Betway – Our Review of the Sports Sponsorship King

Sports Markets and Betting Types

For the most part, all the sports markets you’d expect to find in a top quality bookmaker have been catered for. The big four sports in football, cricket, horse racing and tennis are of course all well looked after, with each market having a vast range of different domestic and international leagues and competitions on offer. There’s also a good selection of some of the more specialised sporting options for punters that like to bet outside the most popular sports; floorball, pesapallo, futsal and bandy are just a few of the less widely followed options that are made available with this operator.

With regard to the previously mentioned lack of coverage for greyhound racing events, we feel as though there’s room for a considerable amount of improvement here. As we’re sure most punters would agree, greyhound races have long been a staple part of NZ sports betting culture. With this in mind, we would expect one of the leading operators to carry at least a good selection of racing meets. Instead, there are only a minute number of greyhound races on offer on selected days. As a result of this, we were left with no choice other than to deduct a couple of points.

One area where the operator does slightly manage to make up for its lack of coverage in the greyhound racing department is with its dedicated eSports betting portal. Simply put, there’s not a single operator on the market that takes e-gaming as seriously as Betway. Via the separate eSports portal on the website, punters can choose from well over 10 different high-profile, international e-gaming events, and also get expert betting tips, gaming advice, and updates on the latest news from the industry via the exclusive eSports blog. Although this doesn’t completely make up for the severe lack of greyhound coverage, they do manage to claw back a point or two for their outstanding performance here.

In-play Betting & Live Streaming

Although the live streaming service isn’t the strongest feature of this betting operator, there is a decent amount of coverage for a select few sports. The sports available for streaming are: tennis, football, ice hockey and volleyball. When we consider that there are a fair few operators out there that only allow you to view racing events, this is by no means a poor selection of sports. However, the limited number of available streams per day, and the lack of any kind of live streaming schedule does mean that the bookie can’t be awarded full marks here.

Our separate live review will go into more detail and analyse all the ins and outs of the in-play betting platform. Some of the major positive talking points however are the super-fast odds updates, the live infographic, and the availability of the cash out option.

Our separate live review will go into more detail, and assess the ins and outs of the in-play betting platform. For now however, we’ll say that some of the major positive talking points are the super-fast odds updates, the live infographic, and the ability to use the cash out option.

Multiples Bets

Whereas most bookmakers will almost always have a maximum number of single bet selections that can be added to the bet slip, Betway pretty much allow you to have as many as you like. The highest number we’ve in our reviews so far is Betfair, who allow for up to 35 single bet selections. When we compare this to the reports of well over 200 with Betway, this number pales in comparison.

There’re also an impressive number of multiples bet combinations on offer with this bookie. In addition to permitting accumulators of up to 15 folds, all the common combinations such as the Pixie, the Patent, the Lucky 15 and the Canadian are well looked after – the overall selection isn’t quite as vast as the outstanding multiples bet offering at Betfred, however there is still more than enough here to keep the more experienced punters entertained. The handy “Multiple Bets” tab in the middle of your bet slip makes keeping track of all your different multiples and singles selections a straightforward procedure, and the automatic calculator at the bottom lets you know exactly how much your total staked amount is set to pay out. Ideally, we would prefer it if the singles and multiples bet tabs each had their own calculator so that punters could clearly see how much they have riding on their separate singles and combination bets. Nevertheless, the single calculator at the bottom of the slip saves you from doing a fair amount of calculating on your own.

Bet & Win Limits

Compared to the maximum pay-out limits of the other leading operators in our review, the maximum win limit here is significantly lower. When we consider that the William Hill maximum payout is NZ$2 million for the top tier sports, Betway’s amount of NZ$500,000 seems tiny in comparison. Even though some punters may argue that a huge maximum pay-out limit isn’t an essential part of a quality bookmaking operation, we would still expect the maximum pay-out for a company the size of Betway to be higher.

With regard to the lower limit, the minimum wager amount is a little higher than many of the other operators we’ve reviewed. Whereas the majority of bookies allow their customers to wager a minimum of 10p or less, Betway have capped their minimum stake amount at 20p. This may not seem like a major cause for concern as 10p is not a life changing sum of money. However, for punters who like to play the long game and split their money into numerous stakes, 10p can make all the difference.

Competitive Odds Throughout10

Overall, the odds prices on offer here are generally quite good. For some sports, namely football, cricket and snooker, the bookie ranks somewhere near the top end of the leadership table. When looking to some of the other sports, we see that the operator consistently manages to end up in the top three or four price offerings: the average pre-match percentage of 93.58 puts the bookie in pole position for rugby, and 92.54% for horse racing is another competitive score.

With regard to the live odds, the percentages for football and tennis are further toward the bottom end of the score chart. For basketball and volleyball however, 94.04% and 93.96% respectively are extremely competitive figures that again put the operator back in contention for the top spot. The odds prices here may not quite be high enough to claim the top prize; however, with regard to consistency across the board, Betway are undoubtedly one of the top competitors.

The High Power Platform9

Powered by the widely accredited Microgaming software provider, Betway can boast to having one of the slickest, best performing platforms on the market. Although the full weight of the cutting edge technologies can only really be felt when using the separate Casino and online gaming platforms, the functionality and speed of the sportsbook site is still far better than most of the other bookmakers featured in our reviews. The logical arrangement and smooth navigation makes it just as user-friendly as any other sportsbook, and the dark, metallic black and grey colour scheme gives the platform a professional finish.

The full list of different sports markets is found on the left hand corner of the screen. The “Quick Links” menu offers easy one-click-access to the most popular betting markets on the site, as well as to some of the most popular promotions and bonus deals. Clicking on any one of the different options will activate the drop down tool; with this you’ll be able to easily navigate through all the different sports and specials markets from around the world and locate your desired fixture or market. The left hand side of the screen also features a handy “Useful Stats” function. With this tool, users can see which are the most visited sports, leagues and fixtures on the website. By clicking on the icons for the different sports, users can also see which are the most popular teams, matches and competitions to bet on, and find out exactly where the best place is to lay their next stake.

The in-play platform is just as user-friendly and aesthetic as the main homepage. All the fixtures currently in play are displayed in the middle of the screen, and are clearly divided by sport underneath the bold green headings. Any odds fluctuations can be spotted immediately as the prices change from white, to red, to green, and the “Upcoming” tab at the top of the page lets you know which events will become available for live betting later in the day. For sports where live streaming isn’t available, users can make use of the live infographic in the center of the screen that provides up to date stats, scores and information about any breaks in play. One thing that does let the operator down however, is the absence of a clearly arranged live betting calendar. Punters do have the opportunity to view the upcoming in-play fixtures for the remainder of the day and for the days ahead, the only way to view this however is to click on the desired sports market, and scroll all the way to the end of the list to see what’s coming up. This doesn’t necessarily take away from the other positive talking points, however an up-to-date, detailed in-play calendar for all the different sports markets is definitely one missing ingredient in an otherwise outstanding platform.

How to Place a Bet

Making a wager here is just as quick and logical as it is with the other operators we’ve reviewed. To make a selection, you need only click on the odds displayed next to the relevant market. Once you’ve made the selection, it will automatically appear on your bet slip on the right hand corner of the screen. To continue with the bet placement process, you should key the desired stake amount into the empty box next to the “Max” button, check your selection, and then select the “Place Bets” button to confirm. To place multiples bet types, simply select more markets to add to your bet slip, and then check the “Multiple Bets” tab to see which combinations are available.

• [1] Choose Your BetSelect your desired bet by clicking on the odds button next to a given betting market. To add more bets, simply repeat the process.
• [2] Lay Your StakeCheck to make sure your bet selection is correct, and then key the amount you wish to wager into the stake box.
• [3] Confirm On Your Bet SlipCheck the bet once more to make sure the selection is correct on your bet slip, and click the “Place Bet” key to confirm your wager.

The procedure for placing live bets is the same. The only difference is that once the selections have been added to your bet slip, the odds prices may be subject to a few more fluctuations before you make it to confirmation stage. When this occurs, the odds prices will automatically update themselves, and you’ll receive a notification on the bet slip to let you know on which markets the changes have been made. To accept the changes, simply click the “Accept Changes” button next to the notification. If you’re not happy with the new odds prices and you want to make a different selection, simply remove the relevant bet(s) using the cross symbol, and re-start the normal bet placement process.

All About the Company

Taking the time to carefully consider the different licensing, security, regulations and testing procedures of a given bookmaker should in any case be a top priority both for new and experienced punters. These practices, as well as knowing whether or not a bookmaker has a reliable customer support service are crucial to determining the quality, and legitimacy of online betting operation. The following section will tell you everything you need to know about the more official aspects of the Betway company, and also provide ratings for some of the important categories.

The Business Under the Microscope

Despite being the youngest betting operator in our review series, Betway has managed to soar to the top of the bookmaking world and establish itself as one of the industry’s main players. With only ten years’ worth of experience, the company now deliver their world class gaming and sports betting products to more than 2 million users across Europe in 17 different languages. The separate Bingo, Poker, Vegas and Casino platforms are renowned for showcasing the very latest cutting edge technologies and video game graphics, and the widely popular sportsbook invites users to choose from over 30,000 betting markets. To add to this, the company also carry a dedicated, top quality e-gaming portal that far surpasses anything else we’ve seen on the market.

In addition to the top quality gambling services, Betway are also a prolific operator when it comes to sports sponsorship. In the past few years, the company have managed to sign some major deals, which has led to them becoming the primary sponsor of the World Cup of Pool, the Premier League Darts tournament, and of the West Ham United Football Club. With several more lucrative sponsorship deals to its name, and a string of high profile brand ambassadors such as Mike Tindall, Richard Johnson and Simon Hughes to further support their cause: the operator now wield a considerable amount of influence in the sports betting market that far surpasses their age.

Customer Service 9

Unlike some of the other bookmakers that provide comprehensive help and FAQ sections on their website, Betway customers can only really refer to the “Betting Help” section which in all honesty, isn’t too helpful for providing useful answers to some of the more common troubleshooting problems. Fortunately enough, players are able to make use of the live chat customer service in which top quality assistance is available 24-7. In our experiences with the live chat team, the connection times have always been kept to a minimum, our queries were always dealt with in a speedy and professional manner, and the agents are always friendly and helpful even when tested with a number of probing questions. Help and assistance is also available 24/7 via telephone, as well as via email where a member of the support team will typically respond to your query within 12 hours.

In many aspects, the customer service does deserve a perfect 10/10 score. The round-the-clock telephone and live chat services mean that you’re never in danger of being left to your own devices when you’re having some trouble, and our dealings with the customer care team were always positive and helpful. However, the lack of self-help opportunities in the form of useful FAQ’s and help sections means that we can only award 9 points out of a possible 10 here.

Licensing & Security 9

For most of their safety and security measures, Betway utilise the services of the world renowned e-COGRA agency. Not only does the company carry out fairness tests to ensure that all games and automated systems on the site are legitimate and unbiased, they also ensure the safety of all monetary deposits and guarantee that the bookie is operating honestly and responsibly.

Just in case you need that extra bit of assurance, Betway have been given the stamp of approval from Europe’s leading sports betting regulations organisation ESSA. With this, there’re a number of binding agreements in place with some of the world’s top governing bodies such as FIFA and the IOC as to ensure that all those that choose to gamble with Betway, can do so with full peace of mind that the company is free from any kind of corruption or foul play.

Betway also do their part to help prevent underage gambling and gambling addiction. Not only do they have a number of procedures in place that help prevent gambling offences from occurring in the first place, they also provide helpful tips for players already suffering from signs of addiction, and offer a number of means in which they seek assistance. Punters can refer to the “Responsible Gambling Policy” page on the website to get advice on how to set deposit limits, how to go about taking time out from gambling, and how to protect minors from taking up gambling. Although the Responsible Gambling page on the site isn’t the best we’ve seen in terms of its depth and scope, there’s still more than enough here to convince us that company are doing enough to comply with the government’s strict rulings toward promoting responsible gambling.

Good Result at Bonus Points6

For the final section of our review, Betway managed to put in a more than satisfactory performance and rack up a solid 6 out of a possible 10 bonus points. In the live stream department, we thought the company only really deserved one extra point. The inclusion of top flight tennis, football, volleyball and ice hockey does mean that there are a fair selection of different sports on offer, however the fairly limited number of streams shown per day does leave a significant amount of room for improvement.

• Live Streams.1/3
• Sponsorship.3/3
• Awards.0/2
• Extra Markets.1/1
• Bonuses.1/1
• Bonus Points.6

One area where the bookie really stands head and shoulders above the rest of the competition is sponsorship. As the primary sponsor of the World Cup of Pool, West Ham United Football club, and the Premier League Darts competition in addition to several other high profile sports competitions and events; awarding a perfect 3/3 score was almost a no brainer.

With no real notable awards to its name in recent years, no extra points were awarded. However for the reasonably good selection of different bonuses and promotions, and the extra added section for specials betting markets, we decided to award the full 2 points out of 2 here.

Conclusion – Top Recommended Bookmaker

Although there are a few areas in which Betway is in need of some improvement, for the youngest and most least experienced operator in our pick of the top 10 NZ betting sites, we feel as though the operator managed to perform extremely well. When we consider that they have only 10 years’ worth of experience in the bookmaking industry, the fact that they’ve managed to outshine some of the well-established players who’ve been active for more than 100 years makes their performance even more impressive.

The welcome bonus is a pretty straight forward free bet – one of the most generous and best value for money sign-up offers on the market. Yet, when it comes to the ongoing promotions, aside from a few bet refund offers and accumulator insurances deals, there really aren’t too many standout deals that merit any special praise. For our full review of the all the promotions available at Betway, head over to our separate bonus review page and see if there’s anything there that takes your fancy. In most of the other areas however, Betway pretty much ticks all the boxes; both the pre match and in-play odds levels stay competitive across the board, there’s a more than satisfactory number of different sports markets and payment methods to choose from, and all of this is complimented by a high-performance, well arranged platform. Although we think they still have some way to go before they can really lay a claim to be in the top 3 betting sites in NZ, for now they get our fully signed and stamped seal of approval as a highly recommended betting operator.

Q&A/FAQ

This article covers all the key talking points of the Betway platform, if the information is unclear, please send us your questions to info@bestbettingsites.com for further clarification.

How can I temporarily exclude myself from using the Betway service?

If you feel as though you’re about to, or you’ve already exceded your own gambling limits, a period of self-exclusion is highly recommended. You can either opt for a "cooling off period", or a slightly more stringent period of self-exclusion. In order to set this up, you’re required to contact the customer support team directly via email or telephone, and state exactly how long you wish to be excluded for. The minimum cooling off period is set at 24 hours, and the maximum length of time permitted for both options is capped at 6 months.