PowerPlay Review

PowerPlay Sportsbook Summary

You can divide Canadian sports betting operators into two main groups: Those who actually operate sportsbooks and those who have casinos with sportsbooks on the side.

PowerPlay Sportsbook falls into the latter category, which is unfortunate news for anyone hoping for a good experience. While PowerPlay does have a fine selection of sports and live bet markets, you can’t help but get the feeling you’re using a site that would much rather see you play the slots or toss your chips onto the Baccarat table than wager on sports.

PowerPlay Quick Facts

PowerPlay Locations

PowerPlay is available as a worldwide online casino and sportsbook operator. It is regulated and licensed as a remote operator by Curacao Interactive Licensing N.V.

Sports Leagues to Bet On

If you want to be competitive in a fierce Canadian sports betting market, 25 is the magic number for sports offered – and PowerPlay gets there, if only barely.

Main attractions include the four major North American professional sports, along with NCAA football and basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, MMA, and cricket. PowerPlay also provides odds for Australian Rules Football, boxing, cycling, handball, and badminton, among others. 

Most importantly for esports enthusiasts, PowerPlay features odds for various game types, including League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Dota 2. Unfortunately, all events are lumped together in one master menu, so you can’t sort by game type.

NFL Betting

PowerPlay 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 PowerPlay’s in-game offerings.

NBA Betting

Basketball betting has grown in popularity, and PowerPlay is here to serve the hoops-happy 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. PowerPlay is ready to serve an eager 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

PowerPlay has the bases covered in NCAA basketball betting, offering standard markets throughout the regular season and conference tournaments. And as with most providers, PowerPlay steps things up a notch before March Madness tips off.

NHL Betting

Hockey bettors will find PowerPlay 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.

MLB Betting

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

Other Sports Leagues

PowerPlay’s eSports offering is impressive. PowerPlay also carries virtual soccer, virtual greyhounds, and other games.

Online Betting Experience

With no mobile app – at least at the moment – players must choose between the desktop or mobile web versions. And from the moment you log on, you can tell that PowerPlay would much rather have you check out its casino.

Website Experience

The main site setup is standard, with the sports menu on the left, the betslip on the right, and your markets of choice down the middle. But with giant rotating ads (a mix of sports and casino promos) featured in the top middle of the screen and a strip of casino promos and recent winners situated under the betslip on the right, there isn’t much real estate devoted to sports.

If that weren’t enough of a red flag, transitioning between sports markets often comes with a delay of between three and five seconds. It’s the same when you click into a matchup to access that game’s betting options. All in all, this interface is below average.

Mobile Betting and Betting App

Things are slightly better on the mobile web version, which is modestly faster at switching from one menu to another. But it’s still cluttered with game ads and promos, shrinking the available screen space for sportsbook content and generally sullying the experience.

PowerPlay doesn’t yet offer an iOS or Android app for its Canadian product.

Live Betting

If you can work around its constant casino overtures and slow interface, PowerPlay has a decent live bet offering.

Clicking “Bet Live” in the top right corner next to the home screen button will take you to the site’s list of live events, organized by sport (and usually beginning with soccer). You can easily find the live game you’re looking for; it would be nice if the live markets button were a bit easier to click, but that’s a niggling issue.

If you’re planning your schedule, you can easily access the “Upcoming Matches” schedule listed in the top middle of the live betting screen and plan accordingly. A “Popular Bets” tab offers a handful of the most popular live picks. 

Finally, PowerPlay doesn’t offer live streaming aside from its virtual games, which prevents it from reaching the upper echelon of sportsbook experiences like those provided by bet365 or Sports Interaction.

Casino, Poker, & Other Gaming Options

Did we mention that PowerPlay has a casino?

Clicking into the “Casino” tab at the top of the page takes players to the main gaming screen, where they’ll find hundreds of online slot machines sorted into categories like Most Popular, Featured Slots, and New Games. Clicking on the main “Slots” tab at the top, then scrolling to the bottom of the page, gives you access to the complete list of PowerPlay slots offerings.

The site has plenty of table games, as well. Whether you fancy blackjack, roulette, or Baccarat, you have plenty of static and live dealer tables to choose from at PowerPlay. Unfortunately, there is no real poker presence besides a few 1-on-1 poker games with a live dealer.

PowerPlay History

Operated by Deck Entertainment N.V. and sublicensed by C.I.L. Curacao, PowerPlay made its debut in 2018, offering a combination of sports betting and casino services.

The Jamaican-founded company entered into a partnership with FSB Tech later in 2018, an arrangement that saw PowerPlay gain live betting optimization in essential sports while helping expand its reach deeper into the Caribbean, finding success in Barbados, Mexico, and Trinidad & Tobago, among other locales.

Before long, PowerPlay aimed north – and found a home in the Canadian grey market.

Customer Ratings & Reputation

We’ve touched on some of the most significant issues sports bettors have with the PowerPlay platform – but we haven’t talked about the quality of odds, which is another strike against this operator.

For example, a cursory look at a typical Major League Baseball schedule sees an average of 8-13 cents of juice added to the totals for every game. And while you’ll find the odd -110/-110, it’s a rare sighting; we understand the need for smaller operators to raise prices, but players have plenty of choices in Canada and will simply shop for better numbers.

Props markets are similar, with an average of 35 to 40 cents of vig on the majority of prop plays. Live betting is identical, with margins reaching the point where players just give money away. Be careful which bets you make on PowerPlay, and always shop around.

PowerPlay is listed on Trustpilot, but with only eight reviews, there is insufficient data to include in this write-up.

Customer Service

PowerPlay has been pilloried for its lackluster customer service in the past, so it’s nice to see that the company has taken the complaints to heart and bolstered its CS offering.

Customer service agents are now available via live chat 24/7 and are quick to respond to inquiries with helpful responses and directions on where to find what players are looking for. Email (support@powerplay.com) isn’t quite as expedient but will work if you aren’t in a hurry. You can also call a helpline (1-833-578-1331) if live chat isn’t your thing.

PowerPlay Contact

• 24/7 Live Chat
• Email: support@powerplay.com
• Phone: 1-833-578-1331

PowerPlay Legal Betting

The business is based on the Caribbean island of Curacao. PowerPlay is licensed and regulated as a remote operator in Canada by the Curacao Gaming Control Board, one of the world's largest licensing authorities. It licenses more than 450 online casino sites, along with PowerPlay.

Responsible Gambling

PowerPlay is among the best in the industry at providing numerous resources for players to promote responsible gambling. Here is a list of some of their recommended partners.

• ResponsibleGambling.org: The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) is a respected, independent non-profit organization. They have been a leader in preventing problem gambling in Canada and globally for over 35 years.
• BeGambleAware.org: offers free, confidential help and support to anyone worried about gambling for themselves or others.
• Gambling Therapy: a global service provided by Gordon Moody offering free emotional support and advice to anyone affected by gambling.

Why Choose PowerPlay?

If you’re a big-time casino fanatic who likes to dabble in sports betting once in a while, PowerPlay might be well worth your time. You'll have access to a trove of gaming options, including live table games and hundreds of slots.

But we’re out to serve the sports betting community first – and frankly, PowerPlay doesn’t do nearly enough well to earn a recommendation. The interface is unintuitive, the ongoing casino promotions on the sportsbook page are annoying, and the odds are, quite simply, not good.

Come for the promos and bonuses, but don’t be surprised if you’re all the way out once you’ve claimed the goodies.