SkyBet Reviews & Ratings UK 2020
Is SkyBet reliable?
Sky Bet UK is a sportsbook of Sky group which also offers Sky Poker, Sky Vegas, Sky Bingo and Sky Lotto besides the incredible sportsbook. Sky is a major global brand, and Sky Bet UK was launched back in 2000 when the company bought up a diminutive online betting firm named Surrey Sports. After a quick rebranding drive and many other acquisitions, Sky Bet was born in 2002. They operate solely online and are regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, as well as the UK Gambling Commission. You might be wondering “Is Sky Bet reliable and is Sky Bet secure?” Sky Bet UK is safe and a legitimate online sportsbook where UK players get a great deal of fun and money.
In our opinion, you don’t need to go through any other Sky Bet reviews because we think ours is the most comprehensive and honest one you would find on the web. Our review and Sky Bet ratings can help you judge if this is the right operator for you.
Like most Sky Bet reviews, let us first go through the pros and cons of Sky Bet UK:
- Super promos
- Superb customer service
- Very good and user-friendly platform
- Ensures mobile apps that are compatible with both Android and iOS
- Offers limited payment methods
- Live chat is not available 24/7
- Only a few countries are allowed to sign up
In our Sky Bet reviews, one of the most important aspects is the bonuses. These days it is a norm to get bonuses when you sign in with a sportsbook. Sky Bet UK offers a range of welcome bonuses to its customers. When you log in their site you will need to go to their promotions tab to see what the latest offerings by Sky Bet UK.
They have exclusive ‘Today Offers’ where you will find a bonus offer just available for that day, for instance, at the time of writing this review we saw “Get 10% back as cash on in-play football winnings” and “A Soccer Saturday Super Boost”. It really depends on the day you sign in and also the season. You can see special bonuses for Christmas and New Year or when a mega-event is nearing the calendar.
It is not feasible for us to write all the bonuses here as they keep changing regularly. Each bonus comes with an expiry date and a bag of terms and conditions which you must satisfy. Sky Bet UK is one of the bookmakers among Betfair, Betfred and Mecca Bingo and others that gives bonus bets in the welcome package to its new customers.
Once you join Sky Bet UK, you can ,take their generous welcome bonus. The site provides a ‘£10 bonus bet’ no deposit bonus. This no-deposit welcome bonus is one of the easiest and customer-friendly among its rivals.
At Sky Bet UK, the loyal customers can also get a bonus bet which is worth £5 whenever they bet a minimum of £25 every week. If you wish to get access to the site’s welcome bonus, all you have to do is look for ‘bonus bet club’ during the sign-up process. The welcome package comes with an expiry date of one month. Nevertheless, there are certain things to take note of to get your bonus bet upon sign-up easily. You are only qualified for the bonus if you are making a new account directly on the Sky Bet site or using their app and not Sky other sites which like their casino, Vegas, poker, or bingo. You are also not qualified if you are using Neteller or Moneybookers.
Additionally, you are already considered a registered member of Sky Bet UK if you have an account on either Sky Sports Fantasy Football or Soccer Saturday Super 6. To activate your account, all you need to do is to enter your login information from any of the accounts. You can still activate the welcome bonus as long as you haven’t bet on Sky Bet. The offer is only redeemable once per IP address. It is non-withdrawable, and bonus bet stakes are not covered in any returns. The welcome offer we think is great as a package and is perfect for new customers.
No online betting experience is great if the usability of the website is poor, and punters suffer when their valuable time is wasted, which is why our Sky Bet reviews analyse the usability of the operator’s site.
Usability
On the main page, you can find important information pretty easily. Users can easily join in or log in to the site. The site is comprehensive, but it may be confusing for a new player as the information is overwhelming. Bet slips are easily created. Users need one account to log in their other products like Sky Vegas, Sky Casino, Sky Poker, Sky Bingo, Sky Lotto etc.
Design
The design of the site is simple yet comprehensive. We love how the site is neatly organised into sections. The site uses indigo and white theme with flash adverts of all the offers running. The uppermost panel has tabs to go to their other products.
The drop-down menu has all the quick links to subjects like promotions, my bets, In-play and also has a special section for favourites. You can also see an A-Z sport listed in the menu with a star sign on the side. Clicking on the star sign makes the sport your favourite, and you can instantly see it under the favourite tab.
You can also see the home button, promotions, bets, rules and help section. On the home page, you can also see the odds of the ongoing match and a lot of information along with it. As we said earlier, it may be too much information for new players, but for regulars it is great.
The other section of the page includes featured sports and in-plays. Users can check out the upcoming race, updates and markets available for each sport. If you want to try something other than betting on games, you can try out their betting on roulette or participate in their virtual sports.
Weekly or daily promotions can be found on the top-centre of the website. You can check your bet slip by seeing the right-hand section of their home page. Overall, the design of the Sky Bet site is very sleek, making it very simple for customers to use and increasing Sky Bet ratings. The format is perfectly designed to meet every punter’s needs and is very easy to read.
Performance
The site loads up very quickly on both the desktop and the mobile device. If Sky Bet is not allowed in your country, you will not be allowed to access the site at all. The site optimises very well to small screens and does not lose any functionality in this transition.
Payments are a vital part of our Sky Bet reviews, as betting with real money is half the fun of gambling.
The ways to deposit your funds with Sky Bet are Visa Debit card, Credit card, Electron, Mastercard, Maestro, PayPal, and Solo. However, At Sky Bet UK punters can only add UK and Ireland issued cards to the payment method as international cards are not allowed.
To deposit your funds, you simply need to log into your account and select “My Account”. Click on the deposit link and select the card you wish to choose. The minimum deposit is £5 for cards and £10 for PayPal. You can check your history from the Account History section. Users can limit the amount they want to deposit from the ‘Deposit Limit’ section. Sky Bet does not currently make any charges or application fee for deposits. You may wish to however check with your card issuer to learn more on this.
The withdrawal methods are similar. You need to go to the Payment Method section and click on Withdrawals. The withdrawal on Sky Bet takes two to five working days. To help its users, Sky Bet has started a Fast Withdrawal method which works currently only on Barclays and Nationwide debit card customers only where they get their amount in a matter of two hours. Only withdrawals less than £1500 are eligible for this method.
There is no charge or fee for withdrawals to UK debit or credit cards, which adds points to our Sky Bet ratings.
There are numerous ways you can contact the Sky Bet representatives. Here we have listed for you all the options offered by them.
- Phone: The opening times for their hotline are 8 am to midnight. It is not a 24 hours service, and standard charges apply. The number is 0330024477.
- Live Chat: If you click on their help section, you can see all the options. On clicking Live chat, you need to add your relevant details like First Name, Last Name, Email and Category and start chatting. The waiting time is around 30 seconds. You have the option to save the chat as well to keep a copy of some important information which is very handy.
- Messenger: They also have a messenger option where users can chat on their Facebook messenger. This is not available with most of the operators and something that is very attractive, especially if you are a Facebook fan.
- Twitter handle: Users can directly question them from their Twitter handle and expect an answer.
- Email: You can email their team on [email protected] Bet.com and expect an answer in a day or so.
There is an extensive FAQ section where a lot of queries are already solved. You may find your answers there easily. All you need to do is search your question or simply enter the keyword. You would then see a list of similar queries.
The best way to communicate depends on your questions, but we love their Live Chat as it is more private and direct.
The Sky Bet team is very professional and talented and gives helpful answers. They are fluent in native English and also speak a couple of European languages. All this adds up more points on our Sky Bet ratings. If you are a VIP member, depending on your activity, you will be getting good extra support on Sky Bet UK.
Another crucial part of our Sky Bet review is about its security. Is Sky Bet reliable and is Sky Bet secure? We’ll answer those questions for you right now!
Sky Bet was under the management of Sports Internet Group and made its name known among bookmakers July of 2000. The group was taken by BSkyB and owned a host of betting companies such as Planet Football and Opta Index.
A betting company, known as Surrey Sports was also a component of this bookmaking family, which was later joined with the two companies. This large merging between quality bookmakers became the opening point, and the start of one of the most well-known and highly trusted betting sites of today, which has now changed its name and is known as Sky Bet.
Licensing
The company has its license from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission so that their markets are offered overseas; meanwhile, to operate in the UK, they are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. Sadly, they only accept customers from specific countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Channel Islands, and Gibraltar.
Stock Exchange Listing
In the year 2015, a massive part of the site was sold to CVC Capital Partners. They, however, kept a 20% share of the stake which was worth £800 million in 2014. They also own a long-term license for the brand. Their headquarters are in several places across the United Kingdom and also in Rome.
Data & Site Encryption
Sky Bet websites are encrypted using Verisign SSL technology to keep your details safe. Every time you log in to their site, they show you the date and time of your last login so you can identify if anyone else has accessed your account. Additionally, if you are inactive on the site for a period of 90 minutes, we will automatically log you out.
Protection of Minors
The minors are strictly not allowed to play or bet on Sky Bet site. There is a lot of software which checks the age limit, and even on the login, you need to write your birth date. The site will block your account if they are suspicious about your age limit.
Certifications
The site is certified by GamCare, and you can see the symbol in their site map as well. Sky Bet has multiple tools to help you play responsibly.
We hope by now your doubts like “Is Sky Bet reliable” and “Is Sky Bet secure” are resolved completely.
At Sky Bet, loyal customers can get a bonus bet worth £5 whenever they bet at least £25 every week. Sky Bet Club is their ongoing loyalty offer where new and existing customers are rewarded with a £5 bonus every week for betting a total of £25 a week on their favourite sports.
What do you need to do to make sure you receive this great offer? Simply meet the Sky Bet requirements, and you’ll receive your £5 bonus bet every week you bet a total of £25 or more. Here are the requirements:
- Ensure to opt-in
- Place £25 or more in qualifying cash takes.
- Bets must be 1/1 or above
- Cashed out bets do not count
- Void bets do not count
- Tote bets will not qualify
Bonus bets for the Sky Bet Club promotion are credited by 7 pm Monday. Bonus Bets have no expiration date so you can use your bonus bet whenever you want to.
There are no regular VIP events unless especially announced through an invite. Based on your activities, you will be treated on Sky Bet. It really depends on how much you spend. If you are a lavish spender, you may get a lot of attention on Sky Bet.
Sky Bet is known for its bookmaking service all around Europe, especially in the UK and Ireland. It is mainly known for its wide selection of famous plays that clients enjoy. Sky Bet is directly connected to the Sky Sports TV Channels, enabling its customers to place a bet on sports that are also being covered by these channels and which can be watched live.
Sky bet offers betting markets for sports and games from A to Z but is mainly known for its football and horse racing – sports that are wildly popular with punters. The other sports that are connected to Sky Sports Channel which have bets offered by Sky Bet are basketball, tennis, F1 motorsports, ASCAR, winter sports, boxing, cricket, rugby and American football. If you’re looking to bet on less famous markets, you can also find them on Sky Bet as the site also offers e-sports, yachting, and triathlon. You can also find politics and film bets on Sky Bet which are not so popular on other sites.
Sky Bet is also very incredible when it comes to offering the best odds in the industry. With Sky Bet, you can find really high odds on the site. They also have excellent market prices that are difficult for punters to neglect and offer excellent accumulator odds in comparison to its rivals. Due to the high odds, we give very high Sky Bet ratings.
The minimum bet is 5p (or currency equivalent). The maximum bet per selection is as determined by Sky Bet UK from time to time.
Sky Bet offers one of the best live betting markets in the industry in the UK and Ireland. They have a decent range of sports such as basketball, football, tennis and ice hockey. Sky Bet also offers its customers attractive odds on various games that are played worldwide. Punters can find live betting for eSports Championship and Pro League events on Sky Bet. Another great thing about Sky Bet is that punters can withdraw their winnings even if the game is not over. The players need to ensure that it is being offered by the site. Punters can find major and minor tournaments available on Sky Bet, making it easier to match the customer’s choice.
Live Streaming
Sky Bet provides live streaming services to its customers. You can find their live streaming option on the website by navigating around their football and horse racing pages. You will be able to see the words’ Bet and Watch’ located on the top-right corner. We love the quality of HD they provide in their live streaming.
In order to watch the game of live horse racing, you would need a minimum of £1 in your account, which is pretty much similar to most sports bookmakers in the industry today. Unfortunately, there are a few races that you are not able to see live such as greyhound races on Sky Bet. The quality of their live stream is incredible, giving customers a clear view of the game. The tennis matches are live-streamed for free.
Cash Out
One of the unique features of Sky Bet is being able to cash out part of your winnings during an ongoing game. The amount depends on the time you decide to take out your winnings and will alter depending on the chances of your bet winning. Remember, this feature is only available on selected sports and not on all.
Virtual Sports is the ideal option for clients who want to bet on a sport that is available 24 hours. Unlike other methods of betting, betting on a virtual game lets you see the game’s results at a faster rate. The fun and thrill felt in traditional betting are also similar, but this feature can often be more convenient to use.
The virtual sports that are available on Sky Bet are horse racing, greyhound racing, football, and motorsports. Out of these, horse racing has the largest range and variation in contests. Same methods apply when you are betting on virtual sports. All you have to do is select the game you want to play and place your bet.
Sky Bet is the ideal bookmaker to go to if you’re looking for great odds and prices, especially when it comes to horse racing.
Because they pay special attention on horse racing, there’s no doubt that they would give the best features. They have updated on the latest races and provides customers’ price boosts’, concessions, and guaranteed cash-back. They also give promotions whenever there’s a gathering of top horses.
In such events, they have various offers for each race or horses. Apart from horse racing, users can also bet on greyhounds. They can easily locate this sport on the left-hand section of the drop-down menu, wherein different games are listed from A to Z in their menu. The page also shows meetings, upcoming races and various specials. Virtual greyhound racing is also available every three minutes. Sky Bet also offers the best statistics on plays happening in Ireland and the United Kingdom, with the aid of Sporting Life.
We can’t talk about Sky Bet without mentioning the fantastic Sky Casino. This is absolutely packed with high quality online casino games that should give you something to do while waiting for that next big sports match.
If you are into slots gaming, then Sky Casino should definitely be able to help you out. They had literally hundreds of top quality slot games on offer, and these included legendary slots like Age of Gods, Anaconda Wild and Retro Rush.
Sky Casino have a similarly impressive range of table games. From classics like roulette and blackjack to baccarat and hold ’em poker, there’s truly something for everyone. Don’t forget to check out the video poker options at Sky Casino either.
Live dealer gaming is massive at the moment, and it’s nice to find that Sky Casino offer you plenty of live casino games. Obviously, you’ll find lots of variants of blackjack and roulette in the Sky Casino live casino, but we also enjoyed live dealer options like Sic Bo and stud poker.
All online casinos will have limits on the amount you can win, and Sky Casino is no different. The brand states that you can win up to £250,000 for each bet, and you can’t withdraw more than £50,000 per calendar day.
Sky Casino have done a great job with their casino site. There are hundreds of slots and table games here and they are all capable of helping you make some decent winnings. Whether you’re after a simple slot game or a massive live blackjack tournament, then Sky Casino is a great place to go.
If you are into poker gaming, then it would be very worthwhile to take trip to the Sky Poker site. It has all of the poker tournaments you could wish for, and there are many different variants of this classic card game to play. You’ll need to download the desktop poker software to get started, but it will give you an effortless way to play this famous casino game.
Sky Poker feature all of the most popular poker variants on their site. This means that you get a good choice of hold’em poker here, and you’ll definitely appreciate the range of Omaha and Omaha Hi Lo games on the gaming website.
When we loaded up the Sky Poker site, we found that there were no less than 213 tables on offer. This presented you with a massive choice of poker tournaments. Most of these poker contests could see you playing games against six people, and you could enter with stakes as small as just £0.02. However, there were plenty of high stakes poker games available for all of those high-rollers out there.
The Sky Poker tournaments have lots of options for no limit games, pot limit games and fixed limit games. Just remember that you can only win up to £250,000 on the Sky Poker site.
All poker fans will enjoy what they find at Sky Poker. There’s a massive number of poker tournaments here, and you’ll find plenty of options of hold ’em and Omaha poker on this site. So make sure that you download the Sky Poker software and see what you can win.
Overall, Sky Bet gets a good score if you are a punter from the UK. If you are located elsewhere, you won’t be able to access their sportsbook. The operator offers a great site with good usability, high odds, live stream options and in-play betting. It does not have a live chat round the clock, but that is not a big downside due to the comprehensive FAQ section. The site is licensed and is secure to use, leaving no room for doubts like “Is Sky Bet reliable” and “Is Sky Bet secure?”
Sky Bet has done an excellent job from the design of the site to the variety of sports they offer. They also are generous when giving out bonuses and promotions. To every sports fan out there, Sky Bet is definitely a bookmaker you should consider.
