Unibet Review

Part of a 13-brand family that specialises in gambling services, Unibet is an online gaming & betting operator owned by parent-brand Kindred Group.

Offering new-age online games and betting facilities, Unibet is one of the most robust e-sports betting operators in the world.

The bookmaker is the recipient of coveted IGA awards like the Sportsbook Operator of the Year (2014), App of the Year (2014), Online Sportsbook Operator of the Year (2015), Socially Responsible Operator Award (2016) and the EGaming Review (EGR) Awards for its responsible & sustainable gaming services.

Established by Anders Strom in Earl's Court, London, Unibet received its license for offering betting services in the UK in 1998. By 2000, they had received their international gambling license.

Over the years, Unibet expanded operations, acquired Maria Bingo, set up a mobile application and started offering e-sports betting facilities.

Today, Unibet is present in 100 countries and serves 11 million customers.

Licensing & Safety

Listed by both the UK Gaming Commission & the Malta Gaming Authority and traded on NASDAQ, Unibet is a very reliable betting service provider.

The Unibet website is operated by Platinum Gaming Limited, and the brand is licensed across Europe through Platinum Gaming Limited (RGL 091 & RGL 092). Unibet has also acquired the Combined Continuation Remote Operating Licence (000-045322-R-324275-001) to offer legal online gambling and sports betting services.

Unibet uses a 128-bit SSL encryption issued by Trustwave for player privacy and site safety on its global websites. The UK website uses a Trustwave 256-bit SSL encryption. The company also has a fraud department, which monitors and reports suspicious activities.

Sign-up Procedure

Users can find the sign-up form by clicking the Register tab on the Home page. You will need to fill in your details, select the welcome bonus you prefer, upload the documents asked and then click Submit.

All account holders must be above the age of 18 as on the date of registration.

Deposit Options

Unibet accepts all major MasterCard and Visa Debit/Credit cards for deposits. You can also make the deposit using Neteller, Entropay, Solo, Skrill, Paysafecard, Switch, Visa Electron, Maestro, Instant Banking by Citadel and Ukash. Bank transfer can also be done.

But when doing this, remember to input the unique reference code that Unibet has assigned you. This helps the company keep track of your account. All deposits have to exceed £10 and reflect instantly if done online.

Bank transfers take 2-10 business days to reflect in your account. Once deposited, you can place your bets on any sportsbook bets on the website.

Withdrawal Speed/Options

Withdrawals can be made on Unibet using MasterCard and Visa Debit/Credit cards and through bank transfer. Players can also use Entropay, Solo, Maestro, Visa Electron, Switch, Neteller, Skrill and PayPal. Paysafecard is currently not supported for withdrawals.

Online platform withdrawals are all instantaneous; with the exception of Neteller, which takes 12 hours. Bank transfers take 2-5 business days. Withdrawals for deposits on Visa and MasterCard may take up to three days.

Unibet doesn’t charge any withdrawal fee and transfers all the money to your designated account. Any charges incurred during withdrawal are from third-party payment gateways or banks.

New Customer Bonus

There are four common new customer bonuses offered in the UK:

• £40 money back bonus +£10 casino bonus
• £40 Racing money back bonus + £10 casino bonus.  
• 200% casino deposit bonus up to £200 + an equivalent number of free spins.
• Deposit bonus + £20 extra + £500 Playthrough Poker bonus.

Other countries have their unique welcome bonuses.

As a rule, Unibet money back welcome bonuses are applicable only on those bets that have odds of 1.4 (2) and which aren’t live or pre-match bets.

If you win the bet, then the welcome bonus will automatically get applied, and you can start making new bets off the bonus.

However, if you lose, you can recover the bonus by doing the following. Immediately place three more bets of the same value as your first bet. If these bets are settled in a 60-day period, you’ll be able to withdraw the bonus amount.

Bonus Terms & Conditions

All bonuses are subject to a Turnaround Requirement (however, it is only the original bonus value that is subject to this T&C and not any of the winnings).

Winnings can be withdrawn only after this turnaround requirement is met.

All registered users are eligible for only one bonus per campaign, with the exception of the 'Refer a Friend' campaign, which can be combined with other bonus campaigns - this includes one bonus per IP address, telephone number, email ID, home/office address, payment account or debit/credit card.

Specific groups of customers may be eligible for additional, seasonal bonuses - all decisions will be based on Unibet’s discretion.

Each bet placed on a sportsbook must have more than three potential outcomes. If bonus money is split and used for placing sports bets, users must bet on different markets each time.

Account holders are prohibited from referring family members, friends and people who share an address, telephone number, email ID, IP address, payment account or debit/credit card with them for the 'Refer a Friend' bonus.

Users found guilty of bonus abuse may have their bonuses reclaimed, bets made void, bonus-funded bets made void, bonus-derived winnings made void, member privileges revoked, access to certain Unibet products revoked, the account holder excluded from future promotional/seasonal benefits or the account terminated with immediate effect, based on the discretion of Unibet.

Bonus abuse includes and is not restricted to: Breach of bonus T&C’s Opening of multiple accounts Existing Customer Bonus Unibet has in place highly-lucrative bonus options for existing players, such as:

Free bets: Unibet offers free bets additional to those provided as part of the welcome bonus to regular users. These free bets are either 50% or 100% of the deposit or up to £100, whichever is higher. These are stake-returned free bets and are subject to wagering requirements.

Insurance: There are a variety of insurance offers on Unibet. Players can choose the free bet refund insurance to cover potential misses/losses. Formula One bettors can choose the Retirement Refund insurance, which gives free bets up to £20 in the event your racer loses. Football fans can get the Acca insurance, where they receive up to £10 on European football accumulators. Golfing bets come with money back insurance on specific types/levels of in-play bets.

Competitions: Unibet organises multiple competitions whose jackpots start at £10K and go up to £50K. Some competitions come with fully-reimbursed holidays, tickets to concerts, goodie baskets and more.

Casino, poker and bingo offers: Both the website and the mobile app offer existing users a variety of offers for the casino, poker and bingo games. Additional free spins, freebies and welcome offers for new games, all make up this offer.

Quality of Odds

Unibet has a very strong profile, with very high-quality odds to its names. You’ll find plenty of big players on the sportsbook. The margins that Unibet runs on is relatively low, in some places as low as 4%, making this sportsbook a dream for players.

Wins up to £200,000 can be expected per bet. Unibet offers a relatively global array of markets for players, right from European water polo teams to American baseball teams to Asian hockey teams.

This makes for great odds. The website is one of the very few on the market to also offer Asian Handicap bets and coverage for obscure sports like Futsal, Bandy, Aussie Rules and Floorball, making Unibet a wonderful place of premium odds.

On average, Unibet offers 250 different bets for each game, in each market.

Bet In-Play Options

Unibet has an amazing in-play betting service. There are over 1,65,000 in-play betting markets and 40,000 events available on both the website and app - with details for each listed in tabular form.

Matches in progress are listed on the left-hand-side, and their statistics are listed in the central column, divided into Home and Away games. The column on the right-hand-side reflects the points and form of the teams.

You can access the live betting statistics by clicking on Sports in the Home Page and then clicking on the Statistics & Livescore option in the nested page.

In-play bets can also be made right from the Home Page, by selecting the Sports option on the Homepage toolbar. Here, you’ll find the most-bet matches of the day.

Unibet allows eligible users to join the In-Play Free Bet Club, which brings additional rewards and promotional offers to new and existing users. To qualify for the club, users must place five or more consecutive bets between Monday & Sunday of a week, where the games betted-on must have a minimum odd of 2.00 and a minimum stake of £10 per bet.

Cash Out Feature

The cash-in feature of Unibet is very convenient and easy-to-use. It allows you to cash out in advance before the outcomes are decided.

This is one of the best features that this sportsbook offers.

With real-time game insights and live in-play statistics, you can make an informed decision to either continue and play big or cash out and cut your losses at the minimum before the game ends.

Unibet TV is the live-streamed channel for all games on the website. Thousands of programs play on the channel each day.

Sportsbook Betting

The sports betting markets covered by Unibet are absolutely phenomenal - over 165,000 live markets!

The sportsbook is a UK-based company, and it has a very good pan-European representation. With the Kindred Group having acquired Stan James, the profile of the markets has significantly expanded.

In terms of sports, everything from cricket to chess, badminton to bandy is available here. It's safe to say that there’s something for everyone on Unibet.

Casino/Bingo Offers

Unibet has hundreds of slot games, table games, video poker games and live dealer casinos as part of its non-sports betting products.

These products can be purchased using the website’s centralised payment account. Poker tables start at a few pennies and go into the thousands. Multi-table tournaments are common.

Players receive a £10 casino welcome bonus with the £40 money back bonus for sports bets.

The website also runs a BetUp service, dedicated for pools.

Special Promotions/Enhanced Odds

Unibet offers a diverse range of special promotions for all games on the website. Football lovers will love the offers where the prize is a share in the £10,000 pool and a trip to see a much-awaited football match in the European League.

Cricket-crazy fans too can dip into Unibet’s amazing offers with the T20 Big Bash Money Back Offer where players whose teams make 180+ runs (win/lose, doesn’t matter) can earn up to £100.

There are many more such special promotions - daily offers, end of the month offers, slots legend offers and so on. You can find these in the Special Offers & Promotions section of the website.

Then there are the enhanced odds promotions like the Unibet Acca Rush for the football accumulator bets. Successful accumulators get their wins boosted by a whopping 25%. Rewards up to £1000 can be won if players play their games right.

Usability of the Site/Mobile Apps

Unibet is available for download both on iOS and Android. The app looks a bit cluttered, although it’s easy to use. The menu bar contains various sports and non-sports sections, which players can use to filter into the game of their choice.

However, if you want to specifically search for e-sports, you’ll need to scroll down a fair bit to find it under the More Sports section. Once you’re in there though, you’ll find it very easy to use.

In-play matches are in red, while those that are done or yet-to-be-played are in green.

The app offers super-convenient wagering buttons, and the app works brilliantly on all devices. There are plenty of in-app features which make bets exciting.

Player Loyalty

Player loyalty is rewarded on Unibet. The bookmaker has a special VIP Program for loyal customers.

Website interaction, deposit amount and frequency of bets are all taken into consideration before extending the invitation to players. All VIP players will have access to specific privileges, insider tips and hot deals.

VIP players will also get fully-comped trips to the most exclusive club games in town.

Customer Service

The customer service teams are top-notch on Unibet. The website sees ticket resolutions in very short times.

According to Unibet, their average response rate is eight seconds on the telephone, 11 seconds on live chat and 45 minutes on email.

The customer service team is available on live chat 24/7, and the support team speaks 12 major languages apart from English.

Countries Accepted/Not Allowed

 The following countries Do Not accept Unibet or its services:

• Afghanistan
• Australia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Ethiopia
• France (all territories)
• Hong Kong
• Iran
• Iraq
• Italy
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• North Korea
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Spain
• Syria
• Turkey
• USA (all territories)
• Yemen

All other countries allow Unibet to offer its services to their residents.

Conclusion

 In all, Unibet’s sportsbook and non-sports offerings make for one of the most engaging and easy-to-play services available today.

Given how beginner-friendly it is and the amazing bonuses and offers it provides, it makes for a great addition to anyone’s playbook. The centralised deposit & withdrawal account and the solid desktop and mobile application make transactions very efficient and convenient.

Unibet Pros

• 97.5% payback on most games.
• Thousands of markets and products on offer.
• Comprehensive live-streaming facility with a cash-in facility.
• Very safe to use and easy to operate.

Unibet Cons

• Sportradar stats tracking leads to an external site - potential compromise of security.
• Low Asian, Australian and American market coverage.
• Small betting limits on select, special markets.
• Minor bugs which log you out of the system surface time-to-time.

Frequently Asked Questions About Unibet

How can I verify my account?

Unibet is a licensed operator, and they verify all applicants’ details to ensure the security of existing players. Make sure you provide all the documents mentioned on the platform. Ensure that the letter is not older than three months, the ID has not expired and the photo you have uploaded is clear and does not exceed 10MB. The Credit/Debit card copy must be signed, and all information in the registration form must be correct.

I’ve been blocked from my account. What do I do?

If you’ve been blocked out of your account, don’t worry. Blocking is a temporary security measure; you would be allowed to reattempt login after an hour. If you’ve forgotten your password, you can change it in the Login section, under the Forgot Password? tab.

Can I access my account during self-exclusion?

Self-exclusion is a service Unibet offers players who wish to voluntarily step away from gaming for a little time. If you are under self-exclusion, neither you nor the Unibet support staff will be able to re-open your account under any circumstances for the duration of the self-exclusion. The money you have in your account will remain in your account during this period, and any wins or losses you make on bets that were in-play during your self-exclusion will be added to or deducted from your account automatically. If you have over $15 in your account during self-exclusion, you can contact the support team for help with manual withdrawal.

When will I receive my winnings?

Unibet pays out Sports and Racing winnings immediately after the official results are declared. Live betting wins are paid-out once the outcome is decided and before the match begins. You can find all paid-out wins under the Betting History tab and the pending wins under the Pending Bets tab.

What do the three types of bonuses in my Deposits account mean?

The three bonuses are:

Contributed money: This is the money you must contribute to, to be eligible to receive the Deposit bonus. Your first play is made from this bonus, and it is eligible to the respective bet’s wagering requirements. If its validity period expires, your contributed money gets converted to cash.

Bonus: This is the bonus that Unibet offers to players. It is part of the various welcome bonuses and offers that the bookmaker offers players. It will be used against bets and will not be converted to cash.

Cash balance: This is the money you had in your account before you made the qualifying deposit. If your contributed money and bonus are both spent, Unibet will use your cash to place your future bets.

Will my insured bet be refunded to my account if I lose the bet?

No. The insured bet is used to protect your earnings during the first bet you make, and it will not be refunded to you whether you win or lose, once the bet is played.

I’ve activated my reward bonus. When will I receive it?

In order to receive the reward bonus, you will need to wager some money. For example, if you wager $1000, you’ll unlock the cash reward of $50.