Betsafe Review – How Do They Compare to the Top Betting Sites?
Having formed in 2006, Betsafe was originally set up to target the Scandanavian market but they have since morphed into an online bookie which is more than happy to accept customers from the UK and they now actively target this market which is commonly regarded as the most lucrative.
Betsafe have become well known for the Betsafe sign up offer along with other attractive promotions but there has been a negative slant to this sportsbook over the past year in that they can be very quick to limit their customers’ accounts and ban them from any future promotions.
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We will talk about this matter in depth later in this Betsafe review but it is a worrying sign and could make punters think twice about opening an account with them.
- Wide range of markets
- Betsafe Cashout
- Live Streaming Available
- Regulated by UKGC
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Minimum deposit: £5
Let’s Start with the Betsafe Licence
Betsafe are fully regulated by both the UK Gambling Commision and the Malta Gaming Authority (Betsafe are based in Malta) so there is no doubt whatsoever of the credibility of Betsafe com.
It is a requirement that all online bookies who offer a service to UK punters must be regulated by the UK Gambling Commission so as long as you are dealing with a reputable sportsbook, which Betsafe com is, you won’t experience any problems regarding licencing and regulation.
When it comes to the Betsafe com attitude to responsible gambling, Betsafe do seem to take the matter seriously so if their customers are experiencing any problems with their gambling activities, it is just a case of contacting the Betsafe customer support and they should be able to help.
As an aside, when you are reading any kind of Betsafe review or a review of any sportsbook for that matter, if you read that a bookie has great provisions to help anyone who is experiencing problems, it is a great sign that they are a bookie who actually cares about their customers.
The Betsafe Sign up Offer
The Betsafe sign up offer is actually very good and at the time of writing is consists of a maximum matched bonus of up to £30 with a minimum matched bonus of £10.
It is quite refreshing to see bonuses such as this Betsafe sign up offer because the terms and conditions which are attached to it are very straightforward and easy to understand.
Once you have opened an account, you just need to go through the Betsafe login and you will be ready to get started.
It is open to UK and Ireland new customers only, the minimum odds are 1.75 and when the Betsafe bonus code has been awarded, it only needs to be wagered once.
Only deposits made by credit/debit card and PayPal qualify for the Betsafe free bet so it doesn’t matter if you are a speculative punter or a matched bettor, this Betsafe free bet is actually very good and for this reason alone, opening a Betsafe com should be seriously considered.
From time to time there is also what is known as the Betsafe star sixes offer.
They have a specific Betsafe star sixes which revolves around certain football players but it does have a gimmicky feel to it so you would probably be better off by sticking with the basic Betsafe sign up offer.
The Betsafe Markets
Betsafe have a perfectly acceptable range of markets for their customers to bet on.
Football and Betsafe horse racing markets are the most popular markets and this is has become more and more apparent at the Cheltenham festival, especially over the past few years.
The Cheltenham Betsafe horse racing promotions have grabbed the attention of bettors in the UK and along with Paddy Power, they have led the way in terms of the bonuses which they offer during this period.
They also offer betting markets on little known sports such as bandy and Futsal so it would be fair to say that they offer markets which will appeal to most online punters.
The Betsafe Odds
The Betsafe odds are not known for being particularly attractive but never the less, they are not the worst odds you will find in the online gambling industry.
Something which should be noted about Betsafe odds is that they can be slow to move in the horse racing markets and some of you may realise that this will result in arbitrage opportunities.
If you are not familiar with opportunities such as this, the best way to describe them would be to give an example.
Let’s say that a horse by the name of Desperate Dan is running in the 2.30 at Exeter and is priced at odds of 3.20 with Betsafe.
The horse is available to lay on Betfair at 3.40 but with ten minutes to go before the race is due to begin, a flurry of large bets on Desperate Dan on Betfair, brings the lay odds down to 2.60.
Most of the other sportsbooks lower their own odds accordingly but you will sometimes find that bookies like Betsafe will be slow to react so you will be able to place a bet on Desperate Dan with Betsafe at odds of 3.20 but lay the same horse on Betfair at odds of 2.60 which will result in an ideal arbitrage opportunity.
If you had placed a £50 bet on Betsafe and laid the bet on Betfair you would have a guaranteed profit of £9.60 before the race had even started.
Live Betting with Betsafe
It must be said that the live betting platform at Betsafe is excellent.
There is a vast range of live betting markets available and if you click on the ‘In Play’ text which can be found at the top left hand side of the website, you will be given the option to see the in play markets which are available at that particular moment along with a calendar which lists the up and coming in play betting markets.
You will probably be surprised when you see the number of in play sports which are available to bet on, football markets are the most popular but everything from snooker to eSports are also covered.
There is not a great deal of stats or anything like that which are available for the live bettor but to be perfectly honest with you, that can be over looked because the in-play options are first class.
What About Betsafe Live Streaming?
The live streaming options at Betsafe are also better than you might expect and can also be accessed by clicking on the ‘in-play’ text on the website.
When you see the in-play calendar at the top of the page, you will notice a small box which says ‘live stream’.
If you tick this box you will be presented with a list of all of the up and coming live streaming events.
The quality of the live streaming is very good but don’t forget that there is a time delay, especially in football matches which can be up to a minute.
It therefore goes without saying that you shouldn’t base any immediate betting decisions on the live streaming event that you are watching because it doesn’t really represent real time.
Cashing out with Betsafe
The cash out facility is available at Betsafe and you can see which markets are available for cashing out because they have a small ‘cash-out’ icon next to them.
In order to actually cash out a bet, you will need to access your open bets from the ‘open bets’ section of your betting slip and you will see a cash out figure directly underneath your open bet.
If you are happy with the cash out figure that is given, it is just a matter of clicking on the cash out figure, accepting it and then the funds will go directly to your available balance so that you can place further bets or withdraw the cash if you wish.
You will notice that the cash out figure of an open bet will sometimes disappear.
This is because something may have happened in the event which you are betting on, a goal or a penalty in a football match for instance.
When the market has settled, a revised cash out figure will be offered to you.
Is There a Betsafe App?
- Available on both Android and iOS.
- Live bets
- Cash out available
There is a Betsafe app which is available in both Android and IOS.
It has exactly the same feel to it as the desktop version of the website which is always a good thing. Otherwise it can take an age to figure out how to find certain markets to bet on the go.
It also uses the same wallet as the desktop version for deposit and withdrawal purposes and this is an important factor for many punters so they don’t have to bother about transferring funds between different wallets.
Something which is worth mentioning when you download the betsafe app is that there is just the one Betsafe app which caters for the different aspects of their business, sportsbook and casino etc.
With some apps, you would need to download a different app for each aspect of the business and whilst this could be regarded as a good thing, the Betsafe app has got it just about right and you won’t find yourself constantly looking at flashing lights relating to the casino when all that you want to do is place a bet with the sportsbook.
Betsafe Deposits and Withdrawal Methods
Betsafe offers a wide range of deposit options which include bank transfer, Visa and Mastercard, Skrill, Neteller and PayPal.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies for that matter are not accepted but as with most sportsbooks, expect that to change in the not too distant future as these kinds of currencies become more mainstream.
The minimum deposit across all methods is £5 but you should be aware that if you are making a deposit in order to take advantage of the Betsafe sign up offer, deposits which have been made with a web wallet will not qualify.
The Unacceptable Side of the Betsafe Bet Limits!
We have already mentioned that Betsafe can be quick to limit their customers regarding the size of bets that they make so let’s look at this in a little more detail.
Most bookies will limit your bets if you solely use the account to take advantage of free bets and value bets but Betsafe have taken this to the extreme and it is causing an awful lot of ill feeling within the online gambling community.
They have been known to limit the size of bets a customer can make if they have merely used the Betsafe sign up offer and then one of the many other offers that are available.
Let’s look at the worst-case scenario for when this happens.
You are a matched bettor who is taking advantage of a free bet which has a wager requirement.
Your qualifying bet wins with Betsafe so you have a balance in your account which needs to be wagered through.
This wouldn’t usually be a problem because you would just place a couple of bets and lay them off on Betfair but what if you have a wager requirement of £100 to work through and the size of your bets have been limited to 50p!
| Betsafe Banking Options | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sports | Min. Deposit | Withdraw |
| Football | Rugby | Tennis | Golf | £5 | 3-5 Working Days |
| Payment Methods Mastercard Visa Skrill PayPal NETELLER | ||
It really is not acceptable.
Also, you will see the odd Betsafe bonus code and Betsafe free bet regularly advertised on their website but what is the point if using them will been that you will either have your account limited or even closed.
It goes without saying that bookies are a business who don’t want unprofitable (to them) customers but Betsafe have taken this to the extreme and it really is unacceptable.
There is pressure on them from the relevant authorities to change the way that they do business but if they will or not is frankly anyone’s guess.
Registering an Account with Betsafe
The advice for now would be to open a Betsafe account but solely for the sign-up bonus with a view to use the account further down the line when they are more lenient to customers who wish to take advantage of future promotions.
Opening an account is extremely straightforward, just click on the ‘Create Account’ and follow the steps to open an account.
You will then receive an email which will contain a link which you will have to click in order to confirm your email address and your account will then be open.
Just go through the Betsafe login process and you will be ready to get started.
Betsafe usually don’t send a KYC request until you make the first withdrawal from your account so it would be a good idea to have a scan of your driving license/passport and a utility bill which is less than three months old so that you can quickly withdraw your funds when the time comes.
Placing that first bet
If you follow the advice in this Betsafe review, you will be opening an account to take advantage of the Betsafe free bet offer so it is advisable that you make your initial deposit of £30 with a Visa debit card.
Look for a selection which had odds of 1.75 or higher, click on those odds and the selection will appear in your bet slip.
Enter the stake of £30 and submit the bet.
When the bet has been settled, you will receive £30 which has to be wagered once before you can make a withdrawal.
More Betsafe Promotions
We have spoken about the risk when taking advantage of the promotions but for the point of this Betsafe review, let’s take a quick look at what they have on offer.
Acca offers and price boost on certain events are quite common and they also have offers when big sporting events are taking place.
Betsafe Mcgregor was a typical example when Conor Mcgregor was fighting along with an enhanced Betsafe sign up offer which was known as the Betsafe 49 1.
This offer gave odds of 49/1 on Conor Mcgregor to beat Floyd Mayweather in their much anticipated fight.
Also, expect to see lots of promotions during the Cheltenham Festival which takes place every March.
The Betsafe Customer Care
You have to feel sorry for the Betsafe customer care department because they must have to deal with some very angry customers when their accounts have been limited.
That being said though, the live chat in particular are friendly and knowledgeable if sometimes difficult circumstances.
Customer care is available by email, telephone and live chat.
Is Your Betsafe Account Safe and Secure?
The Betsafe website has full SSL encryption so you won’t have any worries regarding the safety and security of your account.
Their attitude to responsible gambling is OK and if you are experiencing any problems you should contact them asap and you will be offered various solutions to help you out, including self-exclusion for a period of time.
Should You Open a Betsafe Account?
We have been rather harsh in this review regarding certain aspects of how Betsafe operate their business but the word from within the online gambling industry is that they are going to have to change for the better the way that they limit customers’ accounts.
The advice for now would be to definitely open a Betsafe account and take advantage of the Betsafe welcome offer which is actually very good.
Then, moving forward, take advantage of any future promotions but with smaller stakes and also use this bookie for bets which are not related to any promotions.
You will probably find that this is a sportsbook that you enjoy doing business with and if their stance on limiting account changes in the future, it could very well end up being one of the better sportsbooks on the market.
