How We Review Gambling Sites
There are several important aspects that combine to bring you the perfect online wagering experience. Every punter has its own preferences, and each player ranks and prioritizes different elements, but we take an objective look at each site to bring you comprehensive and unbiased reviews.
One of the key elements we review is usability. Often, you need to place bets in a hurry and it’s easy to get frustrated if you can’t find the market you want when you want it. Sites that make our recommended list need to be slick. There’s no room for on-screen clutter, which can be incredibly off-putting.
We carefully analyze how quickly you can navigate between the different competitions and markets and whether it’s easy enough to place an accumulator or if it’s an arduous task.
Most online sportsbooks offer an incentive for new players in the form of a welcome bonus. We take a careful look at bonuses and promotions to figure out how they favour punters. There are those welcome bonuses that are far more generous than others, so we help you consider all your options before you sign up with an online betting site.
What’s more, we take an in-depth look at the range of markets on offer and whether or not they cater to individual bettors. Is there an extensive range of odds? Or does it seem to favour a certain kind of player?
Another area we closely study is payment methods. Each punter has its own preferences and even though many stick to one method, it’s still good to have a choice. We also detail a site’s deposit and withdrawal limits, fees, and withdrawal processing times.
We made a very thorough assessment test that helps us review online gambling sites and rank them. If you’re interested in how it works and how we review every aspect in detail, make sure to continue reading our text.
First of all, we’re going to cover some of the most important parts of every type of online gambling site. After that, we’ll focus on universal aspects that we consider important, regardless of the site.
Payment Methods
There’s no denying that payment methods are the most important factor when choosing a betting site. Strong odds and enticing bonuses are irrelevant if a betting site fails to pay out in a timely fashion. Our Payments Page goes over all the different payment methods commonly available for deposits and withdrawals at online bookies, such as:
- Credit and debit cards
- E-wallets
- Virtual cards
- Bank transfers
Within our pages, we discuss elements like speed and cost, as well as fees. Sites that pay players out timeously and offer cost-effective options often jump to the top of the list, whereas slow-paying and no-paying is a big red flag for us.
Bonuses and Promotions
Bonuses and promotions play a central role in the world of online gambling. Back in the 90s when online casinos and other similar sites started popping up all over the web, they had to find a way to attract new users. Needless to say, welcome bonuses proved to be the most obvious solution, and they work even today. That’s why we pay special attention when reviewing bonuses and promotions including 1$ deposit casinos.
Bonuses can come in many shapes and sizes. The most important one is the welcome bonus which is awarded to new players. There are two types of welcome bonuses — no deposit and deposit.
Deposit Bonuses
Deposit bonuses are usually activated when you make a deposit. The most popular type is the match bonus, which matches your minimum deposit amount in bonus money. For example, if the match bonus is 100%, you’ll receive £100 if you deposit £100. If the match is 200%, you’ll receive twice the amount of your deposit — £200 in this case. Bonuses usually have upper limits, which is the maximum amount you can receive as a gift. Sometimes, online casinos offer additional prizes on top of your bonus, such as free spins.
No deposit bonuses are not as frequent as deposit welcome bonuses, so that’s why we consider the latter more important when reviewing an online gambling site. There’s always some kind of deposit bonus for new players, no matter if they want to play casino games or place bets on sports and other events.
However, it’s vital to understand that not all bonuses are as lucrative as they seem. Imagine having two casinos and both offering a 100% deposit bonus of up to £1,000. Would you trust us if we told you that these two bonuses could be completely different, despite offering the same amount?
That’s because you’re viewing only the surface level of online bonuses, and to truly understand how they work, you need to dig a little deeper under the surface. Luckily, our team of experts is always ready for such a journey, meaning that all gambling sites on Betopin have been thoroughly scrutinized for the quality of the bonuses they offer.
There are many rules regarding promotions that you need to take into account if you want to find their actual value. These rules are usually written in the Terms and Conditions section of the bonus, so we read them carefully to determine whether the reward is really valuable. The T&C part of every bonus is what makes the difference between a good and a bad bonus.
Wagering requirements are perhaps the most important part of every bonus. They are often referred to as playthrough requirements or rollover requirements — but what are they? Let’s find out.
Wagering Requirements
Wagering requirements tell you how much money you need to wager to be able to withdraw your bonus. For example, let’s say that you receive a 100% welcome bonus on your first deposit and receive £20 in bonus money after depositing the same amount. What would you do with it? Would you use it for playing games? What about withdrawing all £40 from the site and making an immediate profit? It seems too good to be true — because it isn’t. Online gambling platforms would lose all their money if that were possible, and that’s why wagering requirements exist.
If wagering requirements are, for example, 20x, it means you’ll have to wager the amount of money that’s 20 times higher than your bonus amount. 20 times £20 is £400, which is the exact amount you should wager before you can withdraw your £20 in bonuses.
Bonuses are limited in many ways, and wagering requirements proved to be the most effective ones. However, the good news is that some platforms offer lower wagering requirements.
Let’s get back to our ‘identical bonuses’ example. Let’s say you deposit £10 on each and receive £10 in bonus money. However, one of them has 20x wagering requirements and the other 40x. The difference is that you’ll have to wager £400 on one and £800 on the other if you want to withdraw your bonus amount.
This is one of the most important things that we take into account when reviewing bonuses of online gambling platforms. Therefore, most of the sites you see featured on Betopin come with decent wagering requirements.
Eligible Games
Some online casinos and other gambling platforms offer limited options for your bonus money. For example, online casinos will only allow you to spend the money on specific games, and sports betting sites will allow you to choose only a couple of betting markets.
We made sure that bonuses on sites featured on Betopin don’t have strict limits of this kind. Although some of them might be limited, that shouldn’t affect your overall experience while on the site of your choice.
Loyalty and VIP Programs
Finally, many online gambling sites offer special prizes for their VIP players. These programs are usually tiered, meaning that you can progress through levels and make your gambling experience even better. If you plan to bet actively on the platform of your choice, make sure to check out its loyalty or VIP program (if there’s one).
For example, a Level 1 VIP player might receive a 5% cashback bonus, while Level 5 might receive a 25% cashback. What we’re saying is that loyalty and VIP programs are tailored to reward you more if you play more.
Some betting platforms that we included on Betopin have such programs, and we made sure to review them as well and tell you whether they are worth it.
Customer Support
Many professional punters and casino players consider customer support in online gambling essential. The support team should always be ready to help you whenever you contact them. Moreover, they should be at your disposal all the time, and you should be able to contact them via at least two methods.
The most common way to get in touch with the support is by using the live chat feature that is available on many gambling sites nowadays. However, some people prefer sending an email, so this option is also considered essential. When rating online sportsbooks and casinos, we make sure that these two methods are available. If it lacks either live chat or email support, we consider that a major drawback.
The third option is to call customer support on the phone. If the site offers this way of communication with the team, you should take into account the working hours and the audio quality of the phone call. With so many obstacles in mind, live chat, and email remain the two most popular options for customer support.
We test the customer support team of every online gambling platform we review. We rank the quality of their responses and the speed with which they respond. Therefore, all the sites featured on Betopin have customer support that’s helpful and organized.
Safety and Security
Staying safe on the web nowadays is very important, as you don’t want your sensitive data to fall into the wrong hands. This is especially true when it comes to joining an online gambling platform, such as an online casino or sportsbook. You’ll have to connect a preferred payment method, make a deposit, and leave some of your info on the site. That’s why you want the safety and security levels to be the best possible.
Safety is achieved in many ways, but the most important one is through licensing. An official gambling commission usually provides licences, and they are the most important part of every gambling platform. If an official regulatory body does not license the site you want to join, you better avoid it. All sites that we review are licensed, so you will not have to worry about being scammed in any way.
Some of the most popular gambling authorities in the world are the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority, the Curacao Gaming Control Board, Spelinspektionen (the Swedish Gambling Authority), and more.
Some of these regulators are country-specific. For example, the UKGC will regulate online gambling platforms that are available in the UK, and the Swedish regulator will do that for Sweden. However, some reputable regulators such as the Malta Gaming Authority or Curacao offer international licenses that are often referred to as offshore licences. However, this doesn’t make them less valuable, although they have fewer restrictions than the UKGC.
A safe online platform is a fair online platform. Users don’t want to get scammed by fake betting markets or rigged online slots. That’s why every online casino or sports betting site needs to be regularly audited by an independent company. These companies are reputable in the world of online gambling and are overall trusted by the people from the industry, that’s why their fairness certificate means that the site you want to join is fair and trustworthy.
Betting on Sports
Here at Betopin, we’re big on opinions. That’s why you’ll find everything you need to know about different types of sports and how to bet on them at sportsbooks, spread betting, and betting exchanges. We also review competitions, matches, and games to bring you in-depth opinions and advice.
Some of the most popular sports we cover include horse racing, football, boxing, golf, and cricket, amongst many others. You can also find some of the best betting tips for these sports on our betting tips page where our in-house tipsters show you the patch to success.
