Until 2018, Sky Bet was part of Sky PLC – better known as “Sky” – which also includes the Italian, English and German pay-TV offerings.
Meanwhile, Sky Bet is part of the “Stars Group”, which is even listed on the NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange. Merged with the bookmaker Betstars and a new appearance, Skybet now wants to gain a foothold on the German betting market.
With regard to the seriousness and security, there can be no doubt about this background, especially since the bookie not only has a large company in its back, but also a Maltese betting license on its chest.
POSITIVE:
- Good betting offer and decent odds
- Big player in the background
- Top bonus up to EUR 100
- Good live betting offer
NEGATIVE:
- No paypal
- Service and support in English only
- Betting tax is transferred to customers
Website design and functionality
Sky Bet is basically based on the arrangement and structure of classic sports betting portals, but we noticed some things rather negatively. The page looks a bit overloaded. The contrast of a lot of white and little blue or red pleases in itself, but we find the yellow banners and overlays a little too bright and distracting from the essentials .
In terms of functionality, however, the bookmaker leaves almost nothing to be desired . The loading times are absolutely fine, the usual tools are available and run perfectly. The layout of the betting slip is classic at the top right of the image, which is also very clearly arranged. We were also somewhat disturbed by the rather confusing arrangement of the betting options. The chronological list, for example, means that the games of many different leagues are displayed in confusion during football matches.
Bonus & VIP program
That’s an offer: collect up to € 100 bonus at the start – without wagering requirements and minimum quota!
How can you better welcome new customers than with a great first-time bonus offer? Sky Bet does it differently than many competitors and serves you a welcome bonus in the form of a free bet. Compared to the competition, however, Sky Bet surprisingly stands out in terms of the bonus amount: You can clear up to 100 euros here.
Of course, as the name suggests, the new customer bonus only applies to new customers. The condition is that you really register for the first time with Sky Bet. As soon as you have created your account, you are entitled to the bonus. If you lose your first bet, you will receive the same amount up to € 100 as a free bet . If your first bet slip contains multiple qualifying bets, the highest bet is considered qualifying.
The special feature: There are no further wagering requirements for this bonus and there is no minimum quota for both the qualifying and the free bet to be received ! All in all, these sales conditions are absolutely outstanding, because a minimum quota is often a small challenge for beginners.
Betting offer
Sky Bet has been available since the end of 2017. Reason enough to subject the British bookmaker’s offer to a detailed editorial test. And that is quite impressive. There is a lot to do here, depending on the season, around 30 sports . In particular, the most popular disciplines in Europe are served extensively. But fans of marginal sports also get their money’s worth. What surprised us a bit in the test: British classics are rather thinly represented.
Football is king
Unsurprisingly, football also clearly comes first in Sky Bet. In the current test we were able to choose between around 70 leagues – a really respectable value! So of course the most important European leagues are covered, but you can also bet on exotic ones such as the Egyptian or the Bolivian first division. English football in particular is dealt with in an impressive variety, here it goes all the way down to the amateur sector. Sports betting fans with a soft spot for women’s football will also find their way here.
Portfolio is based on the mainstream
In addition to football, the bookies betting offer is extremely versatile. It is once again striking that the sports that are particularly popular in Europe are represented. The ranking for the round leather is followed by tennis, basketball, ice hockey and handball . US classics are available as well as martial arts, motor sports and winter sports. The connection to the mother country is, however, not very pronounced. Apart from snooker, darts and rugby, the offer here is currently rather thin. Traditionalists will surely miss original British disciplines such as greyhound or horse racing. Even those who enjoy betting outside of sports (TV events, political or social events) are currently not finding anything in the Sky Bet portfolio.
Quite neat in depth
As far as the depth of the betting offer is concerned, the focus is clearly on the popular sports and competitions. In Champions and the most important international soccer leagues, for example, a value of around 100 betting options is currently being achieved. The classics over / under betting , double chance , handicap etc. are of course represented, but also various special options such as betting on penalties , red and yellow cards .
Even if the betting offer is convincing overall in terms of breadth and depth, the absolute top bookies offer a lot more. For Sky Bet, it is therefore only sufficient for one place in the upper midfield in this category.
Live betting
Live betting offers are becoming increasingly popular among sports betting fans. Understandable, because this format offers considerable added value in terms of betting options and excitement. Our current test shows that Sky Bet is up to date in this area. Depending on the time of day and the season, there are between 20 and 50 live bets . The different encounters are very clearly arranged, and a graphical animation of the course of the game is available for each individual game. As far as the variety of betting options is concerned, however, compromises have to be made.
The live scores really convinced us in the test . In the English view, not only all past results are available, but also statistics, game comments, team lineups and information on the shape of the players . Those who like to plan for the long term will find a forecast of upcoming events with the calendar. Also very interesting are the possibilities that result from the combination with the Sky subscription or the free Sky radio.
deposits and withdrawals
In terms of deposit and withdrawal options, there is definitely still room for improvement at Sky Bet. Only credit cards (VISA and Mastercard), Sofortüberweisung and giropay are currently available. You search in vain for PayPal. In view of the relatively short time that the provider is on the market it can be expected that improvements will soon be made here.
The minimum deposit amount for all variants is 5 euros. Pleasing: there are no fees. In principle, withdrawals can only be made in the same way that money was deposited.
As with many other providers has long been standard, you as a customer must identify yourself with an ID document and a valid proof of address before the first payment.
Safety
In terms of seriousness and security, we can definitely give Sky Bet the top grade. The British bookie belongs – as the name suggests – to the Sky group, after all one of the largest media companies in the world. With offers such as Sky Sports, Sky Cinema and Sky News, it has been on the international market for many years and has millions of loyal customers. Sky is so public that negative headlines from the betting division are unlikely to be expected.
Sky Bet comes from Great Britain and has been licensed there as a bookmaker since 2001. The license from Malta , which is highly recognized in the industry, is decisive for Sky Bet’s German betting range . Customer communication is handled using secure SSL encryption, data security is therefore of the highest level . In addition, the bookmaker is actively involved in the area of responsible gaming – always an indication that you are dealing with a really trustworthy provider.
The sponsorship commitments should not go unmentioned . Sky Bet is the official sponsor of the English Football League and the Football League Championship, Sky Bet League 1 and Sky Bet League 2.
Service and support
For betting fans, the Sky Bet service is currently not yet ideal, because German-language support is not (yet) offered. However, it can be assumed that this will be remedied in the near future. On the other hand, the positive factor is that Sky Bet customer support can be reached in several ways . So you can choose between live chat, telephone hotline or the classic e-mail information. Another plus point: All three variants are completely free of charge . The availability of the employees is also convincing: between 8 and 11 p.m., one of the employees is usually available to offer advice and assistance.
In the SWV editorial test, the employees made a good impression and were able to clarify all test inquiries and problems quickly and friendly. Many questions are also answered in detail and clearly in the FAQ section of the bookmaker, so that contact is often not necessary.
Mobile app
If you would like to access Sky Bet’s betting offer from your mobile phone or tablet, you can do this in two different ways. However, the app is currently still withheld from Apple users, who can easily download it from the app store. Users of other devices have to be satisfied with an optimized web app.
The performance is convincing for both variants without restrictions. The entire betting portfolio is fully available in both versions . Bets can be placed without any problems. All functions such as cash-out and bonus functions can also be used on the go. The bottom line is an optimal implementation for betting “on the go”.
Additional offers
Sky Bet is currently holding back offers from sports betting. This may be due to the fact that the internationally renowned Sky brand stands behind the betting offer and would rather distance itself from casino offers. So there are no corresponding offers on the British version of the provider.