Welcome to the Honest Betting Reviews blog. Here you can find the latest updates on betting systems and tipsters currently under review as well as our tips on how to beat the bookies with the best winning betting systems we have profited from,

Get Your Ryder Cup Tips Here!

/0 Comments

The Ryder Cup starts this Friday at Le Golf National in Paris.

It is set to be an epic showdown as Europe try to win back the trophy from the USA, who triumphed last time at the Hazeltine Golf Club by a comfortable margin of 17-11.

Despite Europe’s strong record over the last 20 years – particularly on home soil – the US are favourites for the matches, currently best priced at just below evens at 19/20, while Europe are available at 5/4 and the draw can be backed at 12/1.

America come into the event off the back of Tiger Woods’ emotional win at the Tour Championship on Sunday and they currently hold three out of the four major championships. 

Even their rookies look formidable, with the likes of Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau having racked up multiple PGA tour wins this year and they will go into the event with plenty of confidence. 

But Europe will feel buoyed by Justin Rose having recently claimed the world number one ranking and Fedex Cup and with Francesco Molinari having won the Open in July.

They will also be fired up by the return to the team of “Mr Ryder Cup” Ian Poulter and young guns making their debut like Spanish sensation Jon Rahm – a probable partner for Sergio Garcia – and ice cool Swede Alex Noren, who won the French Open at this course just a few months ago.

Whatever happens, it is set to be a titanic battle and the atmosphere will be electric.

If you are looking for some top quality tips to liven up proceedings, here are some top golf tipsters we can recommend:

  • – Our number one recommended golf tipster the Golf Betting Expert has made over £10,000 profit to just £10 stakes since starting up and you can get a 15-day trial – including their tips for the Ryder Cup – for just £7 by clicking here. 
  • – The formidable SJP Golf Tips, who have made over 1,300 points profit since starting up at an incredible return on investment of over 40%. You can get a 14-day trial –  including their tips for the Ryder Cup – for just £1 by clicking here. 

It should be a cracking weekend’s viewing and let’s hope for a few winners along the way too!

 

 

 

 

 

horse jumps

Great News For Punters as Bet Victor Offers £500 Bet Guarantee

/0 Comments

There was positive news for long-suffering punters recently when Bet Victor announced it would be allowing all customers to win up to £500 per bet on UK and Irish horse racing.

That makes Bet Victor the first major bookmaker to offer a comprehensive bet guarantee covering all UK and Irish horse races, regardless of grade and it covers each-way bets as well.

For years punters have suffered from bookies restricting winning accounts (and even some that aren’t winning), only allowing customers to place minimal bets of £1 or £2 per race.

This is tantamount to closing an account and has left many punters angry and frustrated – often turning to exchanges like Betfair to place their bets instead of the bookies.

It also led to mounting pressure from government, regulators and groups such as the Horseracing Bettors Forum to ease restrictions on punters and provide a fair playing field.

Thankfully some of the bookies have started listening to this pressure and begun to loosen their restrictions, for horse racing at least.

Moves in the Right Direction

A small effort had already been made to move in the right direction prior to Bet Victor’s recent announcement, with Coral and Ladbrokes having guaranteed to lay the following wagers:

  • – Bets to win up to £5,000 on all races broadcast on UK television channel ITV, from 9am on the morning of the race.
  • – Bets to win up to £2,000 on Class 4 or above handicaps
  • – Bets to win up to £2,000 on any Listed, Group and Graded from 11am.
  • – Bets to win up to £500 on any other British or Irish race (i.e. similar to the recent Bet Victor move).
  • – Bets to win up to £5,000 for wagers placed in betting shops on all ITV Racing events.

William Hill has also guaranteed the last point and has extended it to online customers too, albeit with a maximum potential win of £1,000 and only for races shown on ITV.

It should be stressed that the bookies may of course allow you to win more than these amounts – it is just that these are the amounts the bookies are guaranteeing they will lay wagers for, rather than only allowing you to able to bet say £1 or £2, as has been the case for those with restricted accounts up until now. 

Bet Victor Move Points Towards the Future

 

The Bet Victor £500 guarantee offer opens at 11am on the day of the race, and features as a separate Guaranteed Bet market alongside other normal markets so punters can find it easily. 

Whilst this is the first blanket guarantee to allow punters to win up to a certain amount on all UK and Irish racing, Bet Victor have indicated that it may not end there.

Matt Scarrott, Director of BetVictor’s Sportsbook, said:

“We entered dialogue with the Horseracing Bettors Forum earlier this year and this project is something we have been keen to implement for a while. We believe our guarantee to include ‘each way’ bets and all race classes makes it a leading industry initiative.”

“Once we have trialled Guaranteed Bet for a short time, our plan is to review it with the intention of increasing limits and extending the timescales going forward.”

This would be welcome news and it will be interesting to see if more bookies follow suit. Certainly those bookies who have implemented bet guarantees have stolen a march on their competitors and will no doubt see the return of many customers who have had their accounts restricted previously.

It is unclear however with bookies would still restrict accounts of those who arb or match bet, so we will have to wait and see on that one.

It should also be noted that Bet Victor’s £500 Bet Guarantee Offer does not apply to Best Odds Guaranteed, Run for Your Money, and additional ‘each way’ place term offers.

Moving Into Other Sports?

One of the major questions regarding the recent changes is whether they will start to apply to other sports beyond horse racing. 

We haven’t seen clear indications from the bookmakers on that front, but you would think if it proves successful on horse racing and they can manage their liabilities, then there is no reason why it shouldn’t be applied to other sports. 

Personally we would like to see it spread to other sports like golf, football and tennis – and eventually to cover all sports.

After all, the practice of restricting winning accounts is grossly unfair and there must be a happy medium bookmakers can come to that allow punters to have a decent punt without threatening the bookies’ business model.  Let’s not forget that only 2% of punters make money long-term, so really it should be possible.

The recent moves to set reasonable limits of how much people can win on horse racing are surely recognition of this and are greatly welcomed.

Let’s hope this is just the start of things to come…

Tired of losing money on your bets? Check out our number one recommended horse racing tipster here.

 

 

 

 

 

Ladbrokes Odds Boost – Explained

/0 Comments

Ladbrokes Odds Boost is a special promotion available for all Ladbrokes customers. It does what it says on the tin: it boosts the odds on selected bets.

All you need to take part is a current Ladbrokes account. For the duration of the promotion, and there is no indication that it will end in the foreseeable future, every Ladbrokes account holder will receive one odds boost token a day.

To check that you have an odds boost token, log in to the ‘My Account’ area. If you have a valid token, it will appear there along with a brief explanation of which markets you can use it for. Unlike some similar offers, rather than choosing from a list of qualifying events, you can choose which bets to enhance the odds of as long as they are included in the qualifying markets.

Use It or Lose It

It is, however, a case of use it or lose it. You can’t carry it over. If you don’t use it on the day you receive the token, it will, like Cinderella, expire at midnight; though to be precise, it will expire at exactly one minute before midnight. However, it is very versatile. You can use it for pre-event bets, in play bets, and multiple single line bets across all sports markets including virtual sports. You can’t apply it to each way bets or full cover bets such as Yankees and Lucky 15s.  Whether you use it or not, you will still get another token the following day beginning at midnight

How Do You Use It?

If you have a valid odds boost token, then when you create a betting slip in a market that qualifies for odds boost, you will see you have an option to use your odds boost token. If you do so, it will be applied to all selections on your betting slip. There are some restrictions. While there is no minimum stake or maximum odds restriction, the maximum stake that you can enhance the odds on is £50. For non-VIP members, if your betting slip exceeds that stake, then the boost will be applied to the first £50 only. If you are a VIP member, the maximum stake is £500.

How much is Ladbrokes odds boost worth?

Ladbrokes don’t state an actual value, and some punters report different amounts too. However, in our experience, it is usually around 6%, though that isn’t a fixed amount. While that might not seem that high, statistically it makes a difference especially if you use it on a regular or daily basis.

Anything else I need to know?

There certainly isn’t anything sinister about the promotion. It is a genuine offer that, when used wisely, will boost your winnings over time. There are no clawbacks or limitations on liquidating your enhanced winnings. However, as we always do with any promotion, we strongly advise that you carefully read Ladbrokes terms and conditions.

Be aware that you can’t use it with any free bets; it can be used with cash bets only. And it doesn’t apply if odds have been boosted by a different Ladbrokes promotion such as Price Boost and Super Price boost.

Check out our number one recommended Sports Betting System here.

 

 

 

 

 

Football betting pic

Asian Handicap Explained

/0 Comments

Asian handicap is a football betting market in which teams receive a handicap that reflects their previous performance. Like most sporting handicaps, its aim is to level the playing field when teams are mismatched in terms of ability.

The stronger team receives a negative handicap, meaning they must score more goals than they otherwise would in order to win; while the weaker team receives a positive handicap. The handicap can vary from a fraction of a goal through to several goals.

Effectively, the Asian handicap is a way to remove the draw as a possible outcome and reduce betting to just two potential outcomes.

For beginners to can be a little confusing, as a bet on the team that wins in the actual game may lose. However, if you read the rest of the article and study the examples given in the payout table, all should become clear. 

Note that it is called an Asian handicap as the system originated in Indonesia. It can be applied to any football game, not just those taking place in Asia. Originally called “hang cheng,” it remains the most popular kind of betting in the Far East. Today it is popular in all football betting markets in the UK, Europe, and the US.

Elimination of draws

The most significant difference between normal football betting and the Asian handicap is that there are no draws. With football betting, you can bet on a win, a loss, and a draw, but with the Asian handicap, you can only bet on a win or loss.

In the case of perfect handicapping, the odds for either of these results is 50-50, however, handicapping is rarely perfect. The challenge is to beat the handicappers by understanding more about the teams and other factors affecting the match than they do.

As there is a roughly equal chance of either side winning, odds tend to be low; typically ranging from 1.9 to 2.0.

Other points

The score is the result after 90 minutes including any stoppage and injury time. Penalty shootouts and goals scored in extra time are excluded from the bet results.

 

                        —————–Check out our number one ranked football tipster here—————–

 

Some examples

Here we will look at some practical examples. There are three types of handicaps:

  • – Level Asian Handicap: When there is no perceived difference between the teams, neither carry a handicap, but unlike usual football betting if the match is a draw the bets are voided.
  • – Single Asian Handicap: When there is a perceived difference between the teams, the playing field will be leveled by handicapping the better team. The stronger side will receive a negative handicap of -0.5, -1, -1.5 or -2 goals and the weaker team with a balancing positive score of 0.5, 1, 1.5 or 2 goals. Thus, if the game is drawn, bets placed on the weaker team will win.
  • – Split Asian Handicap: This is used when the difference between the two teams is uncertain. Effectively you are betting on two different handicaps at the same time, and half your stake is placed on one and a half on the other.

Pay-out table

This is an abbreviated pay-out table. Once you can understand this, it is easy to work out the pay-outs for other fractional handicaps. It is a good exercise to ensure you understand exactly what’s going on, so we recommend you do it.

 

TEAM A TEAM B
Handicap Game result Your bet Handicap Game result Your bet
 

0

 Win Win  

0

 Win Win
Draw Voided bet Draw Voided bet
Lose Lose Lose Lose
 

-0.25

 Win Win  

+0.25

 Win Win
Draw Lose half stake Draw Win half stake
Lose Lose Lose lose
 

-0.5

 Win Win  

+0.5

 Win Win
Draw Lose Draw Win
Lose Lose Lose Lose
 

-1.00

 Win by 2+ goals Win  

+1.00

 Win Win
Win by 1 goal Stake returned Draw Win
Draw Lose Lose by 1 goal Stake returned
Lose Lose Lose by 2+ goals Lose
 

-1.25

 Win by 2+ goals Win  

+1.25

 Win Win
Win by 1 goal Lose half stake Draw Win
Draw Lose Lose by 1 goal Win 50%
Lose Lose Lose by 2+ goals Lose
 

-1.5

 Win by 2+ goals Win  

+1.5

 Win Win
Win by 1 goal Lose Draw Win
Draw Lose Lose by 1 goal Win
Lose Lose Lose by 2+ goals lose
 

-2.0

 Win by 3+ goals Win  

+2.0

 Win Win
Win by 2 goals Stake returned Draw Win
Win by 1 goal Lose Lose by 1 goal Win
Draw Lose Lose by 2 goals Stake returned
Lose Lose Lose by 3+ goals Lose

 

Conclusion

Although Asian Handicap betting is more complex than ordinary football betting, there are many occasions when it is likely to provide a closer match to your thoughts on the game. For instance, if you think that your team will win, but there is a reasonable possibility that it could end in a draw, then you could select bet on a handicap that would pay out on both eventualities, in other words keeping the draw on your side.

For instance, if you selected a +0.25 handicap, if your team wins then you win at the stated odds, and if there is a draw, then half your stake will be returned.

Certainly, understanding the Asian handicap is another string to your betting bow, even if you use it just occasionally. At the very least, it’s a fun way to bet. 

Double your betting bank and win up to 90% of your bets with this top betting system.

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Webb – Genius Betfair Trader & Software Developer

/0 Comments

Peter Webb is a sports betting trader who has become well known as an expert Betfair trader. Trading on Betfair from the outset, he is one of the betting exchange’s top 0.1% of users.

He makes frequent appearances on radio and TV and writes for several journals. In 2005 he launched Bet Angel, a set of Betfair software trading tools.

Early days

Peter’s interest in the fundamentals of gambling was kindled at a young age and stems from the time when he would help his father complete his football pools coupon.  He learned that gambling is all about understanding the risk and manipulating it create long-term profit.

After leaving school his first job was with a computer distribution company. He then went on to work for Compaq and subsequently Medion PC, but in 2003 he made the life-changing decision to devote his time to trading on betting exchanges. He has certainly been extraordinarily successful in doing so too and thinks nothing of putting £20,000 or so on a single race.

Webb on Betfair trading

When he first started trading, he investigated a wide range of markets, developing various strategies. Finally, he homed in on horse racing mainly because of the amount of money the sport attracts. It wasn’t always easy; he had to devote considerable time to understanding its nuances before he was satisfied.

Webb doesn’t base his decisions on studying form. Rather he bases them on the current price of a horse and where he thinks it will move to. Essentially, he as assessing the value and has become very adept at it.

As well as horse racing, he also focuses on important football matches which attract big money and provide the opportunity for him to trade £50,000 to £80,000 on the match. He will also trade on dog races, tennis and “X-factor” for which he claims he provided a substation proportion of the equity.

Only One Betfair Deposit Ever

When Betfair opened in 2000, Webb was one of the early players, depositing £1,000 in its first week. His first bet was for £5. That £1,000 was his only deposit but the cash in his account snowballed, and now he keeps it at around £250,000, which he considers adequate as trades are settled immediately. This means he can re-bet his capital immediately.

He usually begins to trade 10 minutes before the start of the race. He says that most of the money is bet about 5 minutes before the start. As soon as the race starts, he has no further interest so moves on to the next race. This keeps him busy, especially when he is simultaneously trading on the Australian markets that open at 2.00 am; UK markets from 2.00 to 5.00 pm; and US markets from 9.00 pm to 1.00 am.

Bet Angel

Webb has also developed a suite of specialist trading software he markets under the brand Bet Angel. Initially launched in 2005, it has been continually updated and now includes numerous enhancements including super-high-speed Betfair streaming.

One spin-off is the Bet Angel Academy which offers online training covering expertise levels from novice to master class.

What is Betfair trading?

As Betfair is a betting exchange, you can buy and sell bets. No bookmaker is involved, so you are dealing with other individuals. Betfair makes its money by charging a small fee on your activities. As with financial markets, your aim is to buy at a low price, and you sell at a high price. In betting terms, your aim is to lay low (buy) and back high (sell). This way you can lock in a profit in advance of the event starting. 

The key is to place an initial back or lay where you think the price might move in your favour. If this happens, you can lock in a profit by placing a closing bet to cover your potential loss leaving you with a win-win position.

Interested in becoming a top Betfair trader like Peter Webb? Well check out this top Betfair trading guide that teaches you how to “scalp” the markets like an expert.

 

 

 

 

Match fixing

Are Football Matches Still Fixed and Can You Profit From Them?

/0 Comments

Across the top leagues in Europe, investigators maintain that up to 300 games are fixed every season. In fact, football match-fixing is a global problem that may penetrate all corners of the game, even the Premiership.

We will look briefly at some of the more notorious examples and examine how we might be able to identify potentially fixed games; it’s all in the betting patterns. Touching briefly on the ethics of betting on fixed games, we will look at the possibility of making a profit and how to avoid some of the football betting scams that you might come across on social media.

Famous Football Betting Scandals

Over the years, many football scandals have been exposed; here are some of the most infamous and the most recent:

  • – One of the most notorious British football betting scandals was uncovered in the 1960s. It was organised by the late Jimmy Gauld, a football player who turned to match-fixing after his career ended prematurely after he broke a leg. After several lucrative years, he eventually came clean and, in the process, incriminated several other football players. Sentenced to four years imprisonment and a huge fine, he was immortalised in a movie called “The Fix.”
  • – The most recent British scandal emerged in 2013. Revealed following various press investigations, six people were arrested for conspiracy to commit bribery, five of whom were found guilty. It emerged at the trial that it cost around £70,000 to fix a match.
  • – In the same year operation VETO investigated Asian organised crime syndicates which influenced 380 football matches globally. The scam raised around €8,000,000. Fifty people were arrested.
  • – The latest scandal was revealed in July 2018 and resulted in Emanuele Calaiò, a Parma forward, receiving a two-year ban for match-fixing.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. There is little doubt that football match-fixing is at least as prevalent today as it ever has been. Last year the football manager Joey Barton received an 18-month ban after placing 1,260 football bets. Following his ban, he revealed to the newspapers that match-fixing is rife and the FA is incapable of dealing with the problem.

Making money from fixed football matches

If it were possible to know in advance if a match had been fixed, then there is a clear opportunity to profit from this knowledge. This brings in a big ethical dilemma. For those of us who love football, match-fixing is a huge threat to the integrity of the sport. In fact, following the 2013 scandal mentioned above, sentiment analysis of the resulting social media posts and tweets demonstrated that overall the public was outraged, with disgust, fear and anger being the most common responses.

Of course, not everyone feels that way. What would you do should you find a £20 note on a deserted street? In the final analysis it’s your decision, but next, we will look at how some people might go about trying to identify potentially fixed matches. The answer is in the betting patterns. 

How to identify a fixed football match

The only realistic way to identify fixed football matches is to adopt the same approach as the authorities and organisations such as Sportradar who gather and analyse sports data on behalf of bookmakers.

Don’t underestimate the sophistication of seasoned match-fixers. Their aim is to place bets on outcomes they can readily influence and that are hard to detect. The large football betting markets are match odds and over/under 2.5 goals. However, exact score markets and over/under 1.5 and 0.5 goals markets are relatively small, so any high-volume bets placed on these are easy to spot and will ring alarms.

Thus, a favourite target for match fixers is over/under 2.5 goals. In a league where the number of goals is close to 2.5 it would need only a small influence by players and match officials to force the result one way or the other, and the activity would be very difficult to detect. Sophisticated statistical analysis of betting patterns in these markets can reveal anomalies in betting volumes that suggest match-fixing. The analysis can also highlight the potential influence of specific match referees.

However, doing this requires access to massive amounts of betting data, which is simply not available to the public. It also requires a deep understanding of sophisticated data analysis techniques. While organisations such as Sportradar do all this on a routine basis, for the ordinary punter identifying fixed football matches isn’t feasible.

What about the adverts that claim to identify fixed games?

It is sad that given our current degree of internet savvy people are still taken in by the most basic of scams. Such websites are simply a variant of getting rich quick scams that will leave you high and dry. Don’t be taken in; if they really knew which matches are fixed, why would they go to the effort of telling you?

Finally

Sports betting is the one area of gambling that rewards detailed sports knowledge with value bets which over time will provide a profit. Your time will be far better spent developing your football betting techniques that chasing rainbows such as fixed football matches.

Probably the best thing you could do is join a matched betting service like Profit Maximiser, or a top tipster like the Football Guru.

 

 

 

 

The Shortlist

The Shortlist Betting System

/0 Comments

We’ve just managed to secure an 85% discount on a new and incredibly profitable tipping service…

Have a look at this video showing their profit from horse racing over three months on Betfair:

Check out the video here.

These guys already have a great reputation in the online racing niche, and it looks like they’re raising the bar yet again with their new service, The Shortlist.

This is way more than your bog standard tipping service. The Shortlist offers a unique compilation of proven profitable tips, trends analysis, training courses, betting systems, and more…

And as far as we can see, this includes everything you could ever need to start taking home a real and substantial income from your betting…

Just check out some of the benefits that are on offer…

– Profits in 5 Minutes Per Day via The Shortlist Tipping Service…
– 267.38 Points Profit recording over an eight month period
– Consistent Winners from a 36.46% Strike Rate
– A Residual Income Source that’s Easy and Fun to make

And not only that, if you don’t see a profit within 30 days, you’ll get 100% of your money back…

You can check out the Shortlist here.

 

 

 

 

arbitrage

A Quick Guide to Arbitrage Betting

/0 Comments

Finding a betting system that works is a goal for most bettors. Most betting systems rely on mathematical formulae to beat the bookmaker and give themselves the best chance of a profit, but coming up with a system is not easy, despite the claims of hundreds of websites.

But you can make a profit from sports gambling, either by developing your own systems to provide a long-term yield – this requires analysis, research and an expert knowledge of the sport – or by following a tried and tested system which may require a subscription. As our website shows, some systems fail, some will help you break even and some will actually make you a profit. But good systems are few and far between.

In theory, the arbitrage betting system works. But like any system, it has drawbacks. The system relies on identifying discrepancies in bookmakers’ prices. This can be difficult as it involves some complex mathematics and also requires the bettor to act quickly before the opportunity is lost.
The term derives from the world of stock market trading and there was even a film dedicated to the subject.

How does arbitrage betting work?

In simple terms, arbitrage betting involves betting on both outcomes in an event. This is best applied to sports matches where a draw is not possible such as a singles tennis match.

In these events, there can be enough variation in bookmakers odds to create a situation where betting on both outcomes can guarantee a small profit.

This can happen because the bookmakers do not agree on who will win, or one bookmaker will adjust the odds to attract more money to that side of the book. Remember, top bookies are always trying to balance their books to create a profit for themselves, but they do not always get their predictions right as the EU referendum in the UK showed. And freak results can sometimes catch everybody out such as Leicester City winning the Premier League in 2016 after being priced at 5000/1.

How to spot an arbitrage opportunity

If you think there is a discrepancy between bookmakers’ odds, you can apply the following formula to establish if there is a profit opportunity:

• (100/decimal odds of bet 1) + (100/decimal odds of bet 2) = X

If the result is less than 100 then there is an arbitrage opportunity. You would then split your bet into two stakes based on the same formula:

• Stake 1 would be (100/decimal odds of bet 1)
• Stake 2 would be (100/decimal odds of bet 2)

Example of an arbitrage bet:

You notice Marcos Baghdatis (Player 1) is priced at 1.40 with Betway (Bookmaker A) in the US Open match against Mikhail Youzhny (Player 2) while his opponent is priced at 3.00, but another bookie (Bookmaker B) has Youzhny priced at 4.00:

• Bookmaker A: Player 1 is 1.4 and Player 2 is 3.0
• Bookmaker B: Player 1 is 1.3 and Player 2 is 4.0

If you backed both outcomes with Bookmaker A you would lose money. If you backed both outcomes with Bookmaker B you would lose money.

But if you backed Player 1 with Bookmaker A and Player 2 with Bookmaker B, you could guarantee a profit.

If we put those odds into the equation, they look like this:

• (100/1.4) + (100/4) = 96.43

As the result is less than 100, there is an opportunity to guarantee a profit. To achieve this, you would use the same equation to calculate your stake:

• Stake 1 (100/1.4) = £71.43 on Player 1
• Stake 2 (100/4) = £25 on Player 2

Based on a total stake of £96.43, the results would look like this:

• Player 1 wins: Total return = £100; total profit = £3.57
• Player 2 wins: Total return = £100; total profit = £3.57

By identifying this discrepancy in the bookmakers’ prices, a profit is guaranteed, whatever the outcome.

 

The downside of arbitrage betting

The first thing you may notice is that the profit is very small compared to the stake. This is a typical characteristic of arbitrage bets. It also means that you may face a heavy loss if you make a mistake of miscalculation. Arbitrage betting requires quick thinking and accuracy to be successful.

You also have to find the betting opportunities in the first place, which can take a lot of time. With such small profits at stake, the time involved in finding bets may not seem worth it. However, eagle-eyed punters will find it easier to spot discrepancies over time. If you do spot an opportunity, you also have to act quick as the bookies’ odds might change at any moment.

Using a system like this is not illegal. However, bookmakers may suspend your account or limit your activity if they suspect you are using a system to beat them.

Due to the small profits, the time involved and the risk of account suspension, arbitrage betting is an unattractive system for most bettors.

 

 

 

 

roulette wheel

The Most Popular Table Games in Vegas

/0 Comments

The Tables have Turned on Las Vegas…

Once upon a time it seemed as though Sin City could do nothing but make an absolute goldmine day after day and year after year… with many never seeing an end to the riches flying through the door. If we’re honest, Vegas still makes an absolute fortune but something that might be about to change, or has already started to change, is where that money comes from.

Whilst the old ladies sat on the one-armed-bandits aren’t likely to be swayed by the internet’s offering of online slots, many millennials have shunned the city in favour of squandering their money online. This has seen the once famous green felt of Las Vegas’ casinos pretty undisturbed.

The stats don’t lie, whilst we aren’t going to shed a tear that Vegas is only making $900 million on Blackjack per year, we decided to put together an infographic that shows just how much the famous strip is changing, below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

LeoVegas

Leo Vegas Review

/0 Comments

LeoVegas is a relatively new player on the gambling scene, having launched in 2013 but has quickly established itself as one of the leading online casinos and sportsbooks.

It primarily markets itself as a mobile gaming experience but can be used equally well on the desktop version. It is perhaps best known for its ubiquitous lion featured throughout its site and marketing, giving it a distinctive brand.

Below we will take a full, in-depth look at LeoVegas and break it down piece by piece – in terms of its Sportsbook, Casino and Mobile App – to see how well it stacks up against its competitors.

We will take a look at all the key info you need to know before deciding to sign up, including:

  • – Is it a site you can trust?
  • – What are the welcome offers and free bets – are they worth doing?
  • – What is the user experience like?
  • – What sports and casino games are offered?
  • – Are the odds offered any good?
  • – How good is the customer service?

And all the other crucial info you need. 

 

LeoVegas Summary

At the current time LeoVegas is primarily a casino and sportsbook, with a very extensive selection of slots games as part of their offering. At the moment they don’t have poker or bingo sections like many of the other online gambling companies, but that may change in time as LeoVegas are a fairly new entrant to the market.

The main details about LeoVegas are as follows:

 

Based: Stockholm, Sweden
Public or Private Company: Public, traded on Nasdaq
Founded: 2013
Licensed:  UK, Malta
E-mail Support: support-en@leovegas.com
Gambling types provided: Sportsbook, Casino, Slots
Welcome Bonus: Yes

 

Those are the key details about LeoVegas but let’s take a look at their key offerings and see how they rate on each of our key metrics. 

 

Sportsbook

The LeoVegas Sportsbook offers a wide range of sports and markets, including in-play betting for many sports. Although they are perhaps best known for their casino, the Sportsbook has a good offering too and should be considered as an option for your sports wagers.

They aren’t currently included on Oddschecker’s list of bookies to compare which is a shame because that would save time when looking at whether their odds are worth taking and would be likely to bring more customers to LeoVegas. Maybe that is something that will happen in time.

 

User Experience (UX)

On the desktop version, the LeoVegas Sportsbook is generally good but could be a little more user friendly. For example rather than selecting your sports and markets from a side menu as with most bookies, you have to tick the options you want from a drop-down menu before the odds are displayed. But that is a small point really and generally it is a nice, clean site and works particularly well on the mobile version, which is its forte. 

UX Score: 3/5

 

Free Bet Welcome Offer – Sportsbook

LeoVegas Sportsboook has a very good welcome bonus of up to £/€50 for new customers, which is one of the best sign-up bonuses around.

The offer is available to those over 18 years old and is for new customers only. The minimum stake is £10. First single wager of minimum odds 1/1 will be matched with a 50% free bet up to £50 for in-play & mobile use only. Excludes Horse Racing. Skrill/Neteller deposits do not qualify. T&Cs apply – please see full terms here.  

Free Bet Welcome Offer score: 4.5/5

 

Special Offers, Bonuses and Reloads

There are some excellent special offers and bonuses with LeoVegas for existing customers, which change over time but the current ones include:

Weekly Rewards:- each week, when you place five In-Play bets of £15 or more via mobile, LeoVegas will give you a £10 Free Bet with the LeoVegas Bet Club.

Bet Five Times Get a Free Bet:- Each week simply place five qualifying bets on football, darts, tennis, rugby union or rugby league via mobile between 00:01 on Monday and 23:59 on Sunday to unlock your mobile Free Bet. 

There are also other ongoing offers as part of the LeoVegas Bet Club so look out for those.

(For all the above offers please note T&Cs apply, 18+).

Special offers, bonuses and reloads score: 4/5

 

Sports Offered

There are a large number of sports offered by the LeoVegas Sportsbook, including:

  • – Football
  • – Horse Racing
  • – Tennis
  • – American Football
  • – Athletics
  • – Aussie Rules
  • – Boxing
  • – Cricket
  • – Darts
  • – Golf
  • – Greyhounds
  • – Ice Hockey
  • – Motorsports
  • – Olympic Games
  • – Politics
  • – Rugby League
  • – Rugby Union
  • – Snooker
  • – TV & Novelty
  • – UFC/MMA

So a wide range of sports and events there and in total there are over 35 sports offered, which is a very good number and there should be something for everyone.

Sports Offered Score: 4.5/5

 

In-Play Betting

As you would expect with most modern Sportsbooks these days, in-play betting is offered by LeoVegas with top sports like football, tennis, cricket, baseball, golf and pretty much all the sports mentioned above also being available to bet on in-running. 

When we were testing we could not see a cash-out option though, so they would benefit from adding this as a number of other bookies that have in-play betting have a cash-out button now.

In-Play Betting Score: 3.5/5

 

Odds Offered

With LeoVegas not featured on Oddschecker, it is a little difficult to give a comprehensive assessment of how good the odds they offer are relative to the other bookies. However, in our own experience the odds they offer are fair and certainly no worse in general than any of the other major players in the market.

 

OVERALL LEOVEGAS SPORTSBOOK RATING:

Overall we like the LeoVegas Sportsbook as it offers a wide range of sports with in-play options and has some nice bonuses and offers, both as a welcome and for existing customers. It would be nice to see them on Oddschecker and hopefully that will be added soon.

 

 

Payment Choices with LeoVegas

There are various options for making payments into and from your LeoVegas account, including Paypal, Skrill and Neteller and of course debit and credit cards with Visa and Mastercard. Making payments is a fairly smooth process and it is one of the better sites for that.

 

Deposit Choices: Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, Neteller, Bank Transfer, Paysafecard, Trustly
Minimum Deposit: £10
Maximum Deposit: £1,000
Minimum Withdrawal: £20
Currencies Accepted: GBP, Euro, AUD, SEK

 

The minimum withdrawal is a little higher than the minimum deposit, which is a shame but for most punters this shouldn’t make much of a difference. Withdrawals of up to £10,000 can be made without fees which is good. As with most online sportsbooks/casinos, you have to complete KYC requirements by providing ID documents, but this only has to be done once and does confirm that this is a genuine company taking their regulatory obligations seriously.

 

 

LeoVegas Casino

So having taken a look at the LeoVegas Sportsbook, it is time to focus on their casino and see how it compares to other competitors online. Let’s break it down by section and see how everything stacks up.

 

Welcome Offer – 100% Bonus Up to £300 + 30 Spins

The LeoVegas Casino has an excellent Welcome Offer for new customers of a 100% bonus up to £300 + 30 spins. This is a very good offer in terms of the bonus amount and is well worth taking advantage of. There is also an offer of 20 free spins with no deposit upon signing up, making it even better!

 

Deposit Bonus: 100% up to £300
Minimum Deposit: £10
Wagering Requirements: 35x deposit bonus and spins
Max. stake using bonus: £5
Excluded deposits from offer: Neteller & Skrill

 

Please note that the offers are 18+ and new customers only. For no deposit spins registration is required. Spins on Book of Dead are subject to change & expire 3 days from activation.

For the first Deposit bonus – Min. £10 deposit. 100% up to £300 + 30 bonus spins. Bonus spins on Book of Dead are subject to change & must be used within 3 days from activation. Bonus spins are activated after wagering a min. of £5 from deposit. The welcome bonus and all spins must be wagered 35x times before the bonus or any winnings can be withdrawn. Max. stake using bonus is £5. Skrill and Neteller deposits are excluded from this offer. Eligibility restrictions apply. Full T&Cs can be found here. 

Casino Welcome Offer Score: 4/5

 

Reload Offers

LeoVegas have offered a number of reload offers in the past, including a 50% reload bonus up to £50.

They do not have any reload offers at the current time, but they do have a “VIP Experience” which is a Monthly Prize Draw giving away fantastic prizes like the latest Apple products, exclusive VIP event experiences and much more! There are VIP levels based on how much you bet and then every month one lucky lion from each VIP group level will get their paws on a fantastic prize. You can see your journey progress by a quick look at your VIP BAR, which automatically grows a little bit with every real money bet you place. You can check out more about the VIP Experience here. 

Casino Reloads Score: 3/5

 

 

Games Offered

One of LeoVegas strongest points is the range of games it offers on its casino. Including slots games, they have over 800 games offered! We are not sure if that is a record amongst online casinos but it certainly puts it up there with the best.

In terms of the traditional casino games, they offer what you would expect with also some themed games, including:

  • – Roulette
  • – Football Studio
  • – Celebrity Blackjack Party
  • – American Live Roulette
  • – Sports Blackjack
  • – Baccarat
  • – Three Card Poker
  • – Caribbean Stud Poker
  • – Texas Hold’ Em
  • – Double Ball Roulette

In addition to all these traditional casino games, there are also over 800 other games and slots, which is quite remarkable. They are obviously far too numerous to list here, but here are the some of the most popular:-

Top Games

  • – Book of Dead
  • – Bonanza
  • – Starburst
  • – Immortal Romance

Jackpots

  • – Mega Moolah
  • – Mega Fortune Dreams
  • – Diamond Jackpots
  • – Major Millions

Slots

  • – House of Doom
  • – Hot Safari
  • – Dragon Kingdom
  • – Valley of the Gods

Instant Win

  • – Fruit Blast
  • – Pot Luck
  • – Football Frenzy

Plus of course there are hundreds more, which as we say makes LeoVegas Casino one of the best in terms of the range of casino games and slots offered.

Games Offered Score: 5/5

 

User Experience (UX)

Much like with the Sportsbook user experience, LeoVegas Casino offers a very good UX, with easy navigation, nice presentation and so many options to play various games, as described above. This is particularly true with the mobile App, which was the original offering from LeoVegas and is a high quality design. 

User Experience Score: 4/5

 

Reputation & Trust

LeoVegas is a reputable casino and is a public company that trades on the Nasdaq stock market. It is regulated by both the UK Gambing Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority. Its Random Number Generator is independently tested regularly and always scores highly and the games are regulated by eCOGRA, meaning you can have trust that the games are genuine and fair. They have been certified by Gambleaware and carry links to relevant support centres on their site.

Reputation & Trust Score: 4/5

 

Customer Service

Customer support in our experience has always been very good at LeoVegas. They have e-mail addresses as well as phone numbers and live chat to contact with queries and people to help in a number of languages. Queries are normally dealt with within 24 hours, although some may take longer. Help is available all day every day so even on public holidays you should still expect a response. For additional information it can also be worth checking out the FAQs page, which covers regular questions and issues you may have. 

Customer Service Score: 4/5

 

LEOVEGAS CASINO OVERALL RATING:

The casino is a very good offering from LeoVegas and offers a huge range of over 800 games, so whether traditional table games like blackjack and roulette are your thing, or if you prefer fun online games like Book of Dead or Bonanza, or even tend to go for slots, there is something for everyone. There is a good welcome offer of up to £300, although beware the wagering requirements and general T&Cs with that.

The look and feel of the casino is nice and it has a good user experience with excellent customer support, so overall we feel LeoVegas is one of the better casinos out there and is worthy of a strong rating.

 

 

LeoVegas Mobile App

As mentioned previously, one of the things LeoVegas prides itself on is its Mobile App. The mobile app was actually developed before the desktop version, which is very unusual in this day and age. However, LeoVegas have projected themselves very much as the mobile gaming experience, so it is perhaps not that surprising.

The App is very usable and has generally positive user reviews, with an average of 4 stars on the App Store for example. The newer version is also sleeker and easy to use, with quick navigation to the things you need like bet placement. 

Mobile App Score: 4/5

 

 

CONCLUSION – LEOVEGAS REVIEW

So there you have it, our complete LeoVegas review. Overall we think this is a great online betting site with a nice style to it with the lion featuring heavily in their branding and a good look and feel to the site. Some very good welcome and reload offers, plus a huge range of games and sports to bet on make this one of the most innovative and impressive bookies to have entered the market in recent years. Dive in and have a go if you’re not already signed up.

LEOVEGAS OVERALL RATING: