Unfortunately we are no longer able recommend Sky Bet or any other Sky gaming products. This follows an internal decision from the group to suspend all third party representation and promotion outside of their own network. This means we can no longer give you an objective review of either the Sky brand or the Sky Bet product.
Sky’s decision also means you will find it very difficult to find any independent information about the brand. All sites that you now see Sky promoted on are in fact owned by Sky themselves and therefore cannot be fair and objective.
For a list of betting sites and bookmakers we do recommend click here or for a list of welcome offers from other betting sites click here.
About Sky Bet
Sky Bet are the sports betting arm of Sky Betting and Gaming, majority owned by parent company CVC capital partners (80%) since early 2015 and minority owned by Sky plc (20%), they are based and run from Leeds, UK. The other four core brands are Sky Casino, Sky Vegas, Sky Poker and Sky Bingo. Sky Bet are licensed under the name Bonne Terre Limited and regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission in the Channel Islands.
Unlike other bookmakers Sky Bet do not have anything like a romantic backstory. In brief Sky Bet originate from a rebranding of previous BskyB telephone and online sports betting companies back in 2002. This was later merged in 2006 with new acquisitions totalbet and UKbetting through the purchase of the 365 Media Group.
Sky Bet are a faceless and thoroughly modern online-only operation. Backed by a seemingly unlimited access to media and advertising they attract customers through their sleek design and highly functional digital access options. Sky Bet is particularly popular with existing Sky customers and you can see why with similarities in design and strong tie-in with their premium TV coverage.
Sky Bet are one of the few bookmakers whos history lies more in football than horse racing and you can see this in the design of the operation. Sky Bet are registered in the UK and are one of the few UK bookmakers not to have moved to Gibraltar for tax purposes (although this may be more to do with the Sky brand ambitions rather than Sky Bet itself).
Interface and Appearance
If you want a stand out, appealing and easy to use interface then you can’t really get much better than Sky Bet. Utilising their resources from broadcasting and other Sky operated websites Sky Bet have come up with a very attractive setup. The home page, and mobile app, are bathed in the deep royal blue tones you associate with Sky products. The site is not overcrowded like some others and the menu functions are a dream to use and split into intelligible sections.
A stand out feature for me is the ‘boss look busy’ icon that immediately switches your screen to a series of spreadsheet graphs with titles like “% pie chart that resembles Pac Man”. A brilliant addition for those occasions when you need to place a bet on the FIFA World Cup or the Ashes cricket while at work.
Markets
Sky Bet are really strong when it comes to football and horse racing markets and you can bet on almost every other major sporting event here too. For any sport or event broadcast on the Sky Sports platform in particular then Sky Bet can often be the best place to bet for odds and value.
Sky Bet are principally a UK bookmaker with UK focused markets, if you are looking to bet on less common sports from other countries or you want to wager on more worldwide markets other than football it may be better to go with a bookmaker with more of an international presence. For all classic British sports however there are few better places to bet, they even have some sports that are very hard to find markets for, such as fishing.
Sky Bet offer markets on pretty much ALL the football you have ever heard of, right down to Finnish 3rd Division they also offer markets on, American football, Athletics, Aussie Rules, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing & wrestling (inc UFC/MMA), cricket, cycling, darts, eSports, fishing, Gaelic sports, golf, greyhound racing, handball, hockey, horse racing, ice hockey, motor racing (F1, Moto GP, motorbikes, Rally and others), netball, rugby (union and league), snooker, speedway, tennis, US racing, volleyball (+ Beach), winter sports and more.
A major football game can carry with it 100’s of different betting lines, including things that are hard to bet on elsewhere such as amount of time added by the 4th official. In addition to a comprehensive list of pre-event markets you can bet live in play on pretty much any football game and other sports too particularly around live events.
Sky Bet do offer some special and non-sport markets too including TV and film specials and politics. In general though Sky Bet are mainly a sportsbook and if you are looking to bet on more specials and novelty bets there are much better bookmakers out there.
Sky Bet are a standalone sportsbook so do not offer the additional features that other bookmakers do like financials and various casino options within the section (you will need to go to the other core products for this such as Sky Vegas). Saying that, it is a welcome change to not have the page crammed with all the other products offered by other bookmakers. Sky Bet also offer a news section called sporting life, here you can catch up on all sports news with excellent Sky driven content.
Odds
Sky Bet have a good reputation when it comes to the odds on offer from its sportsbook, especially for football. This is probably a good thing considering oddschecker is part of the Sky Betting and Gaming portfolio. Although not always the very best odds around, you can be very confident with Sky Bet that you are getting a good deal especially on televised football and horse racing.
Enhanced odds promotions particularly on football are very common with Sky Bet. One form is termed ‘price boost’ where a whole swathe of odds are enhanced before an event, for example, something like ‘Rooney to score and United to win’ may be increased say from 5/1 to 8/1. The promotions section of the site is easy to find in the left hand menu and you should check this out before placing your bets as you may get better terms, especially around a big event.
Odds are can be displayed in decimal and fraction and are usually crystal clear shown in white against a blue background. Prices and odds are always available upon request lines or markets not offered on the site, see the contact us section for more information.
Minimum / Maximum Bets and Payouts
Don’t get caught out with maximum bet and payout rules. There is a long history in gambling of people only finding out about these terms when it’s too late taking the shine off that big win when it is capped at a lower amount.
Minimum and maximum wagers are defined by the odds of the selection(s). With Sky Bet the minimum bet is often as low as £0.05 and maximum bets are defined by the maximum payout for the selection(s). If you place accumulators or multiple bets your maximum payout is usually defined by the market with the lowest cap so be aware of this when mixing markers and betting lines.
Sky Bet by no means have the highest payouts around although in their favour at least the payout structure is simpler than most bookmakers. In effect the highest payout is £500,000 on horse racing and football and you can get up to £250k on other sports (tennis, golf, darts, rugby, cricket, etc.) but as little as £25k on non-sporting events such as politics and specials. Always view the T&C’s for any market before placing a large bet, or a smaller wager with high odds.
Please note Sky Bet do not provide a telephone or text betting service.
Live Betting and Streaming
Live In Play Betting
Live in play betting is a fantastic feature brought about by the online betting revolution and is becoming increasingly popular with punters. Sky Bet have a unique position when it comes to betting in play with their access to so many sports through the Sky brand and regular TV tie-in.
Sky Bet offer a wide range of live betting opportunities and are probably second to none when it comes to in play football betting. Like other things associated with the site and mobile app the interface is nice, easy to use and quick. Live betting at any time is displayed prevalently in the middle of the home page, odds, scores and stats are easy to see and betting is quick. In general if a sport is shown on Sky Sports there is a comprehensive in play market available on Sky Bet
A possible failing with Sky Bet is the lack of live betting promotions. Sky Bet offers tend to focus on pre-event betting, such as price boost, but do not link as much to in play as other bookmakers often do. Then again Sky Bet are amongst the best for exisiting customer loyalty promos.
Live Streaming
Sky Bet are disappointing when it comes to live streaming events especially considering their heritage. Sky Bet still stream a lot of events such as tennis and US major league soccer but nowhere near what they used to on the old Sky Bet Player, although you can watch live streams of many UK and Irish horse races if you have wagered at least £1.
If you are a Sky TV customer the Sky Bet in play service is much more fun and functional, especially considering the enhanced markets provided for televised Sky events. If you don’t want to sign up to the TV package to get the best out of betting then there are better free streaming services with Bet365, Coral and others.
Mobile Betting
Sky Bet have pooled all of their numerous design resources to create a tidy and attractive sports app that rates very highly on Apple and Android. Sky also have separate apps for Super 6 and fantasy football that link back to your Sky Bet account. The fantasy football app is very popular and fun to use even if you don’t bet. Sky Vegas, Sky Poker, Sky Casino and Sky Bingo all follow a similar theme.
The app flows very much like the online sportsbook with the same A-Z list. The home page depicts the latest offers at the top and featured events clearly split by sport. Live In play, next races and coupons occupy the remainder of the top scroll bar. Using the app you can play on everything you can on the main site including virtuals. You can manage your account, deposit, withdraw, see you bet history and use features such as Sky Bet Club.
In play betting, live streaming and associated features such as Cash Out are excellent on mobile, markets and odds really do stand out in red and black against a white background. This makes placing really quick bets quite easy an in my book that is the most important feature a mobile betting app should have. I love this app, I like the fact it is just a sportsbook and personally and I use it as much as the Bet365 app. You can really get the best out of the app if you have a Sky Sports TV subscription or watch games live elsewhere
Cash Out
Cash Out and partial cash out are both fully available at Sky Bet. Cash Out is simple, place a bet on a qualifying market (most major football games included) and you have the option to cash your bet out at any time before the event or even during the event for a fixed price. Note this cannot be used on bets placed with the price boost offer.
For example you may place a wager on Arsenal to win the 3-0 but decide to cash out your bet for a fixed sum on 70 minutes as Arsenal are already 3-0 up and you are worried it may end 3-1 or 4-0 say. The settlement value will always be a lower amount than your potential winnings would be if you were to allow the bet to run to the end.
The cash out feature is a lot of fun and adds a new tactical feature to online betting. If your bet is eligible for Cash Out it will be indicated in the Bet Tracker available on the mobile app and next to qualifying markets on desktop.
Gaming and Casino
If you want to bet on casino and games with Sky you can use any of the other 4 core products without the need to re-register your account – there are additional bonus available for these products too. Effectively you can move funds between sections and take advantage of various existing customer promotions tailored for each section. Additional and equally stylish mobile apps are available for the other core products too.
If you would like to know more about Sky Vegas read our review, or click to visit Sky Casino or Sky Bingo.
Social Media
Sky Bet have a very strong social media profile again using knowledge and expertise from other Sky divisions. The Facebook page is updated daily and often contains premium content from the Sky Sports TV tie-in. Sky Bet are particularly good for pushing non-betting promotions this way such as ‘win tickets for….’ Offers.
Sky Bet also have a strong Twitter following with over 350,000 followers, you can catch up on daily offers and chat about betting options on here (@SkyBet), other forums are available too such as @SkyBetHelp.
USP
In a word Football. If you are a massive football fan and you love to watch any game that is live on TV, especially through premium Sky channels, then go no further than Sky Bet. Integrated with the TV package Sky Bet and offering great free services such as Super 6 and Fantasy Football and daily price boost offers this is the home for a the UK football fan. Great for customer loyalty too with their £5 weekly free bet if you bet opt in and bet £25 at evens or more.
That’s not to say you can’t bet on all the other sports you can think of too. The stylish site and mobile apps are a real winner and you can become very accustomed to the style, it can make you shudder when you go back to other bookmakers websites after you have been using Sky Bet.
If you have Sky TV access I would seriously recommend you try Sky Bet but without it I suppose it just becomes like any other online betting sportsbook once you cut through the sleek looks.
Payment Options Deposit/Withdrawal
{module JL – SkyBet Banking Table}
Sky Bet are UK focused and you can only bet if you live in the UK, Ireland, channel Islands, Gibraltar or Finland. Sky Bet allow you to deposit in both British Pounds Sterling (GBP) or Euros (EUR) but don’t have the biggest range banking options to choose from and no longer accept Skrill, PaySafe or Neteller.
How to place a bet
Opening an account and placing a bet with Sky Bet is an easy process. Deposit into your online account by any means discussed here, create your bet slip either on the home site or through the mobile app and click bet. You can use the same account to transfer funds to other core products such as Sky Vegas too.
Sky Bet are an online-only sportsbook and so you cannot pop into a shop as you can with other bookmakers. This means it is impossible to combine physical and online betting and it is not possible to deposit cash directly.
Deposit
With Sky Bet minimum deposits for general card payments (Visa, Maestro, Mastercard) and PayPal is £5 with no stated maximum.
Although Sky Bet are very restrictive with banking methods they are one of the only betting sites right now that support Apple Pay deposits through Apple devices.
- All major Debit and Credit cards
- Visa and Visa Electron
- Mastercard
- Maestro
- Paypal
- Apple Pay
Withdrawals
You must withdraw funds in your transactional currency but you do not have to withdraw using same method you used to deposit your funds which is a nice option. All withdrawals are free of charge and as bank transfers are not accepted there are not additional bank charges.
A withdrawal is processed instantly but may take between 2-5 working days to show up in your bank account due to normal procedure. Funds can clear within hours when using PayPal. Minimum withdrawal amount is £10 across the board and the maximum withdrawal is unrestricted.
Customer Service
Sky Bet have decent customer services but not all features are offered around the clock. A Freephone number is available from 8am-midnight and you can also email, use the postal service or ask questions through their Twitter help service. The live chat feature is available 24/7 if you placing those late night in play bets though.
Customer services are rated highly by customers of Sky Bet. All the agents are apparently friendly and have good expertise in their services. Sometimes you need to contact bookmakers because they don’t apply certain promotional offers to your bets. Sky Bet have been excellent in all dealings I have ever had with them
See the contact details section below for ways to get in touch
Responsible Gambling
Sky Bet promote responsible gambling which is now enforced by law in the UK and sites registered with the UK gambling commission are required to follow a tight set of guidelines in order to trade. Many independent sources of advice are available too such as contact Gam Care (http://www.gamcare.org.uk/).
Sky Bet offer the following features to help you gamble responsibly.
- Deposit Limits – daily or weekly
- Self exclusion – 6 months – 5 years or permanently
- Cooling off period (time out) – 1 to 30 days
- Full customer history to keep track of your betting habits
- Advice and referral service
- Parental control available
Licence Information
UK licence ref/No: 38718
Sky Bet hold a UK gambling commission licence and so your money is as safe as houses.
The commission have high expectations of their members and can revoke these immensely profitable licences if stringent guidelines are not followed. This includes preventing minors and at risk groups from placing bets, offering advice, prevention of insider betting and deposit protection.
Contact Details
- Name: Sky Bet
- Registered Company Name: Sky Betting and Gambling
- Licence name: Bonne Terre Limited
- URL: http://www.SkyBet.com/
- Customer Services: 03300 244 777
- E-Mail: [email protected]
- Customer services address: 2 Wellington Place, Leeds. LS1 4AP.
- Phone betting: Not Offered
- Text betting: Not accepted
- Twitter: @SkyBet, @AskSkyBet
- Company address: As Above