In my opinion Bet365 are the best all round betting company available in the UK, providing a huge variety and depth of markets and great features. Many say Bet365 are the 'world's favourite betting site', they are certainly my favourite betting site. I've found Bet365 to have exceptional terms along with top value regular promotions and loyalty offers. Play on the web, mobile or tablet, all with outstanding user interfaces.
In my experience Bet365 odds are very competitive and their customer service team have always dealt with my queries quickly, and with professinalism. I bet with them because I think their betting and streaming features excel beyond those provided by other sites, so they get the majority of my business.
The review below is accurate as of October 2020 and based on my own personal experiences with Bet365 and is subject to change and location. All views reflect my own opinions, and customer eligibility is the bookmaker's decision.
Bet365 is one of the world's biggest and best online betting sites. Founded in 2000 as an upstart online operator looking to rival the established UK brands, 365 has grown exponentially over the years, and now boasts 19 million customers in nearly 200 countries. The live in-play betting service at Bet365 is extensive and high quality as well. Just a quick click through to their live in-play section shows all the events currently open and some of the popular markets on them. This allows for quick selections to be sent to your betting slip and quick betting. Since its launch in 2001, Bet365 has grown to become one of the biggest companies in the UK. It took £52.6 billion in wagers in the year to March 25 - up 12 per cent on the previous year.
- Worlds Favourite Betting Site
- Superb features, range of markets, regular offers & betting options.
- My top site for live betting, streaming, and cash out.
Interface, Platform and Appearance
I've found the Bet365 platform to be possibly the best interface around and in my hands it is always quick to load with an easy to navigate menu structure. Unlike other more colourful bookmaker sites such as Paddy Power, I would say that Bet365 do not go overboard with the decoration preferring simple headers and odds that are clearly visible. The mobile app follows a similar theme and is equally as stylish and easy to use.
However, I do occasionally find that too much of a good thing can cause its own problems and it is worth noting that the pure scale of Bet365 can sometimes make finding the market you want to bet on a bit of a search, especially when using mobile. I'm not saying that I don't think the menu structure and navigation system don't work, they do, there is just so much content. When I first started betting with Bet365, if I wanted to place a less common bet before an event I would make sure I gave myself time to find the appropriate market, but once you are familiar with their interfaces finding your betting lines becomes seamless.
Bet365 revamped their desktop sports package a while back and for me this has made a world of difference. The site is still very busy but it loads in absolutely no time at all with very little delay when navigating. I've found the revamp has also made keeping track of my bets much easier and it also simplified some sections, helping with navigating. I liked the Bet365 site before these recent changes and now it is even better.
Sports Betting Markets
With a very good range of sports betting markets to bet on it is a rare occasion for me indeed if I can't find the market I want on Bet365. From football to volleyball every sports market I've ever needed has been there. Many friends of mine that work in the industry itself even use Bet365 as their own all year round betting account for this reason.
It is not just the range of markets that I like but also the depth. There are many bets I have placed with Bet365 that I have never been able to find elsewhere, in fact, my philosophy now is if Bet365 don't cover it then it's probably not worth looking for it anywhere else. Of course, this might not be true 100% of the time, but I'd say it's true more often than not.
In terms of personality, Bet365 come across to me as more of a professional betting site than a quirky one; therefore you are not going to get the kind of crazy themed markets that the likes of Paddy Power would offer. It's still a fun place to bet though and I wouldn't call it humourless - maybe think of Bet365 as 'one of the lads'. This is somewhere I go to bet when I want to back proper markets for proper sports.
Odds and Value
In my own personal experience I've found Bet365 to have good competitive odds on most major markets, and although they rarely offer the very best odds around I can take confidence that I am getting a good price without having to do loads of shopping around. If I am really honest the nature of the intuitive site and mobile app often means I end up taking the Bet365 price over another bookmaker simply because it is so easy to place a bet. Of course when I want to place a large wager I still always think it is worth shopping around.
I've noticed enhanced terms promotions are fairly common with Bet365. I generally always check out the promotions section of the site before placing any bets to see if I can get better terms, especially when placing wagers around a big event. I've always found a large number of offers for both football and horse racing, with more available for other sports too, but these will be changing all the time so make sure you have a look each time you log in.
Odds are available in all major formats, and I find that useful as I use both fractional and decimal odds depending on what markets I am looking at. I like how clearly displayed prices are on the site too, usually in yellow font against a grey and green background which is really easy to see.
Minimum and Maximum Bet Limits
Few of us ever consider betting limits before we open an account or place a bet. Often we only encounter these limits once something has already gone wrong, such as your winnings being capped. This has happened to me before when betting with a much smaller betting company and I learned a lot of lessons from the experience.
This is one reason I like to place the majority of my wagers with Bet365 as they have very good minimum and maximum betting limits for me. I am no high stakes punter but I bet enough that it's good to know the markets at Bet365 have high limits that most of us would never come close to, even on acca's etc.
While Bet365 may be reliable for having higher limits than others I would still suggest you view the terms and conditions for a specific market before placing a large wager, or indeed a smaller wager at high odds. This shouldn't be a problem however as Bet365 list the maximum payouts for each market very clearly in their rules, which is far more than many others do I've noticed.
Equally I like the lower stake limits available. Each week I like to place a 10-fold result accumulator on the Premier League and I only ever stake £0.10. It's great that such a big company accept such small stakes as it makes betting affordable for anyone, and crazy 10-folds are a bit of fun that can actually pay out great guns even with such a small stake.
Live In Play Betting
I placed my first ever live bet with Bet365 and have continued to use them as my main in-play bookie ever since. The intuitive In-Play feature allows me to bet on almost anything I want to, from anywhere I happen to be. And when you have the app on the phone in your pocket, you can act quickly if you happen to catch something live that you hadn't previously planned to bet on.
Many people I have met in the industry regard the Bet365 live betting in play service as the best around and many admit they base their own live betting services on the Bet365 model. I find live betting with this company is so easy that it has quickly become the main way in which I bet.
However, I will say that, for me, the main website's in play feature is much better than on mobile, where I can often end up scrolling through literally hundreds of in play betting lines during something like a big football match, to find what I want. Saying that, I find the integrated stats and streaming in combination with in play on mobile is epic and cannot be beaten.
Bet365 Co
I've noticed that to promote their live betting Bet365 provides promotions to encourage me to use the tool, and they seem fairly regular to me. With live betting available on almost every market I use, coupled with a flexible cash out system that I really like, I find it difficult to bet elsewhere in play if the odds are equivalent.
Bet365 Live Streaming
When integrated well with live betting, live streaming is a feature I really love, and if nothing else it has encouraged me to watch events I may never have thought to before.
For my money, Bet365 are simply the best at this and stream thousands and thousands of live events each year. From what I've seen they could almost compete with Sky Sports coverage, let alone broadcasts from other betting sites. Bet365 stream almost too many sports to mention and you can find a full schedule on their website, but I use them to watch some football, tennis, and snooker in particular.
Streaming with Bet365 doesn't need to be expensive either. For most sports streaming all I've ever needed was to either have money in my account or to have placed a sports bet the previous day. It is a little bit different for horse and dog racing though where you will need to place a minimum bet on the actual race itself in order to watch it, but this is industry standard.
When I am betting in play or if I am thinking of using the cash out or partial cash out service, I find using Bet365 streaming services provides an all encompassing betting experience. I think it is especially good on mobile when I am on the train or pretty much anywhere else. It is difficult, even when the odds are better, to justify going anywhere else to bet if Bet365 have a stream and another site doesn't.
I should say here that I have not always been able to watch Bet365 streams when I have been outside the UK. What you can access depends on where you are and it is worth checking their terms on this if you've got your heart set on watching the tennis while on holiday or something.
Mobile Betting and App
I like to be able to bet from wherever I am and therefore I probably place over three quarters of my wagers on my mobile. With Bet365 I find their mobile app has almost all of the functionality of the main site, although I've also found the mobile website to be just as good when I don't want to clutter my phone with betting apps. The interface is similar to the main site, odds are clear, and markets are really easy to find with clear icons, menus, and lists. Not discounting the slight issue with the number of available markets on bigger games that I mentioned earlier.
Using the mobile app or site I am able to view the latest odds on the move, manage my account, place bets, stream and bet in-play - it's an all-round set-up that few other bookies I know of can match. Many people I know regard this as the best mobile betting experience around, although if I'm honest I still feel It's a bit too crowded by the scale of markets offered.
I generally use Bet365 when I have Wi-Fi or when I have a decent mobile data connection as, due to the size of their sportsbook and the range of markets, the mobile site and app can take a while to load on especially slow mobile networks. The only time this annoys me is when I am watching live football in a stadium and the networks are jammed. I often find myself placing bets using other apps in that scenario.
Cash Out, Partial & Auto Cash Out
Cash Out, partial cash out and auto cash out are superb features that I've used a lot with Bet365 and I would highly recommend them.
The concept is simple: you place a bet either before the event or in-play and you have the option to cash your bet out at any time and settle for the payout offered there and then. This can be live when the event is in play or even before the event has started.
For example, you may bet on Chelsea to win the FA cup but decide to cash out your bet for a fixed sum after the semi-final or even at half-time in play during the cup final. It is important to note that the settlement amount will always be a lower value than your potential winnings would be if you allow the bet to run to completion. It is also worth saying that you shouldn't assume cash out will be available for a market, and even if it is you shouldn't assume it will be available all of the time.
Bet365 are the first bookie that I ever used partial cash out with, giving me the option of settling a fixed proportion of my bet while the rest rode on. If you are not familiar with the concept of the partial cash out it is very simple. Here is a basic example: you may have punted £10 on Andy Murray to win Wimbledon before the championships start at say 8/1, giving you potential winnings of £80. Andy then makes it to the final and is drawn against Novak Djokovic and your confidence in him winning is waning.
Cash out may at this point be offering you say £30 back on your bet, you could take this whole amount or, using partial cash out, take a proportion of your winnings while letting the remaining stake continue. Let's say you take your initial stake back out, £10 out of the £30 on offer, this will leave two thirds of your initial bet in place. Effectively you now can't lose whatever happens as you've got your £10 initial stake back, although you also need to consider that you will not win as much as you would have done if you left your whole bet in place.
Another feature I have used with Bet365 is the ability auto cash out a bet. This lets me set cash out rules so that my wager will automatically cash out if it reaches a pre-designated payout amount set by me. This can sometimes be my whole stake amount or a proportion of it. I've used this tool to get cash out even when I've been logged off, busy, and abroad.
The cash out feature is a lot of fun and adds a new tactical dimension to online betting. Other bookies have similar systems but Bet365's version is by far my favourite.
Gaming and Casino
In similar fashion to the sportsbook Bet365 offer a dizzying array of games and casino games. I'm not much of a gamer really but I do play the odd table or slot game with Bet365. I remember when I first did this there were plenty of special offers for using the various gaming products. It is worth checking what offers they have on but usually you can get an introductory bonus of some sort when you first play.
A lot of the games all look the same to me but I am told by those in the know that there is a good range of choice and an array of limits available to suit those who want to play different stake levels.
You can visit the Bet365 Casino for more information about games and their latest offers. Alternatively, there are other games sections called on Poker, Games and Bet365 Bingo
Social Media
As I mentioned earlier Bet365 are a more professional setup than most, they don't quite treat social media in the same way that Paddy Power do but they still have a good presence. I find it useful to contact them on Twitter every now and again if I've got a really quick question that I want an answer to. In my experience they have always been very fast to respond.
The concept is simple: you place a bet either before the event or in-play and you have the option to cash your bet out at any time and settle for the payout offered there and then. This can be live when the event is in play or even before the event has started.
For example, you may bet on Chelsea to win the FA cup but decide to cash out your bet for a fixed sum after the semi-final or even at half-time in play during the cup final. It is important to note that the settlement amount will always be a lower value than your potential winnings would be if you allow the bet to run to completion. It is also worth saying that you shouldn't assume cash out will be available for a market, and even if it is you shouldn't assume it will be available all of the time.
Bet365 are the first bookie that I ever used partial cash out with, giving me the option of settling a fixed proportion of my bet while the rest rode on. If you are not familiar with the concept of the partial cash out it is very simple. Here is a basic example: you may have punted £10 on Andy Murray to win Wimbledon before the championships start at say 8/1, giving you potential winnings of £80. Andy then makes it to the final and is drawn against Novak Djokovic and your confidence in him winning is waning.
Cash out may at this point be offering you say £30 back on your bet, you could take this whole amount or, using partial cash out, take a proportion of your winnings while letting the remaining stake continue. Let's say you take your initial stake back out, £10 out of the £30 on offer, this will leave two thirds of your initial bet in place. Effectively you now can't lose whatever happens as you've got your £10 initial stake back, although you also need to consider that you will not win as much as you would have done if you left your whole bet in place.
Another feature I have used with Bet365 is the ability auto cash out a bet. This lets me set cash out rules so that my wager will automatically cash out if it reaches a pre-designated payout amount set by me. This can sometimes be my whole stake amount or a proportion of it. I've used this tool to get cash out even when I've been logged off, busy, and abroad.
The cash out feature is a lot of fun and adds a new tactical dimension to online betting. Other bookies have similar systems but Bet365's version is by far my favourite.
Gaming and Casino
In similar fashion to the sportsbook Bet365 offer a dizzying array of games and casino games. I'm not much of a gamer really but I do play the odd table or slot game with Bet365. I remember when I first did this there were plenty of special offers for using the various gaming products. It is worth checking what offers they have on but usually you can get an introductory bonus of some sort when you first play.
A lot of the games all look the same to me but I am told by those in the know that there is a good range of choice and an array of limits available to suit those who want to play different stake levels.
You can visit the Bet365 Casino for more information about games and their latest offers. Alternatively, there are other games sections called on Poker, Games and Bet365 Bingo
Social Media
As I mentioned earlier Bet365 are a more professional setup than most, they don't quite treat social media in the same way that Paddy Power do but they still have a good presence. I find it useful to contact them on Twitter every now and again if I've got a really quick question that I want an answer to. In my experience they have always been very fast to respond.
I treat social media with a company like Bet365 more like a help forum and generally another option to contact them quickly or to see if other people may be experiencing the same issues, or have the same questions that you might be having. I've also noticed Bet365 have a full Facebook profile, and although I don't personally interact with them this way it seems to be pretty much the same bag as Twitter.
As a more formal bookmaker Bet365 tend to send me offers tailored to me through email rather than social media so I don't actively follow Bet365, but I have seen numerous Tweets that have made me laugh so if you use social media a lot they are probably worth a follow.
USP
I find the overall Bet365 experience is excellent and highly engaging with many top quality features. It really is difficult to select one unique selling point. In my opinion however, the live betting, live streaming, and cash out options are beyond comparison. As I enjoy betting in play so much I often go no further than Bet365 for those reasons.
Bet365 Uk Site
To give an everyday comparison I think Bet365 are like John Lewis. They provide similar features and services to their competitors but they are just better overall in all departments.
Considering the fact that Bet365 already have good new and existing customer offers and they have everything I need from an online bookmaker it seems silly for me not to use them as my day to day betting site. This is why they have tens of millions of customers worldwide, I suppose.
Payment Options
Bet365 support almost all major and a few minor payment methods, they also take deposits in a number of currencies and you can view the site in various different languages. They have good limits that have always suited me personally and shouldn't break the bank, and fast processing times in my experience. Bet365 have a detailed list of banking options available on their website.
As an online-only bookmaker Bet365 do not offer a physical outlet in which to place a bet and no direct way to withdraw cash from your account as is possible with some bookmakers such as Coral who maintain a real world presence. Bet365 do however seem to almost go out of their way to offer a lot of deposit and payment options to make up for this.
For details about how different banking methods work see our payment options section.
Bet365 Customer Service
Bet365 offer a customer support service that never seems to close which I find very useful as I like bet most at the weekend and during holidays. I've contacted them before using their phone service (including call back), email, live text chat, and conventional post, and I even got in touch at 4am one morning after a night out. I have always been impressed by the speed of response and the knowledge of the staff. Impressively, customer service is offered in range of languages, although I can only speak for how they perform in English.
Customer services are rated highly by current customers of Bet365 and from a quick online search you will find high satisfaction levels. Agents I have dealt with have been friendly and generally resolved my problems there and then.
Anyone who bets regularly will need to contact their bookmaker from time to time, due to missing promotional payouts, or whatever. Bet365 makes this about as quick and painless as it can be.
Responsible Gambling
Responsible gambling is enforced in the UK with all licensed sites required to offer advice and tools that help you gamble responsibly, and for help and advice in general you can contact Gam Care (http://www.gamcare.org.uk/).
Bet365 offer several features that help you manage how much you wager and how much time you spend gambling. The bookie actually provides many more tools than the law requires and are probably the best responsible gambling operator in the industry.
You can easily find details of all the safe gambling tools Bet365 provides on their website, it's hard to miss. Personally I use the weekly deposit limits available to ensure I don't end up in a scenario where I'm trying to bet too much.
Licence Information
By holding a gambling licence issued by the UK gambling commission Bet365 are about as safe as you are going to get. The gambling commission expect their members to follow a stringent set of guidelines designed for the protection of both the punter and the bookmaker. Including prevention of minors and at risk groups from gambling, offering help to people with gambling related problems, not allowing any insider betting practices, and protection of deposits and funds should the company cease trading.
The UK gambling commission has the power to enforce its guidelines and can revoke any gambling licence for failure to comply. Further details including licence numbers and permitted activities can be found at the bottom of the Bet365 home page.
