Disclaimer: This review is from the experience of the author and is subject to change and location. Customer eligibility is the decision of the bookmaker.
Now more than two decades old, Bet365 are arguably the most successful independent online bookmaker and casino in the world. With a customer base of around 45 million they are clearly ticking a lot of boxes for a lot of people, and when it comes to the casino they really are a cut above.
There are more games than you can shake a stick at here, and the range of game types and software providers is enviable. What’s more, customers can rest assured they are playing with a solid company which offers a robust support service, a powerful website with reliable security, and positive banking terms.
This is all served up on an interface that is a doddle to get to grips with whether you choose to play on a desktop or on a mobile device. Bet365 have made everything so easy for the player, and don’t we all want our lives to be easier?
- Industry Titan – 45 million people can’t be wrong.
- No Hassle – A reliable casino that will not let you down or mess you around. Rick Astley would love them.
- Multi-Layered – Slots, Jackpots, Bingo, Poker, Live Casino, Video Poker; this is a site that suits every type of player.
Software & Games
This is another online casino which has a dedicated provider for its Casino, but also offers hundreds of games from other providers in a separate Games section of the website – and I do mean hundreds.
There are more than 1,400 of them at the time of writing, including plenty of instant win games and those using the popular Megaways game mechanic, and that number doesn’t even include all of the Playtech titles over in the Casino.
Jackpots are a particular strength here, both in number and in jackpot size, and you won’t be short of table games either if you like to mix up your gameplay. A few options for things like Keno and Hi Lo are nice to have as extra choices too.
One of the best things about their collection of games though is that they even develop some of their own. They call them Bet365 Originals and they are of excellent quality, and they span a broad range of fun themes too.
Other Gaming Products
Bet365 have left no stone unturned in their search for the perfect game library, so the choices don’t stop with slots, live casino, and table games.
The poker offering is a classy product all of its own, available as a download or from your browser and with 24 hour support, a loyalty scheme, its own rewards and promotions, and even its own app. Bet365 also provide guides on how to play if you are new and need a hand, before joining one of the many tournaments, cash games, sit and gos, or twister sit and gos.
Bingo is also on offer and again this comes with a loyalty scheme, plenty of different rooms that run regularly and with very affordable entry points as far as tickets are concerned. There is plenty of encouragement to engage with the brand and other players too, with bonuses offered via social media and during chat games.
Support Services
There is a reason that people keep coming back to Bet365; they give their customers the service they want, and that includes 24/7 support.
To be honest though you might not even need to take it that far, because their help centre/FAQ is really well designed. It’s not as ‘snazzy’ as some others but in terms of actually doing the job it is there to do it excels, with enough detail and information to solve most issues without overloading you.
There is always a contact option on hand too, so if you don’t find your answer it’s just one more click to go through to live support. You can talk via live chat, phone, send them an email, or a web message directly from the site.
Personal experience has always been fantastic when contacting support so it’s full marks for Bet365 in this department – they really know how to look after their customers.
Banking Info
I can only speak from experience here, but I have always found Bet365 to be very prompt when processing withdrawal requests. So despite what might look like longish maximum waiting times on their payments page, I would say they are a worst case scenario.
The high upper limits on both deposits and withdrawals are surely one of the reasons customers love them, and a lower limit of just £5 on most methods leaves no one out, but it is slightly surprising to see them eschew popular methods like Skrill and Neteller.
The extra good news is that with a deposit protection level of Medium you can play in confidence that should anything unexpected occur, like insolvency, you would be unlikely to lose any funds.
It certainly feels like Bet365 are pulling their weight here, and only the fussiest of customers will take issue with their banking terms and options.
About Bet365
Founded in Stoke, England, back in 2000, Bet365 is the largest independent online bookmaker in the country. It is a family business which started in a portakabin of all places, although that belies the true background of the company.
The Coates family used to run a number of betting shops, but they sold them to Coral shortly after launching Bet365 as an online only business. Denise, John, and Peter Coates still own the company today, and have kept the bulk of the operation in the North West, providing thousands of jobs to the area and also sponsoring their beloved Stoke City FC.
The company has grown at a remarkable rate over the years and now boasts more than 45 million customers worldwide, and a revenue of almost £3 billion in 2019.
This has led to some criticism of CEO Denise Coates, however, who paid herself a £323 million salary in 2019 which many people found obscene. However, the Coates family are also one of the top tax payers in the UK sending £156 million combined to the tax man in 2019. They also stepped up and promised full pay to their whole staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when other companies were making redundancies to save money.
Regardless of what anyone thinks, it cannot be denied that Bet365 are phenomenally good at what they do, and the number of industry awards that they have won adds weight to this statement. If there is a business related top 100 list being drawn up somewhere then you can bet that Bet365 will be on it, and you don’t win SBC’s ‘Sportsbook of the Year’ 6 years in a row unless you are at the top of your game.
Website Usability
The Bet365 Casino desktop site is a straightforward affair, with a black background, white writing and nice big game tiles so that you can get a clear idea of what each game will be like.
The clean and crisp approach keeps the site neat and tidy and has the added benefit of making navigation as simple as can be. There are a couple of header menus used to get you to the promotions section or the player guides, and then the games are split into categories, but apart from that it’s a case of hunting out your next slot.
There is a search function as well but if you like to browse there will be some scrolling to do rather than being able to filter. It’s not such an issue in the Casino but with so many different choices in the Games section this could eat into your playing time.
It’s a powerful site that reacts instantly when you make a selection, and load times shouldn’t cause you any headaches either. This is a key consideration for game hoppers who don’t tend to spend too long on any one title.
Access to account controls and deposit options is kept accessible but out of the way, so it is there when you need it but can be forgotten about when you want to concentrate on gaming.
Mobile Application
This is yet another example of Bet365 getting everything right.
Their site is huge, which means they have an awful lot of content to condense into a mobile application.
Not only is it all there and remarkably easy to navigate in between the various different options, but it is such a snappy app to use.
There may be slightly quicker products out there but the difference will be milliseconds.
There are separate apps for the Casino and Games sections which isn’t ideal, but the mobile website is excellent too and contains the full range of products.
The build is different to allow for this, but once you actually access the area you want it is much the same as the respective app.
Back to the casino app then and a scrolling menu provides the game filtering options so you can quickly browse the type of games you are interested in playing, and you can search directly for them too using the magnifying glass icon.
The ability to save or favourite the games you like is a useful and necessary feature, because otherwise you would need to scroll through the whole library to find them again, and the games aren’t listed in any obvious sort of order.
Each game comes with a preview to save you loading up something only to realise it’s not what you want, and a more responsive interface you could not wish to find.
Contact Information
- UK Gambling License: 55149
- Name: Bet365 Casino
- Licensed Name: Hillside UK Gaming (ENC)
- URL:https://casino.bet365.com/home/en
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 0800 028 8365
- Address: Office 1/2373 Level G, Quantum House, 75 Abate Rigord Street, Ta’Xbiex, XBX 1120
- Twitter: @Bet365Gaming