Online sportsbooks must score highly in the following areas to qualify for inclusion on the best sportsbooks grid.
Financial Stability & Speed of Payouts
Sportsbook ratings are shaped in large part by the solvency and payout track record of each online sportsbook. A company that struggles to pay bettors on time or within their advertised payment window is unfit to be displayed on the above list. There are no outstanding payout complaints from any of the online sportsbooks featured.
SBR routinely conducts polls of the sportsbook forum community which has more than 400,000 active members to determine how quickly players are being paid and what issues they may have encountered. Placement on the best sportsbooks list is not for sale, and the online sportsbooks displayed are subject to change as issues arise.
Years Online
An online sportsbook needs to have operated for a minimum of 7 years without major blemishes to qualify to be listed.
While there are many good sportsbooks that have gotten their start within the last 7 years that are displayed on the rating guide, the sportsbooks simply do not yet have enough mileage and history of doing right by players to make the best sportsbooks list.
Sportsbook Bonuses & Incentives
There are many reasons to have more than one sportsbook account and bonuses is one of them. It can be difficult to profit wagering throughout a long sports calendar without the benefit of perks and incentives; the online sportsbooks listed on this page offer some form of a sports free play, cash bonus, or reduced juice (discounted bookmaking margins).
Sportsbooks that offer outlandish bonuses with inordinately high rollover requirements do not qualify for inclusion on the best sportsbooks list. The companies listed have reasonable and fun perks for bettors who like to search for some bang for their buck. There are no hidden, impossible to complete wagering requirements buried in the small print at these betting sites.
Cashier Options: Sending & Receiving Funds from Online Sportsbooks
Sometimes it can be more difficult to make a successful deposit than to place a winning sports bet. The betting sites on the best sportsbooks list have shown initiative in this area by keeping up with the times and adding unique and cheap ways of funding accounts like bitcoin, and a host of other options to allow for quick and convenient funding. Bitcoin, for example, allows players to move funds through a number of sportsbooks without incurring costly fees on top of every transaction.
Sending and receiving money should be the most hassle free aspect of a relationship with an online bookmaker; while third-party processors can occasionally muck up any gambler’s day as seasoned veterans know, the sportsbooks listed on the above grid have proven to be the most consistent and reliable facilitating transactions over the long haul.
Wagering Variety
Betting vanilla lines with no spice is no fun for even the most average of Joes. The online sportsbooks listed each offer some form of exotic wagering, super teasers, proposition bets, or dedicated in-play wagering to provide a more well-rounded wagering experience, and one with more possibility than a bettor might find even at the Las Vegas strip.
All of the sportsbooks displayed also make their betting odds feed available on SBROdds, allowing bettors to compare their product vs. rival bookmakers and showing a complete history of line changes, which can be invaluable for interpreting market movements and predicting future market fluctuations.
Software & Mobile Betting Platforms
Mobile wagering accounts for more than 50% of sports betting volume these days, a figure that will only rise as players have found placing bets on their smartphones, tablets, and other devices to be more convenient than wagering on traditional desktop computers and laptops. All of the online sportsbooks displayed on the best sportsbooks grid make either a dedicated mobile platform or responsive website design available, ensuring that regardless of the device, sports bettors are treated to a world-class betting experience.
Customer Service
Bad customer service can ruin your day no matter the industry, and the sportsbooks industry is no different. SBR constantly surveys and monitors the posting forum to collect feedback from bettors in this area, and annually conducts an email response test to measure how much time it takes for sportsbooks to address random questions.
The online sportsbooks featured also offer either phone support (wagering and/or customer service), and assistance via live chat, which is the preferred method of contacting online sportsbooks according to most players.