partysports Review

partysports Review

We apologize for the spoiler alert – but if you’ve given bwin a try, then you know what you’re getting with partysports. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. With the companies merging in 2011 and subsequently getting purchased in 2016 by British GVC Group to operate under their existing brands, the two sportsbook apps are virtually identical as they enter the crowded Ontario sports betting landscape. But there are enough differences between the sites for us to say we prefer partysports to bwin – if only barely.

partysports Locations

partysports is live and legal in Ontario, having been approved by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and iGaming Ontario. In addition, partysports and the partypoker brand have a worldwide reach as online casino operators.

Sports Leagues to Bet On

Partysports’ sports offerings match the industry standard, with a solid variety of global competitions from which to choose. Top sports options include hockey, baseball, basketball, football, soccer, golf, boxing, motor sports, MMA, rugby, and cricket.

Partysports also offers a few sports you won’t find on most North American sports betting apps, including water polo, beach volleyball, and biathlon. But the lack of esports is a massive omission, particularly for a brand that is so well-known in Europe and elsewhere.

NFL Betting

partysports provides NFL bettors with plenty of opportunities to profit on their favourite teams. Pre-game markets include moneylines, spreads, totals, and quarter- or half-specific markets, while players can also bet on any of partysports' in-game offerings.

NBA Betting

Basketball betting has grown in popularity, and partysports is here to serve the hoops-happy Toronto Raptors crowd with moneyline, spread, and total markets. Player and team props are also available here, though larger sportsbook operators have a greater selection of offerings.

College Football

College football betting is seeing increased interest in Canada, and partysports is ready to serve an eager Ontario audience with moneylines, spreads, and totals for most Division I NCAA football games during the season. Look for even more markets during bowl season.

College Basketball

Partysports has the bases covered when it comes to NCAA basketball betting, offering standard markets throughout the regular season and conference tournaments. And as with most providers, partysports steps things up a notch prior to March Madness tipping off.

NHL Betting

Hockey bettors will find partysports hits most of the right notes regarding daily offerings. Players can wager on moneylines, pucklines, or totals, while the in-game selections are decent. Team and player props are among the most popular live options for Toronto Maple Leafs betting.

MLB Betting

Summertime means Major League Baseball betting – and partysports comes armed with a decent offering of baseball odds. From moneyline, runline, and total options to player props, inning-specific markets, and alternate totals, Toronto Blue Jays betting fans have plenty to choose from here.

Other Sports Leagues

Partysports provides a strong base for soccer bettors, offering up a wide variety of wagering markets across many of the top European leagues. Tennis is also a strength of this operator, particularly when it comes to its selection of live betting opportunities.

Online Betting Experience

Players have three options with partysports: The desktop version, the mobile web version, and the app (which is downloadable on both Google Play and the App Store).

Website Experience

The interface is good but not great. The marquee games listed near the top of the screen are a major distraction, dwarfing the two more important menus directly above them. The design is also a bit on the drab side, relying on a simple gray-and-white palate with little color.

Mobile Betting and Betting App

Fortunately for partysports, the app functionality is far superior to that of bwin (or should it be bTwin?). The partysports app actually moves quite seamlessly from bet to bet and sport to sport with little lag; players can easily add bets to their betslip, and completing a wager is a snap.

Bettors can download the app for iOS or Android devices, but there aren’t enough reviews to provide a worthwhile rating here.

Live Betting

Partysports takes live wagering seriously – the result of that attention to detail is a truly immersive, next-level in-game experience for beginners and expert bettors alike.

Partysports offers live betting for hundreds of sporting events daily, from the biggest and most-bet markets to some of the more obscure daily offerings. The app quickly updates odds based on the action, and its responsiveness allows bettors to make their live bets quickly.

Making this product even better is a high-quality live streaming experience featured prominently on the main page. Bettors can access streaming options for a limited number of events in the top right corner of the screen, though players will need to be logged in (and, in some cases, have an actual bet on the event) before being able to view it.

Casino, Poker, & Other Gaming Options

As with most sportsbook operators in Ontario, partysports has a strong offering of casino and poker games for players looking to expand their gaming interests.

Bettors can access the main “partycasino” tab at the top of the desktop or app home page. Slots are sorted into categories, including most popular, top jackpot slots, and recently added games. Players can also access partysports’ table games from within the partycasino menu, a list that includes blackjack and roulette.

And as you might expect, being aligned with the partypoker brand means having one of the top selections of poker games of any operator in Ontario. Players can choose between various cash games and tournaments, all from the comfort of the desktop site or mobile app.

partysports History

PartyGaming plc was founded in 1997 and became a global force thanks to its flagship brand, PartyPoker, which was launched four years later. PartyPoker was the world’s most popular online poker site until the mid-2000s but was forced to shut down its U.S. real money operations following the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.  

The company continued undaunted outside the United States, eventually merging with bwin Interactive Entertainment in 2011 to form Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment. Headquartered in Gibraltar, the company became the world’s largest publicly traded online gambling firm before being sold to GVC Holdings in 2016.

PartyPoker was rebranded as partypoker and expanded to include slots and table games (partycasino) and sports betting (partysports). GVC Holdings (renamed Entain plc) brought the three brands into Ontario’s legal sports betting space, launching on April 12, 2022, to become the province’s 17th live operator.

Customer Ratings & Reputation

We talked earlier about how the partysports app responsiveness is superior to bwin. But two critical strikes against bwin also apply to partysports.

The first, and perhaps most disappointing, is the quality of odds. partysports routinely offers pre-game odds for the major North American sports that lag behind the competition in terms of customer advantage. And it’s even worse with marquee international sports (primarily soccer), where the juice is 3-to-6 cents higher than most competitors on average.

The lack of a dedicated loyalty program is also a significant strike.

Customer Service

Partysports offers the standard methods of reaching out to Customer Service, though these options aren’t that easy to find in the app. You’ll need to go into the “Help & Contact” tab, click “Browse our help topics,” select “Other,” choose the “I haven’t found what I’m looking for” option, and then decide on how you would like to contact partysports’ CS department. Not ideal.

From there, the service itself is merely okay. Having a 24/7 chat option is nice, but not when the operators occasionally take minutes to answer simple questions. You can expect a similar experience, whether reaching out by phone (613-902-0309) or email (done through a form on the app itself). Nothing gets answered quickly, it would seem.

partysports Contact

• 24/7 Live Chat
• Phone: 1-613-902-0309
• Email: Users must submit an online form.

partysports Legal Betting

Partysports is regulated in Ontario by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and iGaming Ontario.

Responsible Gambling

All legal and regulated sportsbooks in Ontario are required to register with the Responsible Gambling Council, a leader in the prevention of problem gambling in Canada and globally for over 35 years.

partysports Review Conclusion

Do you remember that movie "Twins" with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger? Well, imagine that movie, but instead of having one twin be Arnold Schwarzenegger, you just had another Danny DeVito. That's basically what you're getting here with partysports and bwin.

This app doesn’t stand out on its own, offering unfavorable odds and middling withdrawal options with time frames that really should be much faster. While we’re thankful that the app is less of a disaster than bwin’s, when that’s the second-most redeeming quality of your sports betting provider (behind some HD-quality live streaming), you’re probably better off looking for another sports betting provider.