BetOnline is a USA-friendly sports betting site that has been in business since 2001. The sportsbook has a great reputation for paying players, although there have been some payout issues on the poker side of the operation. As long as you stick with sports betting at BetOnline, you will be treated to a fair and hassle-free experience.
On the positive side, I like the number of games they provide in the live betting section.
You can visit the sportsbook any day and find a variety of games that are or will be open for in-running betting soon.
The in-play betting area has a simple schedule in which you can see both current and upcoming events.
They also have a solid lineup of promotions for both new and current bettors. The lifetime bonus guarantee gives you a 25% bonus on all deposits that you make for the lifetime of your account. These bonuses come with a mere 6x rollover, which is significantly lower than what you’ll find at most online bookmakers.
Live bettors get a $25 free play promotion for in-play wagers. Just deposit $25 and bet on a live game. If you win, good for you. If you lose, they’ll place another $25 into your account after you’ve e-mailed them. Note that the extra $25 comes with a 6x rollover requirement (so it’s not the same as getting $25 back without strings attached).
It can be difficult for US-based sports bettors to find quality bookmakers that can handle in-play mobile betting — BetOnline, however, provides this capability and it works well. You can place wagers in real time from anywhere in the world as long as you have internet service on your phone.
The biggest issue I have with their live betting is the lack of options within each game. They provide plenty of games, sure, but each game is fairly limited in its offerings. You can place live moneyline and spread wagers, but it’s tough to find prop bets and some of the short term wagers such as “will the next batter get on base.”
Another negative for them is the customer service – especially the live chat feature. There are numerous complaints regarding the live chat support at sports gambling forums. If you have any issues or questions, getting answers from their live chat reps is like pulling teeth from a lion. They’re unlikely to scam you out of your money, but they clearly don’t invest much time or money in customer support.
Other than that, I don’t have any major BetOnline complaints. Their payout times are acceptable but not outstanding. (This is to be expected from any US-facing sportsbook.)
You might have to wait a week or two to get your money, but you will get it eventually.
You can see the options for in-play bets by visiting the sportsbook and then clicking on the “live betting” option on the left side of the page. That section will show you a list of all sports that are currently available. Green flashing icons indicate that a sports event is open right now or will be shortly.
BetOnline focuses most of its in-running wagering effort on USA sports and international soccer matches. Football, basketball, tennis and soccer are all offered regularly. Like I mentioned above, the game selection is good, but each game has a fairly limited number of wagers. You will find basics such as point spreads and moneylines along with wagers on who will be winning at the half/quarter/period. It’s a pretty good selection, but it could definitely use more variety.
Non-USA sports (other than soccer) do not get options for gambling on live events. Cricket and rugby, for example, are tough to find. You can wager on these sports in the regular sportsbook, but they do not get any action in the live area.
BetOnline is a good but not great live sportsbook. Sports bettors from the USA may want to keep a secondary account here, but I like Bovada and 5Dimes better. This site has occasional worthwhile promotions and good lines, so it’s not a complete bust. On top of that, they have a good reputation for paying winners what they are owed.
For players in the United States, they’re a quality online bookmaker with a clean reputation. It probably won’t win any awards for it’s in-play options, but you can find advantageous lines here from time to time. Casual bettors can probably even keep this site as their main book and be completely happy. Serious bettors will be better served by using BetOnline in conjunction with one of the other two books mentioned above.
