Sky is a major global brand, with a dominant sports subscription channel and numerous other media interests. Their bookmaking arm, Sky Bet, was launched back in 2000 when the company bought up a diminutive online betting firm named, Surrey Sports. After a quick rebranding drive and many other acquisitions, Sky Bet was born in 2002. They operate solely online and are regulated by the by Alderney Gambling Control Commission, as well as the UK Gambling Commission.
You can find over thirty markets to choose from on their site and the odds are reliably competitive in most instances. Along with the most popular sports, like football, cricket and horseracing, you can also find plenty of obscure events if you like to have a side line. To keep up with all the latest news, visit the Sporting Life tab which provides tips, news, fixture updates and columns from industry experts.
Betting markets and odds quality
Sky is one of the biggest names in UK sport and their TV channel screens a huge range of events throughout the year. This coverage includes the various markets on their betting site, so there really is a sport for every punter. The extensive list includes; Aussie rules football, basketball, cycling, formula one, handball, ice hockey, MMA, rugby, snooker, and winter sports. You can also refine a search by tournament; just browse through the left hand side of the page for information on popular clashes like the Six Nations or the Premiere League.
If the sport is shown on their TV channel, it’s likely you’ll find it in their sportsbook, from World Cup finals to squash, yachting, and even specials that focus on TV and film. However, as a UK based company the primary focus is on UK fixtures, with football and horseracing taking centre stage. Football games can have hundreds of betting lines, including some that are difficult to find elsewhere, like whether the 3rd official will add any time, and how much that could be. Sky Bet have created their sportsbook as a standalone site, so unlike the majority of online bookmakers you don’t get the chance to click over to the casino for a few card games, or to speculate on the financial markets. To do so, you’ll need to navigate to another product, like Sky Poker or Sky Bingo and also sign up there. The lack of extraneous content may come as a relief to some, but others will miss the added entertainment value of Vegas style games.
Sky Bet claim to have the Bests Odds Guaranteed each day on every Irish and UK horse or greyhound race. This applies to each way, single and multiple bets, on each qualifying race, every day of the year. For example, if you have placed a bet on a greyhound or horse that wins at a starting price of 5/1, but was placed at 5/2 earlier, you will still get the better value odds. On this bet it would net you an extra £25 if you entered a £10 stake, so for people who enjoy domestic racing this is a great little offer. In terms of odds, Sky Bet has earned a fair reputation across the sportsbook, though they tend to be more generous on football. The odds here will not always be the best around, but they are competitive and a number of enhanced odds deals can add to their value. One type is the ‘price boost’; here a whole list of odds is enhanced right before a game. This could be on a certain striker to score and his team to win, and the odds could move from 5/1 to 7/1. You can find these promotional odds in the left hand menu under Promotions. Always have a look here before laying down your bets, as there is usually a swathe of more favourable terms to snap up, especially on highly anticipated events.
Using the Sky Bet website
The Sky Bet website is attractively rendered in deep blue and simple to get around, with a wide range of clearly labelled links. The interface is ideal for everyone from first time visitors, to people who’ve had an account for years – because it behaves in exactly the way you’d expect it to. Sky have a wealth of broadcasting experience and this is very evident on the site, information is well-laid out, there’s an absence of clutter and the sections make sense.
One feature that’s bound to be a hit with anyone who likes to place a few crafty bets when they’re at work, is ‘Boss Look Busy’. This can be reached through the red and black icon above the social media buttons. Click it to switch the screen to an official-looking spreadsheet showing a series of comical graphs and charts, with titles like ‘How believable are sports presenters?’ and ‘% of comedy pie charts that are actually amusing’.
Bonuses and promotions
The Sky system is great because the various products are separated this means each section is not too cluttered yet it is very simple to move between the sportsbook and casino. If you predominantly play casino games but want access to a sportbook then the SkyCasino sign up offer may be a better route to take . Note, you can only claim either the SkyBet or SkyCasino offer not both and bonuses are not transferable between sections, but it is easy to move real cash funds between them.
SkyBet have a great balance of offers, from daily price boosts to the weekly free £5 free bet and the free to enter Super 6 with regular money back specials or enhanced odds promotions on big events too. Details of a couple of very good ongoing betting offers are shown here:
- SkyBet Club – SkyBet’s Free Bet Club is a way for punters to get a steady stream of free bets. Simply bet a total of £25 in a week on any sports and SkyBet will give you a £5 free bet to use the following week. If you keep betting £25 a week you will keep getting the £5 freebies, and if you miss a week you can always get yourself back into the Free Bet Club by betting a total of £25+ again.
- Super 6 – Super 6 is SkyBet’s FREE football predictions game in which you need to correctly predict the scores of six football matches to win the massive £250,000 weekly jackpot. There is even a free mobile app you can use to play Super 6 each week.
- Best Odds Guaranteed – SkyBet, like many of the best bookies around, offer Best Odds Guaranteed on all UK and Irish horse races, so if your selection has a starting price that is higher than the odds which you took and it goes on to the win the race, the bookie will pay out at the higher odds, just to be nice. Stream races live too when you have bet just £1 on them.
- Price Boost – An excellent daily enhanced odds feature from SkyBet for existing customers. Each day for selected events SkyBet will boost the odds of certain betting lines or sometimes entire markets. Don’t worry if you placed your bet before the price boost as this is applied retrospectively too.
To claim the massive 600% casino bonus click on the banner above, register and deposit £10 or more. A £60 bonus will immediately be awarded to your account. To withdraw the bonus and winnings you will need to wager the bonus 50x, slot games contribute 100% to the rollover requirement and table games 20%. On your second deposit SkyCasino will match this 100% too up to £250 (min £20). This has a rollover of 30x deposit + bonus within 30 days, stakes contribute the following amount – Slots 100%, Roulette 20% and Blackjack 10%.
Customer Support
Customer support is an important criterion for punters when considering an online casino, so as to prevent any complications or undue losses. Customers of Skybet receive UK-based support through various channels. You can reach out to the support team through phone calls, live chat, and email. The phone lines are available from 8 AM to midnight, and the live chat support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The only concern highlighted by our Skybet reviews is about the waiting time, but it can be looked over since they deal with huge problems at once. We also give them due credit for having both phone and live chat support since other competitors in the market slack in customer support services.
SkyBet might take time, but they are sure to solve all your queries and grievances. Also, they have a very detailed Frequently Asked Questions section, where you can find extensively covered questions regarding almost every aspect of betting and SkyBet policies.
Safety
To bet on SkyBet, a customer can utilize any of the channels for SSL-encrypted transactions. Your data and privacy are protected throughout the process, which gives betting customers one less thing to worry about. There are no limits to transactions unless you put them in place yourself.
Is SkyBet secure? The answer is most surely a yes. SkyBet is backed by a corporate giant and is a licensed entity, holding a license from the UK Gambling Commission and Alderney Gambling Control Commission. The opinion of the users also holds a huge stake in the opinion of safety and trustworthiness and you’ll find that our SkyBet ratings are quite steady when it comes to the safety and security of betting. Our SkyBet reviews showed positive results where customers trusted this operator to bet on top sports matches. Skybet is committed to responsible gambling ethos and have multiple self-help tools available so that players can manage their gambling habit and prevent it from becoming an addiction. In addition, Skybet is a GamCare accredited sportsbook and the best bookmaker in India that uses the latest SSL and 256-bit encryption technology to keep all the data safe.
Payments
When speaking in terms of payments, “is SkyBet reliable” is often a concern, however, our SkyBet ratings have won the hearts and loyalty of its users when it came up with the game-changer “Fast Withdrawal” system. In this feature, customers with Barclays accounts were allowed to withdraw their funds in real-time. Now, this feature has been extended to nationwide bank account holders and also encompasses users with VISA cards since the year 2018.
Following are the options for withdrawals and deposit of funds:
- PayPal
- Visa
- MasterCard
- Neteller
- Skrill
- Wire Transfer
- Maestro
With so many channels, the customer base and good SkyBet reviews have increased substantially.
Sky Bet mobile app
App IconTo keep their followers up to date with the latest odds, news and markets, Sky Bet have developed a mobile app that contains all the functionality of their desktop site. The app can only be downloaded by iOS users right now, but for people with an Android gadget the browser-based experience is identical and delivers the same level of service. The app provides access to all the sports and markets, from anywhere that has a wi-fi connection or suitable phone signal. At the touch of a button, you can open the market you need, visit the extensive in-play section – which is also known as Sky Bet live – and use pre-prepared coupons to place complex wagers in seconds. The menu is designed for simplicity, with an interface which lists sports from the most to the least popular, so you won’t end up scrolling through obscure events, just because they’re higher up the alphabet. This area also has a few little images which work to break up the text and make the whole area seem more spacious.
Locating and placing a wager is fast, and if there are any Price Boosts available, they are well signposted. In general you’ll see a couple of these offers each day, but they can only be used on certain bets and markets, so not all will be relevant to you. If you strike it lucky, you can withdraw your winnings into your account using the app, though you’ll need to have your withdrawal method authorised beforehand. Other than Major League Soccer from the US, you won’t find many live streams on the Sky Bet app, which will be a let down for some players. The in-play betting is good however, as it covers plenty of matches and games, but with graphics to illustrate the action instead of a stream, it does feel that something is missing.
Live Betting
Live betting has emerged as one of the most popular features of online casinos, where punters can place their bets during the match itself. This provides for a more exciting and engrossing experience as compared to traditional pre-match bets, but requires sufficient technical support on the part of the online casino so that the live betting takes place smoothly.
The live betting of Skybet comes with a lot of inbuilt features as well to improve SkyBet ratings. In line with great graphics, the live dashboard will show you the statistics and the odds for various lines that are in play in that event, along with graphics portraying the current state of play for the game you have chosen. It helps betting customers to view the stats by clicking on the stats icon placed conveniently on the top right of the screen. This feature is a big plus point for one of the best betting sites in India. The only downside based on our SkyBet reviews is how there is an unavailability of live streaming for any other sports other than horse racing. Also, to get access to live streaming a horse race, you’ll need to place a minimum bet of £1. The cash-out feature is available for selected sports like few horse races, all football matches, and a restricted range of Wimbledon matches.
