Sky Bet: Under the hood
IMPORTANT. SKY BET IS NO LONGER A RECOMMENDED BOOKMAKER. NUMEROUS INDEPENDENT REVIEWS SUGGEST THAT YOU DO NOT JOIN THEM OR TRUST THEM WITH YOUR MONEY.
We’ve had too much bad feedback about this bookie, both in terms of the way they treat their customers and also their commercial partners, to continue to recommend them.
We invite you to check out the independent customer generated Trust Pilot sky bet reviews. You will find all sorts of complaints, talk of sky bet scams and unfair treatment of their customers. At the time of writing, they have a minimal 1/5 rating from 55% of their 250 reviews. This is not just the odd disgruntled customer, its an overwhelming majority of people who have suffered financially at their hands.
One such customer review includes:
“They will take every opportunity to hide behind their overly aggressive terms and conditions and will not hesitate to take your money any way they can.”
AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
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The online betting market is worth millions with more and more people are getting on board. There a host of betting companies all aiming to make their mark in the industry and one that has made a remarkable stamp in the market is Sky Bet.
Based in Leeds with offices in Sheffield, London, Guernsey and Rome, Sky Bet sold a majority stake to CVC Capital Partners for a staggering £800 million in late 2014 and is co-owned by Sky plc who share a 20% stake in the company.
General history
Sky Bet is the sports betting division of Sky Betting & Gaming and was founded in July 2000 when BSkyB’s acquisitioned Sports Internet Group, this included the small telephone and online sports betting-based company Surrey Sports as well as Planet Football and Opta Index. In July 2002, Surrey Sports was rebranded in order to create Sky Bet. Four years later, in December 2006, established online betting companies totalbet and ukbetting were merged with Sky Bet following BSkyB’s purchase of 365 Media Group causing the company to grow substantially. The majority of Sky Bet’s operations are run in Leeds.
What have Sky Bet pioneered?
Sky Bet describe themselves as the home of online sports betting and specialise in a number of markets, namely football, horse racing, tennis, and cricket. There are also Sky Vegas, Sky Poker and Sky Bingo platforms based on online casinos and online bingo which have also proved to very popular and caused Sky Bet and Gaming to grow exponentially. Whether it’s football, horse racing, slots, bingo, cards or even virtual gaming that is your forte, Sky Bet have got it covered. And like many online betting platforms, Sky Bet is reachable via its website, mobile apps, telephone and even on interactive television through Sky with the apps for Apple and Android devices being launched in August 2011.
Sky Bet in the news
Sky Bet sponsor the Football League which highlights just how big the company really is. Having sponsored them for three years, last year the Football League signed a new three-season title sponsorship agreement with them. This agreement will see League clubs receive increased revenue with the deal running until at least 2019. Due to the re-branding of the Football League to the EFL, the competition will now be known as the Sky Bet EFL and will feature the Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One and Sky Bet League Two. Sky Bet will also be the title sponsor of the Play-Offs.
Sky Bet have also been doing their bit for fans, after some bad weather the Brighton & Hove Albion v Cardiff game was called off due to fog and 600 Cardiff were left stranded on the south coast. To make up for their troubles, Sky Bet will put on free travel for each fan who made the 200-mile trip for the rearranged fixture.
Offline/online presence
Sky Bet is one of the only leading online bookmakers that has no land-based store. In addition to the traditional Sky Bet app, there is also a Super Six app and a Six-a-Side app. The former app allows punters to guess the scores of six selected 3pm kick-offs, usually in the Premier League, with anyone predicting the scores correctly receiving a share of a staggering £250,000. Six-a-side on the other hand allows you to six players from whatever game is being played live on Sky with £5,000 for grabs to the person who scores the most fantasy points.
Advertising
In terms of advertising, Sky Bet used to use the slogan: ‘It matters more when there’s money on it’, then in October 2011 a new advertising campaign was released with the slogan now being: ‘Nothing’s certain, that’s why it’s exciting’ and the concept of ‘What if?’. The success of Sky Bet has prompted Sky to really push the boat out within the betting industry. Of course, such a big company need a big face to represent, who better than the suave Jamie Redknapp? The former Liverpool player the face of Sky Bet’s leading football betting product.
What Sky Bet offers that others don’t
An initiative unique to Sky Bet includes Request a Bet. This allows gamblers to request a certain bet, for example, both teams to score, each team to receive four or more corners and 20 or more booking points for each team during AFC Bournemouth was 15/2, a penalty to be awarded and a player to be sent off was 14/1 whilst Oliver Giroud to score, each team to take five or more corners and Harry Arter to be carded was 18/1. They also do longshot bets such as Alexis Sanchez to score from outside the area and Giroud to score a header at 66/1.
To request your own, head to the @SkyBet Twitter account and tweet them using #RequestABet, or you can simply visit the app and request it there. If you have the app, you’ll receive a notification about whether your bet goes live or not, or you can head to the website and check it for yourself. Request A Bet is a great way to bet on football games alternatively and what’s better, the Request a Bet’s from fellow punters also go live so somebody may just place something that you happen to really fancy.
How to sign up
Making an account with Sky Bet is simple. Click on to their website and find the Join Now section and follow the steps. You’ll need all of your usual necessary details ready and it’s handy to have a picture of your ID on hand so you can prove you’re eligible to bet. Sky Bet currently have a £10 welcome offer, no deposit needed and all new customers will receive a £10 free bet.