, MasterCard, Laser and PayPal. There are no fees for either depositing or withdrawals.
Customer Service
You can get in touch with Sky Bet via either their free phone number, email, live chat or write to them at their headquarters in the Leeds. The details for each are below:
- Email: Form Via Website
- Live Chat: Via Website
- Phone: 0800 072 4777
- Address: Sky Bet, 2 Wellington Place, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 4AP, UK