Founded in 1997, Sportingbet has developed into one of the most recognizable brands in the South African gambling industry. With 8,000 different betting opportunities every single day across 30 different sports, there is something to suit every taste at Sportingbet.

If you love sports betting then Sportingbet is the site for you. They have the largest sportsbook in the country and have a fantastic welcome bonus for new customers. Whatever your sporting preference, Sportingbet has it covered. All sports including the not so popular sports are covered. They have an amazing range of online Casino games if that’s your fancy.

Live Games and Virtual games are also well covered. Sportingbet is one of the leading bookies and is highly visible due to its great sports sponsorship. If you are looking for a bookie that has all bases covered then look no further than Sportingbet.

The name is synonymous with sports betting and their experience in the gambling market certainly shines through. Do not take my word for it, just take a few minutes to read my unbiased review of Sportingbet and see for yourself the amazing site for punters

This BettingTop10 review is the personal opinion of our editors who have conducted comprehensive research to save you time and effort. Read on to find out what our experts have to say.

Sportingbet Strengths and weaknesses

Sportingbet is excellent with their wide range of sporting bets and excellent odds but there are a couple of snags that I will highlight to you.

Sportingbet Pros

• First Bet Risk Free up to R2000- Sportingbet has a great welcome bonus whereby they first bet with risk free of up to R2000.This is among the best welcome bonuses on the market. Their rollover clause is 3x the amount which is the best I’ve come across
• Live Streaming Service- I know most punters love to see their teams in action so they can follow the match live. This isn’t always possible but Sportingbet has the great feature that allows you to see your teams perform with their live streaming options
• Cash out Feature- We have all been in the situation where we feel that our bet is not going to win but thanks to the Cash out feature you can cash your ticket before or sometimes during the event

Up to 3 strengths of the bookmaker, it will be displayed in bullets. Explain the strength, why do you think it is a strength, why or how it benefits you.

Sportingbet Cons

• Mobile App Speed: The Sportingbet App is very quick and easy to download but the speed on the app is much slower than the desktop version. They also don’t have a data free version like most of their other competitors

Sportingbet Welcome Package

Sportingbet understands the highly competitive nature of online gambling and they have implemented a fantastic welcome offer to new customers. There are numerous welcome bonus offers but the rollover clause can be as high as 6x but with Sportingbet they have the lowest rollover clause of 3x

Sportingbet Welcome Bonus

1st Deposit Match of up to R2000 The bonus is immediately available after you make your first deposit. The welcome bonus is applicable to only new players.

  How to claim Sportingbet Welcome Bonus

• To claim the Sportingbet Welcome Bonus you need to follow these easy steps
• Visit Sportingbet and open a new account, click on the Sign Up tab on the top of the page to visit the Sportingbet registration page
• In order to participate in this promotion the new player must make a successful first deposit within 30 days after registration
• Sportingbet will Issue a Bonus equal to the player’s first deposit amount up to R2000
• Bonuses will be issued instantly upon successful deposit.

Sportingbet Welcome Bonus Terms and Conditions

• This 1st deposit match offer is only available to new customers who have not been customers of Sportingbet at any time in the past
• Bonus and Deposit funds will need to be played through 3 times before being withdrawn at odds of 1.5 (1/2) or greater
• To qualify for the bonus you must make a minimum deposit of R50
• The Bonus will be available for a limited time only and players must use their Bonus within 30 days of it being issued
• Bonuses not used within 30 days will be forfeited

Sportingbet Best Sports Features

Sportingbet not only offers a fantastic welcome bonus, but they also have some amazing features that will excite all sport punters. I will take you through some of these incredible features.

Sportingbet Edit My Bet

Build a Bet gives you the freedom to create the Football bet you want by placing a same-game Multi Bet. Now you can choose multiple outcomes from one match. Eg. Which player will score the first goal and will there be a penalty in the match.

Sportingbet Multi Bet Special

We all hate when we lose our multi bet selections and the pain is tenfold when we are out by that single leg. Now Sportingbet feels your pain and will refund your initial stake if you miss your bet by one leg.

It works in the following way:

• Place a ‘Match Result’ multiple of five or more selections
• Individual selections must be at odds of 1.5 or greater
• Minimum stake to qualify R5
• Get Free Bet (max R500) if you miss by one

 Sportingbet First To Three

This feature is an industry first whereby there are three selected football matches. If you can correctly predict the first goal scorer in each match then you win the weekly jackpot prize of a whooping R10 000.

Sportingbet Sports Coverage

When I joined Sportingbet I was in awe of their sportsbook and can without a doubt say that they have the widest range of sports coverage in the country. There are many other bookies that may have more in depth coverage of a particular sport but nobody comes close to Sportingbet overall coverage. Football as expected has the widest and most in depth coverage but other major sports are also superbly covered. I’m going to take a closer look at each sport and its coverage.

Football

As with any bookie, football has the best coverage by Sportingbet as they cover all the major European leagues like the EPL, La Liga. Serie A and the Bundesliga to name a few. For the punters who love betting on our local PSL, well you are in for a treat as there are comprehensive markets available on our Premier League. Sportingbet has the One leg Out feature available for punters so that they can get their stake refunded if their multi bet loses by one leg.

Rugby

South Africa is a rugby crazy country and it’s great to see that Sportingbet recognizes this and has a wide range of coverage for the second most popular sport. All the major leagues like the Gallagher Premiership, the United Rugby Championship, the French Top 14 and the NPC Bunnings are extensively covered. Many of the bookies only show the odds on these matches a day before they are played but I’m glad that Sportingbet has these markets available almost 5 days before the event.

Cricket

Cricket is hugely popular with punters especially the T20 format where every delivery is a potential boundary or wicket. There are so many T20 tournaments being held around the world and Sportingbet has them all covered. The big budget IPL has markets for everything from who wins the toss to which batsmen will hit the most sixes. Other leagues like the Big Bah from Australia and the Hundred from the UK are also extensively covered.

Horse racing

Sportingbet has outshone all its competition when it comes to their coverage of horseracing. Horse racing punters have been neglected by some bookies although this is a huge market in the betting world. They have coverage of all the local racing and I was pleasantly surprised to see markets for races around the world from the UK to the USA. No doubt Sportingbet will have pleased the thrones of horse punters out there.

Tennis

In terms of tennis betting markets, Sportingbet has everything you could possibly want. On the live betting front, the attention to detail is exceptional. For example, for any given match, you will be able to bet on who won more points on their first serve and which player will have the higher first serve %.

Live Casino and Bet Games

For all those that prefer the Live Bet games and the Casino games then you are in for a treat as Sportingbet has all the bases covered. In the Bet Games menu they have the Lucky Numbers and the popular local game of dice. In the Casino menu is where they really shine as they have the old favorites like Poker, Blackjack, Baccarat and Roulette while they have also added a range of new games like Deal or No Deal and Dreamcatcher. Sportingbet has one of the most extensive coverage of Live Games

Sportingbet sponsorship deals 

Sportingbet has been sponsoring Wolves football club from the time they were in League One up until they rise into the Premier league.

 Sportingbet Betting Markets & Types of Bets Available

Sportingbet has a vast array of betting options covering all sports from the most popular like football to the more obscure sports like combat fighting. Their markets for football betting are second to none and at any given time there are tens of thousands of bets available to bet on.

Football Betting Markets

• The most popular sport in the country is football and Sportingbet has really taken football betting to a new level with their wide coverage. The most popular leagues for local punters are the English Premier League and our local PSL which have all possible match events covered
• The Build A Bet feature is currently only available for football and this feature gives the punter the opportunity to make serious cash in one match. You can take an accumulator bet within one match and if you know the two teams well then predicting multiple outcomes will not be too difficult.

Sportingbet Types of Bets Available

• The most popular bet with punters are the multi bets purely because of the potential to win huge money. The accumulator is naturally not that easy to win but Sportingbet has helped punters out with their One Leg Out feature on multi bets with more than five selections. This feature rewards you back your stake if your bet loses by one leg.

Sportingbet Mobile App

Most punters bet with their mobiles and Sportingbet has created a mobile app that is simple to download and easy to use. You don’t need to be tech savvy to download or to use the app. The app has all the features of the main site but is not as fast as the main site.

Downloading the app takes a few minutes and these are the easy steps to follow:

• The Sportingbet App is not available from Google Play so you need to log onto the Sportingbet site and click on the A-Z menu
• On the next page you will see the SB logo which is where you click to download the app to your device. After downloading the app, you will be prompted to install the app, you click on install
• After the app is installed you will be given the option to register or to log onto the site

Mobile app’s promotions

There are no specific promotions linked specifically to the app but you can access all the other promotions from the app

• Availability: iOS & Android
• Live Streaming on Mobile: Yes
• Live Betting on Mobile: Yes
• Bonus: Welcome bonus up to R2,000

Sportingbet Banking

Once you complete the easy registration process you are ready to fund your account. There are a multitude of methods to do this. I used the QZOW method which is instant if you have a banking app. Bank transfers are also instant but direct deposits take a day before funds reflect.

Making a deposit at Sportingbet

Some of the options available to punters to fund their Sportingbet account are Сrеdit саrds, including MаstеrСаrd and Visа, Instant ЕFT, Оzоw, Раy U and the Voucher system. The voucher method allows you a minimum deposit of R10 and your account is instantly credited.

This is the simple process to deposit funds:

• Log in to your account
• Go to the ‘Cashier’ tab and select ‘Deposit’
• Choose your preferred payment method
• Enter or select your deposit amount, then click on ‘Deposit’

Requesting a withdrawal at Sportingbet

Requesting a withdrawal at Sportingbet is a simple and easy process with many options available. They have recently added FNB E-Wallet to their options which is great as you can get your money in less than 24 hours. It is important to note that your FICA documents need to be verified before you can withdraw your winnings.

This is the simple process to follow to:

• Log into your Sportingbet account and click on your balance on the top right of the page which will then give you the Cashier option
• Select which option you wish to use and follow the instructions given
• Sportingbet will send you a notification once you make a withdrawal confirming that your transaction is being processed
• The minimum amount that you can withdraw is R50 and the maximum amount is R5 000 000
• Withdrawals take up to 48 hours to reflect in your account

Sportingbet Customer Support

Sportingbet claims to be a market leader with the largest sportsbook which is true but they have let themselves down when it comes to their customer service. Their telephonic support is very poor with long delays coupled with very poor quality sound on their lines. I suggest using their FAQ as it is excellent and will cover most of your questions. They do have a live chat facility available as well.

Sportingbet How to

In this section I will be taking you through the entire process from opening an account at Sportingbet to making your first deposit and claiming your bonuses.

Visit Sportingbet and click the “Open an Account” button at the top of the screen.

Complete the three-step registration process, make your first deposit and start betting.

How To Open An Account At Sportingbet

Opening an account at Sportingbet is a simple process and takes less than two minutes. Even if it’s you first time registering on a betting site you won’t encounter any problem but have all your personal information at hand to speed up the process. All your personal information is protected with encrypted codes and firewalls

Sportingbet Registration process

• Open the Sportingbet website
• Click on the “Register” button
• Input email and create a password
• Enter your personal information in the next step
• You can receive notifications via email or through your mobile number
• Ensure that you fill all the blanks
• Afterwards, click on ‘Create My Account’ button and your account is ready
• After you make your first deposit your account will be credited with the welcome bonus of up to R2000

How to place a bet at Sportingbet

Now that we have created our account and deposited funds we are now ready to make our first bet. Sportingbet has one of the easiest to navigate site so placing a bet is a breeze.

This is the very easy process to follow to place a bet:

• Access your account
• Select one or several bets from our line-up and use the mouse to click on an outcome
• As you make your selections you can view your betslip which is clearly visible on the right of the page
• Next, specify the amount you wish to wager.
• In the third and final phase, you can either confirm the final placement of the bet or cancel it

Please be extra careful when placing your bets as Sportingbet does not cancel bets after they are placed.

Sportingbet In-Play Betting

Sportingbet offers live in-play betting (called also live betting) on a variety of sports including soccer, tennis and rugby. There is an excellent range of markets on each event, along with the option to see which ones are currently being live streamed online.

You are also able to select your favourite events to follow with just the click of a button, ensuring that you can keep across all the action as it happens. Unlike other betting site operators in South Africa, Sportingbet avoids the use of complicated graphics which allows the portal to run quickly.

Sportingbet Live Streaming

Sportingbet has been steadily growing its live streaming service. Place a bet on selected sports such as football, tennis, baseball and badminton to watch the action live. Streaming is available on both desktop and mobile.

Conclusions

From small beginnings, Sportingbet has become one of the best betting sites in the industry. They offer a comprehensive range of markets on a wide variety of sports.

Sportingbet are particularly strong for soccer betting, but they cover all the major sports effectively. Their live betting portal is another major plus point, with punters able to access hundreds of different in-play markets throughout the day.

The company’s live streaming service is growing and the fact it is available on both desktop and mobile is another added bonus.

Live chat would be a welcome addition to the site, while details about banking methods could be laid out in a more user-friendly manner.

However, with efficient telephone and email support, an excellent range of payment options and the knowledge that you are dealing with a trusted operator, Sportingbet is one of the best betting sites around.