Sportsbet Referral Code & Betting Site Review

Sportsbet Rating: Sportsbet review by Betting Sites Australia Check Offers! Check Offers

One of Australia’s oldest retail bookmakers, Sportsbet has been online since 1999. But despite its long history, you tend to hear a lot of criticism from its users. 

Is the bad publicity justified? Find out in this Sportsbet review. We’ve assessed everything from the betting markets, odds and features, to the payment speeds, mobile app and customer service.

Sportsbet has been around since 1993 in the retail space, and the domain name sportsbet.com.au was first registered in 1999. However, the site only blew up when Matthew Tripp purchased the company in 2005.

Four years later, Paddy Power bought a majority stake, taking over completely in 2011. In 2015, the Irish bookmaker merged with Betfair to form Flutter Entertainment. This giant of the gambling industry retains ownership of Sportsbet today.

Licensed by the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission, Sportsbet also adheres to the South Australian Gambling Codes of Practice.

Sportsbet is a well-established brand, and was once among the best operators. But we feel the site lost its way in recent years. And we’re not alone – just check any consumer review site, like Trustpilot or ProductReview.

At the time of writing, Sportsbet scored just 1.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot, with an even worse rating of 1.1 on ProductReview. The most common complaints concern the customer support team, and excessive email and SMS marketing messages.

Naturally, these sites attract people who love to moan. Having read the reviews, many complaints are unfair, caused by users misunderstanding the mechanics of the site, or betting in general. 

Still, some are justified, and the site’s reputation is at an all-time low. We’d advise proceeding with caution, should you wish to join.

For all of the online criticism, Sportsbet isn’t nearly as bad as you might think. The odds, for example, are quite good – even market-leading in some areas.

Good Soccer Odds 

If you’re into soccer, English Premier League games are priced to around 105.5%. This beats all major Australian bookmakers, whose margins are usually 6.5% or 7.5%. Only Pointsbet can match its prices.

Other Sportsbet soccer games are less generous, though, with margins of around 6% and 7%, depending on the competition. 

Competitive Odds in Most Sports

For real footy games, you’re looking at 105%. This compares favourably – the TAB betting site offers worse odds at 106%, and only Ladbrokes and Neds provide marginally better prices, with 104.5% margins. 

It’s a similar story for NRL games, which Sportsbet also prices to around 105%. That’s fractionally better than sites like PlayUp, TAB and Neds, and just a little lower than Pointsbet.

International cricket matches are priced to 106%, with overseas domestic competitions, like New Zealand’s Super Smash, set at 107%. This is a touch worse than most Aussie bookmakers, who normally bet to around 105%.

Limited Features

In terms of features, Sportsbet ticks most boxes, but only delivers the bare minimum. For example, you can’t cash out partially – the only option is to sell your entire stake. 

The multi builder is pretty good, but it’s no better than any other Australian betting platform. Live streaming is available, but other sites offer more.

Although you’ll find esports markets among the 25+ sports in the betting menu, it’s a limited selection compared to Ladbrokes or Picklebet. Still, at least there’s a full horse and greyhound product, which is great.

No Sportsbet betting site review would be complete without mentioning the deposit and withdrawal options. The table below summarises what’s available.

Credit card payments are prohibited by law since June 2024, while Sportsbet removed bank transfer deposits as an option in March 2025. 

The minimum deposit requirement is $5 for all payment methods, but the withdrawal limit is $10. 

Sportsbet Withdrawal Times

Payout speeds are a little better than average. Like anywhere else, PayPal requires up to 24 hours to complete – but usually less. Sportsbet also has its own Cash Card, which provides instant withdrawals. 

Bank transfers are processed seven days a week. If your account is able to receive fast payments, you’ll get the money within two to three hours, even on public holidays. Major brownie points for that.

Yes there is, both for iOS and Android devices. Sportsbet has approval to list its sports betting apps in the App Store and on Google Play, where the software has been downloaded over 1.15 million times.

The lightweight iOS app, which is less than 100 MB, is highly-rated by users, scoring 4.6* out of 5 at the time of writing. It’s recommended to use iOS 15.1 or later for optimal performance.

There’s room for improvement with the Android software, though, with its 3.2* rating. The main complaint is slow loading times – especially when the odds refresh – and lagging upon bet placement. Use Android 5.0 or higher to ensure the app performs as well as possible.

You won’t find any Sportsbet bonus codes for new players, due to Australia’s strict gambling laws. However, if you have an account, log in to see which promotions are currently running.

We can’t finish this Sportsbet review without mentioning the customer support channels. Get in touch via email, phone or live chat. The latter is accessible via a widget in the bottom-right corner of your screen, but only from 6am to midnight. 

Telephone support is available 24/7 on a toll-free number (1800 990 907) or you can reach out by email. customerservice@sportsbet.com.au is the main address, but there’s also rsg@sportsbet.com.au for responsible gambling concerns.

We’ve always found the agents to be useful and quite friendly. But there are plenty of bad reviews online, many of them complaining about the Sportsbet support staff.

That’s all there is to the Sportsbet registration process. But if the automated verification process fails, you’ll need to manually provide evidence of your identity. This requires a wait of 48 to 72 hours.

So, what are the key takeaways from this Sportsbet site review? Well, the site is extremely well-established, and is one of the best-known betting platforms in Australia. 

Rugby league and English soccer punters can enjoy some of the country’s most generous odds, and the prices are solid for cricket, footy and most other sports. Sportsbet also pays a little quicker than most Aussie bookmakers.

All of the important features are present, including live streaming, multi builders and cashout, but there’s nothing especially innovative or game-changing at Sportsbet.

The brand’s reputation has tanked in recent years, with users complaining about several aspects of the site. Many of these are quite unfair, especially the claims of below-par odds.