Is it important to find out whether your bookmaker is good or bad? Of course it is… but things are not as simple. Is this one or that one a good bookie? This is the question I get asked a lot. If you check reviews from players on different websites or app stores, you will notice that even the best ones get 1 or 2 stars out of 5. Is it because the punters scream out their frustration from a lost ticket this way? In many cases for sure. In that case you can check charts like UK bookmaker list, but are they really based on true or simply a hidden advert? Hard to say.
The License has the biggest part of the answer
You can tell the difference between a good and bad bookie by their licence. The good one will have a licence that is authorized by your country (state licence like the UKGC) and/or MGA. As for the Curacao licence only we advise to be really careful, but this is a different story. There are also sportsbook operators using the same betting platform and only differ on the surface – slightly different design (skin), same promotions, same or similar odds and indeed the number of markets. This is what we call “White label” – the owner of a white label sportsbook only has a website and the odds, promotion, support are being done by the white label seller or a partner company. The only real white label action is promoting the business and the punter will probably not even notice that he is betting in a white label sportsbook. The liability of white labels is very low. In the case of some problems, responsibility falls on the shoulders of the real licence owner.
The Red Flag
The red flag is when a particular bookie is connected to shady operators – as already mentioned, this is prevalent with bookmakers operating under the Curacao licence. Terms and conditions also play a huge role in your choice, since they can make or break your winning chances. You must examine the common terms such as bonus rules, bet settlements and payouts. It can be seen when you go deeper and see there is a limitation or outright ban in case you win the bonuses.
If you were asked to add fees for withdrawals above a specific number or an upper limit on how much you can win from a bonus, you must be aware. The other thing that must be taken a look in detail is bookmaker deposit options, this is the options that a website uses with a banking institution for keeping the player’s funds. The bank institution also plays a role which is an European bank having higher levels of reliability than an e-money institution. It is important if the sportsbook keeps deposits in the account.
The Offer
In general, the complaints resolution policy is the main concern because the first option for the player, if something goes wrong, is the customer support option of the betting site. You can see it from the available features such as live chat, email, phone, and social media. The good bookmakers will have minimum time needed to respond and the accurate answers.
It is important because the players’ trust can be measured by the rate of satisfaction of the player, hence we can know about the good or bad one from the review. The fewer complaints or negative comments you find on the internet makes the site more reliable. The best bookmakers in the world receive fewer complaints than the bad ones (but still a lot) because of the resolution policy. This means that they have high efficiency in solving the site problem in a proper way.
Most bookmakers offer 30-35 sports. The online bookmakers offer the most common types of bets, such as BTTS, 3 way result, Over/Under and many more. On the other hand, the best bookies come with a wider betting selection. It contains alternative handicaps and totals lines on tennis and basketball, and 250+ extra football bets such as combos, cards and corners. Apart from the bets mentioned above, top bookies also offer a great number of Asian Handicaps, Outrights and Prop Bets.
Odds
The higher the odds, the more money you can win, but things appear different then they are. How come? Remember one thing: Value is the determining factor. Most of the bookies offer higher pre-match odds, but you should check them since the most important thing is the payout. Betting promotions such as ACCA boost, enhanced odds offers and matches up to 3% margin. The lower a bookmaker’s commission is, the higher the odds get but it makes the bookmaker famous in the player’s community.
Unique Features
The best bookmakers offer more than 1000 events daily and 100+ extra wagers on offer, especially for football enthusiasts, like Asian Totals and Combo bets. Moreover, basketball and tennis bettors will find lots of alternative handicaps and point by point bets. A user-friendly mobile interface is critical nowadays since 70% of players bet through their smartphones. Top bookies make sure to offer a responsive mobile site that is compatible on both iOS and Android devices. The mobile apps have already gone through the maturing process so in general the bookmakers already offer an easy to navigate app that is fast and actually works.
Cash Out and Fast Withdrawals
Cash Out is one of the important features for the bettors. There are more kinds of cashout: Full, Partial or Auto Cash Out. Beside the type, the time needed for the cash out and the availability is also important for the player. Cash Out should be available and open until the last seconds of every game. The good bookmakers usually offer fast payouts and allow their players to withdraw their winnings easily. The time needed for withdrawal will play an important role when it comes to separating the bookmakers.
The other things that matter is the wide variety of payment methods and the fastest withdrawals free of charge that depend on the payment you choose. You can choose the bookmakers that are versatile to all payment methods. Withdrawals via e-wallets and crypto need a few minutes to be completed, while credit/debit card or bank transfer withdrawals usually take 1-3 working days to reach your bank account and the additional time required for an internal review of the bookie’s payment processing up to 1-2 days.
Conclusion
It is better to know which one is the good bookmakers or bad bookmakers moreover for the beginners. You can check the list of bookmakers and check whether it good or bad from the licence, user experience such as the complaint and resolve the problem, the red flag such as the shady operators, suspicious withdrawal, or banking account and also the offers that you can get from that bookmakers site such as the odds, high cash out, and fast withdrawals.
