Interwetten is an online bookmaker first founded as telephone betting provider in Vienna in 1990. It offers to its users the chance to place bets on sports, casino and other games. The company was one of the first to offer the opportunity to bet online to its customers. All of this happened in early 1997. Interwetten has since retained its popularity and is still in top 50 of the best online betting sites on the internet. Nowadays the bookie is based in Malta and is visited by users from more than 200 countries. Because of the diversity of the clients the site has been translated into 11 languages.
It is well-known that the company was one of the founding members of European Gaming & Betting Association. The online bookmaker has been licensed to offer to bet on the casino, sports, and other games. It has acted as a sponsor for countless clubs, events, and charities. Some of the most famous ones are: the sponsorship of the Formula 1 Team Lotus in 2012 and the Austrian Football First League from 2001 to 2004. In 2015, the site is still one of the most popular ones and tries to keep their users entertained with attractive bonus offers and free bets. The company is celebrating 25 years of its creation this year so you can be sure there will be a lot of offers you can take advantage from.
Interface & Design
The site is easy on the eye and simple to navigate, with a modern design and contemporary colour scheme. One of the things we like best is that esports is featured in the main menu at the top of the homepage, which alone could make this bookmaker a candidate as one of the best esports betting sites. Some sites hide esports away under ‘other sports’, making it harder to find. The available markets are listed on the left-hand side of the screen, just like the Blizzard portal. If you are a CS:GO gambling newbie, or prefer League of Legends betting, you will find each available match listed.
A cool feature is that you can click on the tick-box to list all the available matches you want to bet on, rather than have to click on each one separately. Another real plus is the different tournaments you can bet on, from North America to China, through Europe. It’s very easy to find the main esports tournaments. If you are after League of Legends betting, you can bet on Faker or IMP, or use Interwetten as a CS:GO betting site to bet on Astralis or Virtus. In 2004, Interwetten launched esports betting apps for punters, which have similar usability to the main site.
Bonus Offers & Free Bets
For new members, there is a 100% deposit bonus, which is worth up to €100. This can be used for sportsbook and casino betting. It includes esports markets. This is a demonstration of how this bookmaker is working to make esports a real part of its sportsbook offering; something which we like a lot! However, there are some terms and conditions attached to the Interwetten bonus that are, quite frankly, a bit confusing. There are also the usual wagering requirements and other restrictions, with the deposit amount having to be staked five times at minimum odds of 1.7.
The bookmaker also has bonuses for returning customers, but none of these are for the esports market, as far as we can tell. In fact, unlike some other bookmakers, tracking down the bonuses on the Interwetten site is not that easy! Lots of online bookies shout about their bonuses from the rooftops, but Interwetten plays it closer to the vest. The offers that are available seem to be largely tailored to the casino side of the site, with free spins on the slots, etc. As such, we have to conclude that Interwetten doesn’t offer the best esports betting bonuses but there is still something available to tempt newcomers to wager on these markets through this bookmaker’s site.
Payments
We’re happy to report that few bookmakers are as fast and efficient regarding payment methods as Interwetten. The bookmaker allows payments to be made using the usual Visa, MasterCard and Maestro cards. Diners Club is also accepted. The bookmaker embraces e-wallets, such as Skrill, Neteller and you can also bet with PayPal. Customers can make deposits through pre-pay cards and bank transfer as well. Most methods are immediate, when it comes to deposits (with bank transfer taking up to 10 business days). Minimum deposits are €10. You can deposit easily using the ‘payment options’ tab at the top of the screen. Not surprisingly, while deposit information is readily available, you have to work a little harder to find the payout options, with many of the details only accessible once you’ve logged in.
According to the Interwetten terms of play, first payouts have to be to a bank account. You can then request subsequent payouts to other methods. Payouts are processed within 24 hours. Charges are dependent on the payment methods, with minimum payouts approximately €30. To be honest, we’ve seen more flexible payment structures in place, but the fact that Interwetten is a secure and professional organisation with proper procedures in place gives us peace of mind that esports betting’s legal and above board at this site. Be aware that the bookmaker ‘reserves the right’ to deduct 5% from any winnings as a service fee. This is supposedly charged to players from certain countries, but unfortunately Interwetten doesn’t clarify further. If in doubt, contact customer services.
Betting Information
As mentioned before the site has been licensed to offer wagers on the casino, sports, and online games. You can place your bets on sports such as Soccer, Tennis, Ice Hockey, Formula 1, Baseball, Golf, Rugby, Biathlon and many more. Wagers are also offered for famous events in politics (US president election for example) and the entertainment business. The casino and live casino options will keep you entertained while you wait for your sporting event to start. There you can find Poker, Roulette, Black Jack, Slots, Baccarat and Skill games.
The interface of the site is very simple and easy to understand. You can place your bets with just a few clicks and keep track of the event while it happens. Virtual sports are also a part of the site which can give you the opportunity to bet on virtual soccer matches or tennis. You can always keep track of the number of bets you’ve placed on the Bettings slip, located on the right up corner of the page. Over 8000 bets are offered weekly on more than 45000 sporting events, so you can be sure you’ll never run out of wagers with this bookie. The site has a mobile version, so you can stay on track with the events even when you’re on the go.
Mobile App
The main area of concern for any betting customer is how quickly and easily they can access their favourite sports markets. It is safe to say that Interwetten have made this process fairly straightforward, with the user-friendliness and design of their website being positive in general. Despite not being as quick as some other platforms, with our test showing some lagging in certain areas, Interwetten do provide an efficient sportsbook to their customers. Elsewhere, and as with the majority of online bookmakers, a menu placed on the left-hand side of the page allows users to easily navigate between different sports, with the most popular markets listed at the top of the screen. Meanwhile, in the middle of the page, customers will find the most popular leagues and events from the sport in which they have selected, while an automatically updating betting slip is located on the right. This allows customers to keep a track of their betting selections, as well as choosing what type of bet they wish to place and view their potential returns from the stake inputted. The bet slip is inspired by Gamebookers, one of the most recognisable names within the industry.
With their betting platform available in a range of languages, including English, German, French and Spanish, there truly is a real international feel to Interwetten’s site. Thankfully, Interwetten do not overload customers with unnecessary graphics or data, with the simplicity of their site one of the major positives coming out of this review.
Meanwhile, for customers looking to bet away from their desktop, Interwetten have both designed and introduced a mobile app to the market, perfect for wagering on the go. Available for both iOS and Android users, the download process is efficient too, with users able to find links via the Interwetten website or by searching in their relevant app stores. Unlike their main desktop site, the Interwetten app is actually supremely quick, with bets able to be placed in just a matter of seconds. The fact that it holds all of the same services and features as found on their main site, means that it is even a viable option to become your main betting platform. However, for those who do not wish to download the app, Interwetten have developed a completely mobile-friendly site, meaning that users have more than one option when looking to place bets using their mobile devices.
Interwetten Bonus
Interwetten will 100% match any new customer’s opening deposit up to a maximum of 100 Euros, which is certainly an attractive proposal when compared to the rest of the industry. This means that customers can quickly double their account balance in just a matter of seconds, setting them up perfectly to kick-start their betting strategies with Interwetten. However, with just 14 days in which to rollover the deposit amount at least five times, at odds of 1.70 or more, there bonus does come with stricter requirements than many other bookmakers. Available to all customers with no promo code required, Interwetten’s welcome bonus is still worth taking advantage of, despite its difficult requirements.
Live Streaming
Interwetten offers a good in-play selection of sports, including esports. There is a dedicated ‘live’ tab at the top of the screen that you can use to navigate to current and forthcoming events. Look for the ‘headset’ icon that flags the esports games. This bookmaker also offers a cash-out option, which means that in some cases you can cash out the bet before the event has finished. However, while good live betting is available, if you want to bet on esports while the games are in-play, the same cannot be said about live streaming. Interwetten does offer live streaming, but this is restricted to the likes of football and tennis. To be honest, we’re used to seeing bookmakers that don’t provide esports live streaming, so it would be unfair to penalise Interwetten on this. However, it would be a great improvement for an esports betting site to provide its customers livestreaming or Twitch links. As Interwetten seems to have designs on being among the best betting sites around, maybe some form of live streaming could become a reality one day.
Customer Service
Our Interwetten esports betting site review moves on to customer service. We were impressed by this aspect of the bookmaker’s offering, finding it to be professional, fast and dependable. In fact, Interwetten has received awards for the quality of customer support. Queries and questions are dealt with by phone, with email support also available (in 10 different languages, no less). The customer support team is helpful and knowledgeable, so you can get back to your betting in no time. It’s not all high marks, though.
Regrettably, and somewhat surprisingly, there is no live chat function, which is a great pity. This is something that many bookmakers now offer as standard and it can be really useful at times to get an immediate response from an advisor in real time. A further negative is that, because the company is based in Malta, those of us outside this jurisdiction have to grapple with international codes if we want to call Interwetten. This means the email contact form or social media are probably your best bets. If you have a common query, it’s worth trawling through the FAQ page to see if it’s already been answered. This section of the site covers such issues as forgotten passwords, placing bets and payment methods. Overall, we like the standard of Interwetten’s customer service, but a live chat facility and a simpler telephone contact number would have pushed our rating even higher.
Security
Interwetten was founded in Vienna, Austria, back in 1990, so it’s got a long pedigree in the sports betting world. Initially, bets were only taken by phone before internet betting was embraced in 1997. This highlights the fact that Interwetten is not a ‘fly by night’ bookie, but a well-established brand. This alone should provide some assurance that your money is in safe hands. Transparency, fair play and security are key factors to take into consideration with betting online, and with Interwetten, you can be assured that it maintains high standards. The bookmaker is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, holds European licenses for the majority of its gaming products, and is also part of the ESSA (European Sports Security Association) sports betting integrity scheme. When it comes to payments, Interwetten uses SSL encryption technology and has plenty of stringent procedures in place to keep you (and them) safe from online fraud. The bookmaker also takes steps to ensure customers gamble responsibly. The fair play policy is set out in full on the site, so you can read the terms and conditions at any time to ensure everything in order. So, overall, is Interwetten safe? We’d have to answer in the affirmative and give this bookmaker a high rating when it comes to security.
