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Hands down, Unibet is one of the biggest bookmakers around. It has been entertaining and serving UK punters with an exciting online sports book platform as well as other online gambling offerings for years. In fact, the brand first made its online gambling debut way back in 1999, making it a veteran in the internet gambling industry.
Over the years, Unibet has sponsored many major sports teams and events. At the time of this Unibet Sports review, it sponsored Football (Aston Villa, Preston North End, Middleborough), Cricket (Warwickshire CCC), Darts (Unibet Premiere League of Darts, Unibet Masters, etc,) and Horse Racing (Ivestec Derby, #RoadToCheltenham).
Having heard only good things about Unibet, we wanted to see for ourselves if the bookie could live up to the high praise of being one of the top online sportsbook in the UK. Spoiler alert! It passed our test with flying colours and this Unibet review will give you the details on our experience and what you can expect if you want to give it a try for yourself.
Opening up a new account at Unibet Sports means that you can take advantage of the Unibet welcome offer. Instead of a Unibet Free Bet, what you can benefit from is £30 Free bet + £10 Casino Bonus. Here’s how it works:
You must be a UK customer aged 18 or older.
There is no Unibet promotion code required to claim this sign up offer, but you should know that in regard to both the money back bonus and the casino bonus, wagering requirements do apply. This means that you will need to meet certain rules before you are allowed to withdraw these bonuses.
For instance. You can use your money back bonus in either the sportsbook or the Unibet casino. The sportsbook is 3x wagering requirements, which means that if you received the maximum £30 free bet bonus, you would need to bet £120 to complete the bonus conditions. On the other hand, if you use the bonus in the casino, the wagering requirements are 25x. This means you will need to bet £1,000 to complete the bonus requirements. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions.
Overall, this is a pretty decent welcome offer from Unibet. We admit that we prefer Free Bets offers on sign up, but we can appreciate that they’re breaking away from the norm and are offering bonuses that can be used in both the sportsbook and the casino.
Unibet does not skimp on promotions. In addition to time-limited offers, the internet betting site also has plenty of on-going offers if you like to add a little extra thrill when placing your bet on your favourite sport. Here are two promotions we felt worthy of brining to your attention:
Penalty Payback – place a minimum £5 pre-match bet on any of these Premiere League and Champions League selected markets: First/last goalscorer, Correct Score, Half-time/Full-time and Scorecast. You will be refunded all losing bets up to £100 if a penalty is awarded.
Best Odds Guaranteed – this is for Unibet horse racing punters from the UK and Ireland and is available daily on all UK and Ireland horse racing bets from when your bet is placed. It includes single and multiple bets placed at early prices up to £25,000 per customer, per day. Essentially, the way it works is if the starting price is bigger than the early price on your selection, Unibet will pay you the bigger odds. For instance, if you take a 6/1 Early Price, but your selection wins 8/1, you’ll be paid at 8/1, instead.
Other Unibet offers include Weekly Sportsbook Freerolls, Refer a Friend, and more. You can always see what Unibet promos are available by checking out the “Special Offers” section. Also, remember that all offers are subject to terms and conditions.
Unibet FeaturesAt the time of writing Unibet were offering several other event specific and ongoing promotions:
Unibet offers event specific concessions for major televised matches in the English Premier League. At the time of writing one of the upcoming fixtures was the derby between Manchester City and Manchester United. This match was shown all around the world and it attracted a huge global audience. Unibet had two offers related to this fixture for existing customers to reward their loyalty. Unibet were promoting a Manchester Derby 2/1 Offer whereby customers who had a winning bet on the match at odds of 2/1 or bigger before the match for a minimum stake of £10 received £10 in the form of a free bet the following day.
The free bet stake is not returned with winning bets and the free bet is valid for 7 days. Customers could also play the Predictor Game on the match. There was £25,000 in prize money up for grabs which was awarded to the individual who predicted the first goalscorer and the minute in which the goal was scored. The prize is split if there is more than one winning entry and the fund is not carried to the next match if there are no correct predictions. There will be similar offers with Unibet for other significant matches in England and Europe.
Customers with Unibet can enhance the profits from trebles, four-folds and five-folds by 10 to 30%. This boost applies to any football multiples with three, four or five selections. This offer applies to pre-match markets and combination bets. The maximum stake is £20 and each selection in the bet must be 1/5 or bigger. When placing the bet customers opt-in for the boost. The maximum boost is £5,000 and the extra returns can be used for 7 days. The profit boosts are 10% for a treble, 20% for a four-fold and 30% for a five-fold. Bets that are cashed out are not valid.
Unibet are the betting partners of Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Preston who play in the English Championship, which is the second tier in England. To mark these sponsorship deals Unibet have an offer that is valid for the whole Championship season. If you bet on the first, last or anytime scorer for one of the three teams Unibet will refund the stake if the team loses. The maximum refund is £10 and the stake will be returned from the losing bet within 48 hours.
Unibet sponsor the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival so there should be some promotions related to the race which takes place on the first day of the festival in March.
As you might have guessed, due to Unibet’s years of experience in the industry and its impressive size, it covers a huge range of sports betting markets, including all the major European and North American sports and leagues.
Needless to say, the football offering is far-reaching and extremely detailed. You’ll find much more than Premier League, Champions League, and La Liga. You’re also given the opportunity to bet on league, cups and specials from around the globe.
What’s more, their odds on football are arguably some of the best you’ll find online, with a bookmaker margin of under 4%. Other markets are also quite competitive, such as tennis with margins of 4% and American football at 3.8%.
Unibet also offers odds on horse racing, tennis, golf, rugby union, cricket, bandy, baseball, American football, boxing, volleyball, basketball, chess, handball, ice hockey, eSports (Lol, CS:GO betting etc..), snooker, trotting, MMA, WWE, Winter Sports and more. It also has markets for politics, TV and celebrities.
If you want to bet on it, chances are, Unibet has it.
The most popular betting sports at Unibet in terms of the number of bets and turnover are as follows:
Football accounts for over 80% of all sports bets with Unibet so clearly the sport is where the interests lie with their customers. All the main leagues in Europe and the rest of the world are covered including the main leagues in England. The English Premier League is viewed and bet in all the major betting countries so each fixture has almost 300 markets which is the biggest number online.
The pre-match football betting markets appear under the following headings:
The three-way match odds have a profit margin of 2% which is the lowest in the industry. Unibet compete with their odds rather than lucrative welcome and ongoing offers for new and existing customers. The more exotic markets such as first scorer and correct score also stand out for value. Cash out is available on many in-play markets.
Tennis has seen a growth in betting over the last 15 years and one of the reasons is its suitability for in-play betting. There are regular swings in the scoring which is replicated in the match odds and related markets. There are more live bets placed on the sport than pre-match bets which appear under the headings of match and set betting. There are over 60 markets on offer for live tennis events, including betting on each point, game and set in addition to the match. The main betting markets are updated after each point and there are many fluctuations over the course of a match.
Unibet have got involved with race sponsorship in the UK which suggests they are looking to gain some market share with their coverage of horse racing. The Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham is one of the biggest ante post and day of the race betting races in Britain and Ireland. Unibet compliment that sponsorship with a full racing service, covering meetings Britain, Ireland, France, United States, Canada, Australia, India, South Africa, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Unibet offers the most comprehensive horse racing service in the industry. Unibet also offers betting on trotting and greyhound racing which some of their main competitors in Europe do not feature on their sites.
This online bookie is no stranger to mobile. There has been a Unibet mobile site for nearly a decade. Over the years, the company (one of the biggest betting companies in the UK) has improved upon its mobile sportsbook and now it is faster and more secure than ever before. It is also available for iPhone, iPad and Android. You can download the Unibet sports betting app for iOS devices directly from the App Store or for Android directly from Google Play.
Just like the desktop version, you can expect the mobile site or Unibet mobile betting app to have a fantastic interface. It is very fast with a clean and simple design. Each page provides you with plenty of information but it doesn’t feel cluttered or overwhelming.
With the Unibet online betting app, you’ll enjoy many of the fabulous features and services you would on your computer, including live streaming on the biggest sporting events, In-Play betting with live betting odds, and great odds on the biggest sporting events.
The Unibet live in-play betting section is one of the best we’ve seen. We understand why it is award-winning and has been so highly recommended. Nearly every market has in-play betting options and about 30% of these events also have live streaming available.
What makes the live betting particularly notable at this UK online sportsbook is how well it presents each market. For instance, if you’ve selected football, you’ll get listings of matches currently in play with the match outright odds. When you click on the match, you’ll be provided with even more markets. Everything is laid out in simple and clean organization to make finding what you want to bet on, a breeze.
As for Unibet live streaming, better known as Unibet TV, you can stream over 40,000 live sporting events a year, letting you take part in the action as it happens before your eyes!
Additionally, there is a Unibet Community designed for bettors to talk with one another, ask/answer questions, etc. as well as a Unibet Blog that provides news, tips, advice, etc. related to the many sports markets the bookie covers.
Personally, we were thoroughly impressed with both Unibet’s In-Play and live streaming options and would recommend this to any punter who loves these types of features.
Existing customers with Unibet login to their account by clicking the Log In button on the Home Page. Potential new customers click Register and are taken to the first registration screen. By default new customers receive a welcome offer of a free bet bonus up to £30 and £10 to bet in the casino. The Terms and Conditions of this welcome offer are described in more detail in the next section of this review.
Contact and account information is entered over four screens. To create a new account users must specify a unique Password and answer a security question. Customers must opt-in to the welcome bonus and confirm they are aged over 28. On clicking Join the account is rejected because all the required fields were not entered or in most cases confirmed. The new account is ready for the first deposit and then betting can begin.
Unibet informs new and existing customers which bonus offers currently apply. The default deposit method is a debit card but customers can choose one of the alternative methods which are described in the Banking Options section later in this review. The minimum deposit is £5 or £10 and the maximum deposit is £10,000. Customers enter the debit card details and the deposit amount, accept the Funds Protection Information and click Deposit. The deposit is processed in a few seconds and the main account balance is updated so there are now funds to bet.
The default odds format is fractional but this can be changed to decimal. The bet options on the Bet Slip depends on the number of selections. Customers can specify if their bets are singles, combinations or multiples. The stake is entered at the current odds and the potential payout for a winning bet. A logo indicated if the Cash Out facility is available on the market. Once all the required fields have been populated customers click Place bet. In most cases the bet is confirmed and the account balance is updated accordingly. At any stage before expiry the bet can be cashed out.
Unibet payment methods include those that are pretty standard to the online gambling industry, such as credit/debit cards, eWallets, prepaid cards and bank transfers. More specifically, Unibet deposit methods include: Neteller, Skrill, PayPal, Paysafecard, Bank Transfer. Whereas Unibet withdrawal methods include: Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, Bank Transfer.
Accepted deposit methods in Unibet: Bank Wire Transfer, Maestro, MasterCard, Neteller, Paysafe Card, Ukash, Skrill.
Deposits usually occur instantly while Unibet withdrawal times depend on the payment method used to withdraw funds. For instance, Skrill, Neteller and PayPal, these can process in as little as 12 hours. That being said, bear in mind that before this wait period kicks in, your withdrawal first needs to be verified and approved by an up to 24 internal processing time
In regard to minimum and maximum deposit and withdrawal amounts, these vary depending on the payment method you select.
Unibet support includes 24/7 live chat, telephone and email for UK punters. There is also a decent and well-detailed FAQ that helped us answer some of our questions without over complicating matters. We also found it interesting that part of the Unibet help section also has the aforementioned Unibet Community, where you can ask your questions to the player community.
Even though Unibet live chat is 24/7, we should note that it is not always fast. A common complaint among customers is that response times are not quick and, in some cases, customers have waited as long as 20 minutes to receive a response. Similar complaints have been made about email, with responses sometimes taking longer than 24 hours. While these long response times are certainly unacceptable, we must say that our experience with live chat was very quick and friendly. We received a response nearly instantly.
Unibet may have joined the online gambling scene in 1999, but it first lunched in 1997 in London and operated as a betting business that took bets over phone. Soon after launching its gambling business online, Unibet became Unibet Group PLC and obtained its first international gaming license from Malta. Over the years, Unibet expanded quickly, growing its brand with gambling offerings that included sports, casino, live casino, bingo, poker and lottery.
An award-winning and innovative operator, Unibet’s sportsbook is renowned and respected and has won more than 14 industry awards, including the IGA award for Spostsbook Operator of the Year in both 2014 and 2015, as well as the IGA award for Socially Responsible Operator in 2016, among others.
2016 was also the year that Unibet Group PLC rebranded as the Kindred Group, a choice that was made to better support their multi-branded strategy. Now, the company has surpassed one million registered customers (over 17 million specific to Unibet) and has launched more betting and gambling brands around the world.
In our opinion, Unibet ticks off all the boxes in terms of being a UK bookmaker that strives for excellence. Their dedication to quality and providing punters with the best sports betting experience is made evident throughout its entire website and via the Unibet mobile app.
The company’s years of experience as well as its trusted and secure services, wide range of sports markets, betting options, live streams and live in-play betting feature are among its many strengths. For us, it delivered premium online sportsbook action that definitely stood up to other top sites that we’ve approved for UK bettors seeking the best betting platforms online.
We suppose the only real improvement the sportsbook can make is to speed up its customer service response times, which have a reputation for not always being the fastest, in spite of being 24 hours.
The bottom line is we highly recommend Unibet. It’s one of the best in the industry and is ideal for both new and veteran punters. Sign up and give it a go today!