SportingBet Review: Refusing to Remove Limitations from Progressive Jackpots
SportingBet is an online casino and sports betting website owned by ElectraWorks Limited. The casino is licensed by the government of Gibraltar, as well as the UK Gambling Commission.
Although a good choice for sports betting, SportingBet’s biggest issues lie in the fact that they stubbornly refuse to remove limitations on progressive jackpot withdrawals.
This and association with shady software providers in the past has earned them the blacklisted status in the majority of online gambling communities.
General Information
Due to their previous issues with continuous use of software by providers accused of rigged games — Finsoft and Spielo G2 software — SportingBet Casino has been blacklisted by most major online gambling communities.
They no longer offer games by these developers. However, another issue, which has been highlighted several times in the past, still persists. It concerns their terms and conditions. More specifically, the maximum withdrawal amount of $50,000 per month is applied to progressive jackpot winnings as well.
The Issue with Progressive Jackpot Withdrawal Limitations
What does this mean for you, the player?
If you were lucky enough to hit a jackpot on one of their games, it would take decades for the casino to pay out the full sum. For example, in the case of Joyland casino, the winner was given two options: get $10,000 a month over 35 years or get half of the jackpot instantly.
The player took half of the cash on the spot, which is understandable. However, what this means is that the operator pocketed $4 Million.
These limitations are far from standard practice. There’s a general consensus among online gambling communities that these sketchy terms and conditions fall under unethical business practice.
Moreover, it was even worse in the past, with the maximum withdrawal amount at SportingBet being $20,000. And there’s only one reason why SportingBet, or any other casino, would decide to enforce such limitations — greed.
First, the progressive jackpot winnings don’t come from individual casino’s funds. Rather, they are pooled funds, or a networked jackpot, if you will. To clarify, the money comes from all the casinos that provide the game in question. And once a player, at any casino, wins the jackpot — the jackpot is reset in all casinos simultaneously.
This is important to understand because one possible justification for a limit on progressive jackpot winnings withdrawal would be to protect the casino’s cash flow. However, that is clearly not a real concern, since the money doesn’t come out of a single casino’s pockets.
This is clearly an unethical business practice. Some would go as far as to label it as illegal, but it technically isn’t. After all, you’d need to agree to their terms and conditions prior to playing the game and winning.
First Impression
The general first impression of SportingBet is good. Although the website isn’t particularly visually appealing, it is responsive. Also, the loading times are great, meaning there’s no delay between choosing different sports events to bet on.
Despite offering a staggering 35 different sports to bet on, the site is fairly easy to navigate. Users can select the desired category and choose from a list of currently available games. And for sports enthusiasts, SportingBet provides additional betting services, including livescore, statistics, and past results.
From the website’s footer navigation, you can quickly make your way through Sports Betting, Live Betting, Casino, Live Casino, and Promotions. Anyone who has played in an online casino before shouldn’t have any trouble finding their way around SportingBet.
Moreover, SportingBet also features a blog on their website. Here, you can read exclusive interviews with the Premier League legends, as well as other interesting articles providing stats and analytics that might help you place the right bets.
Questionable terms and conditions aside, SportingBet isn’t half-bad at first glance.
Games and Software
We’ve already mentioned that SportingBet offers a wide selection of sports to bet on. These range from Soccer, Football, Basketball, and other popular sports to Water Pollo, Cycling, Golf, and even Darts.
Each category further provides a large selection of individual games. For instance, choosing Soccer allows you to bet on anything from major leagues to U20 matches, and even some more obscure leagues. Anyhow, you would never be able to say that there’s “nothing to bet on.”
As far as their casino software is concerned, we’ve had some reservations before checking it out. Remember, SportingBet has been associated with software providers accused of creating rigged games in the past.
However, they no longer seem to offer any Spielo G2-powered games. Instead, they’ve opted for more reputable software providers, such as NetEnt, Microgaming, Evolution, GameAccount, and Play’n go.
This means SportingBet now provides a good selection of top-quality games. But more importantly, you can rest assured that these games aren’t rigged against you.
Definitely a step in the right direction, although it doesn’t erase the mistakes of the past.
User Experience
From what we have seen, the vast majority of player comments are largely positive.
SportingBet is often commended for their fast and efficient verification process and quick payouts. There don’t seem to be many issues hindering deposits or withdrawal of funds, so the player complaints are minimal.
However, in the instances where players had to contact SportingBet’s customer support, it proved to be average, at best. They are quick to establish contact but take a while to get back to you with an answer.
This is probably because, although the staff is highly trained in resolving sports betting issues, they aren’t quite as knowledgeable when it comes to casino-related problems. But hey, at least they’re not giving generic responses, lying and stalling, or providing incorrect information.
Another thing users highlight as a big positive are SportingBet’s generous bonuses. Apart from standard deposit bonuses (which are optional), they offer up to €50 free on sports bets and daily free spins. And last but certainly not least, the Bonus Calendar.
The Bonus Calendar changes weekly and offers daily bonuses on different games, ranging from 50% winnings boost to 50% cashback. You can easily access the bonus calendar from the homepage to make sure you don’t miss out on these amazing deals.
Pros and Cons
PROS Easy to navigate, responsive websiteExtensive selection of games in Sports BettingWide variety of slots, video poker titles, and table gamesCut off ties with Spielo G2 software and turned to more reputable software providers (Net Entertainment, Microgaming, Yggdrasil, etc.)Holds the UKGC licenseFast payoutsGenerous bonusesMinimal number of player complaintsOptimized for mobile | CONS Previously associated with software providers accused of rigging their gamesStill refusing to remove the limitations on the progressive jackpots withdrawalCustomer support lacking sufficient knowledge to quickly resolve casino-related issues |
Our Verdict
Although SportingBet is, in our opinion, a good casino, we can’t simply overlook their past sins which got them blacklisted in the first place. That said, they have at least shown willingness to improve their T&Cs and have raised the maximum withdrawal limit to $50,000/month.
However, this still means that it would take the casino more than 8 years to pay out a $5 Million progressive jackpot. They’re clearly banking on you dumping back a large portion of the winnings into the casino.
Furthermore, not giving players access to such life-changing sums is unethical and highlights their greed. If you’re primarily interested in casino games, we strongly suggest looking for better alternatives.
However, make sure to remember to carefully read every casino’s terms and conditions to avoid any unpleasant surprises in the future.
Casino Rating
Customer Support: 6/10
Cashout Time: 10/10
Software: 9/10
Jurisdiction: 9/10
Total: 8/10