What Are the 12 Key Things to Consider When Joining a Betting Site?

twelve key things to consider when joining betting site

So, you are thinking about joining a betting site? Well, you have come to exactly the right post! In this article, we will take you through a series of questions which you should always consider when joining any sports betting site.

For the format of the post, we are going to propose some of the key questions you should ask yourself and seek to find answers to before you join any site. Some of the things you need to consider are more important than others. These important queries feature early in the list of questions.

So, let’s get started with the first and perhaps the most important consideration you need to make when joining any online gambling platform.

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Is the Site Licensed, Secure and Regulated?

Security and safety for your personal and financial details is imperative for any site. Therefore, the first thing you should always consider is whether the site is licensed and regulated. Gambling companies need a license to operate legally in the UK and these licenses are issued by the Gambling Commission. Companies should provide you with evidence of this, often at the foot of their homepage on the website.

Additionally, reputable companies will also display the fact their games have been tested and proven to be safe and fair by a regulatory body such as eCogra or similar.

Lastly, the site should also have Secure Socket Layer (SSL), encryption technology and in some cases two-factor authentication to protect your financial details and transactions. Details of this are usually provided in the company’s terms and conditions, privacy policy or similar.

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Does the Site Promote and Endorse Responsible Gambling?

All the best gambling and betting sites in the UK should now actively endorse responsible gambling and display the different tools and help available to ensure people gamble responsibly on the site.

Even if you are not gambling irresponsibly, having the tools available to ensure you keep your hobby safe and responsible is extremely beneficial.

Furthermore, the links to bodies and other resources which promote and advise on responsible gambling are also extremely beneficial to ensure things stay that way.

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What Options Are Available to Me to Use the Site?

Have a think about how you are going to access the site most often. Are you going to be accessing it from a computer like a desktop or laptop PC or a Mac, or will you be logging in more often from a mobile device like a tablet or smartphone?

Then consider the options available to you to access the site. Does the site offer a specific mobile app for your chosen mobile device, or does it operate using HTML5-built websites that can work fine on a mobile device from a browser?

Look at the site on your chosen device and check you can find the different aspects of the site that interest you the most. Is navigating quick and easy? Are the parts of the site you are going to use easy to find?

Remember too that many sites allow you to personalise your experience. This is achieved by adding favourite sports and betting markets to your favourites tab, or by allowing you to change the odds format to the one that you prefer to use.

What Are the Prominent Betting Markets Available on The Site and Do They Match My Main Interests When Betting?

When you join a site, you will know which sports you want to bet on, or which casino games you want to play. So, check out whether the site offers the options you want for those key markets.

There’s little point joining a site that may boast a fantastic tennis betting section, if your main interest is horse racing. You are betting looking around for a site that offers a brilliant horse racing betting experience when you sign up.

Sites will have different features available for certain sports, so it is a good idea to see if these key features match up to what you want to bet on. If they do, then you’ll find betting more enjoyable and probably less time-intensive too.

Is the Welcome Bonus for New Customers Good Value?

For most new customers, the welcome offer is the first part of a site you will encounter. As you would expect, they differ greatly from one site to another in terms of what is on offer and the actual value for money they offer new sign-ups.

There are plenty of things to consider about a welcome bonus rather than simply the potential size of a bonus. You need to look at what you need to do to activate the bonus, how much that will cost you in terms of deposit and spend on the site. You should also check any wagering requirements attached to a welcome offer.

What you will find is that a bonus that may sound like it offers the best value, when examined in more detail, may not suit you compared to how much you want to deposit and play. Whereas a seemingly lower value offer may be much easier for you to realise and gain the most benefit from.

In Terms of Odds in General, How Does the Site Compare to Its Competitors?

It is one thing getting value from a welcome bonus, but to ensure you get better value with a betting site, you should always try and check out how their odds compare against their main rivals.

This is not an exact science. One bookmaker will not always offer better odds on a market compared to the others. However, what you should consider are the markets you want to bet on most often and then check how the odds for that site compares with their rivals. You can use an odds comparison site to do this quickly and easily.

The difference between 10/11 from one bookmaker and evens on another may seem small, but if you add up that over many bets, over several years and you can quickly see how low value odds can impact the value of your returns over the longer term.

What Features Does the Site Have to Enhance My Betting Experience with Them?

Nowadays, online betting sites and gambling sites will have a host of features available to you to make things easier, more flexible, more profitable, or more exciting when you bet with them.

Some of the key features you should look out for on sites nowadays include:

Best Odds Guarantee
Live In Play Betting
Live Streaming
Bet Builder or Build A Bet
Cash Out
Partial Cash Out
Edit Your Bet
Free to Play Games offering Cash Prizes
Boosted Prices
Free Bet Bonuses or Similar

How Does the Site Offer Long Term Value to Loyal Customers?

If you are going to be a loyal customer to a site, then your loyalty should be rewarded. So it is worth taking a look at how a site will do that for you over the period of your membership.

There are many ways a betting site or casino site can do this. Some offer a range of ongoing promotions that offer good value on different bets or games. Others have their own Loyalty Scheme or Rewards Club, where you can move through a tier-system and unlock a variety of awards.

Others offer a cash back scheme based on a percentage of what you spend (and lose) with the site and some can offer a mix of these different options.

Remember, you want your loyalty rewarded, so do check out on what offers and promotions you can access as a member of the site.

Aside from Sports Betting – What Other Activities Will My Account Let Me Enjoy?

While you may sign up with a site initially to enjoy the range of sports betting options available to you, many sites now offer a range of other options to enjoy – all from the same login.

Some of the options that could be available and of interest to you include:

Casino Gaming
Cryptocurrency Gaming
Esports
Virtual Sports Games
Bingo
Poker
Live Casino Gaming
TV Gameshow-Themed Games
Fantasy Sports
Politics Betting
Lottery Betting
TV Show/Events Betting
Crash Games
Instant Win Games
Progressive Jackpot Games

What Customer Services Options Are Available to Me?

Even with the best of sites, sometimes things can go wrong with a person’s account, or they can have an experience on the site that may require support. It is at this time that the value of a good quality customer services is apparent.

What you should look for here is a site that has multiple customer service options including either all or at least some of the following: -

Live Chat (ideally available 24/7)
A Phone Number
Extensive Help and/or FAQ section on the site
An Email Address
A Business Address

You should also check out what language options the site offers customer service in.

What Payment Methods Are Available on the Site?

How you fund your account is important and ideally, you would like as many different options available to you as possible. The more options you have, then the easier it will be to find a payment method that suits how you want to play.

Some of the options available to you nowadays should include some or all the following at the top sites: -

Debit Card
Credit Card (in countries where credit card deposits are still allowed)
Bank Transfer
Fast Bank Transfer
Prepayment Card Services
eWallet Services
Cryptocurrency

Remember, you will likely need to verify your identity with the site to complete its Know Your Customer protocols and to ensure that you are who you say you are. This is usually ither completed when you make your first deposit, or more often, when you try to make your first withdrawal.

What Are the Minimum and Maximum Betting Limits and Are Winnings Capped at A Stated Amount?

While smaller stakes players don’t usually need to worry about the betting limits on a site, if you are someone who bets a lot more, a high roller for example, then you should also find out what the betting limits are for the site you want to join. Betting limits and payout caps are different from site to site, so for higher rollers, it is important to find out what they are.

At the other end of the scale, customers should also find out what their low betting limits are and their lowest deposit and withdrawal you can make with the provider but is it worth checking a review site?

You can of course check out other things. Many people like to check out online reviews of a site. Be warned though, I have often found that many of the reviews on these sites are simply disgruntled customers who have been caught trying to abuse an offer, or who have misunderstood the terms of an offer or who have tried to get more bonuses than they are allowed.

There are also some people who believe disreputable sites will pay people to leave fake reviews on their more respectable competitor sites. Whether or not this is the case is open to question.

So, as you can see, there’s lots to consider when you join a betting or gambling site. It is not solely about the Welcome Offer, or the promotions available on site.

However spending a bit of time before you join to ensure that the site best matches your needs, is time very well spent.

What Are the 12 Key Things to Consider When Joining a Betting Site?

Is the Site Licensed, Secure and Regulated?

Does the Site Promote and Endorse Responsible Gambling?

What Options Are Available to Me to Use the Site?

What Are the Prominent Betting Markets Available on The Site and Do They Match My Main Interests When Betting?

Is the Welcome Bonus for New Customers Good Value?

In Terms of Odds in General, How Does the Site Compare to Its Competitors?

What Features Does the Site Have to Enhance My Betting Experience with Them?

How Does the Site Offer Long Term Value to Loyal Customers?

Aside from Sports Betting – What Other Activities Will My Account Let Me Enjoy?

What Customer Services Options Are Available to Me?

What Payment Methods Are Available on the Site?

What Are the Minimum and Maximum Betting Limits and Are Winnings Capped at A Stated Amount?

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