SBOBET, or simply SBO, is one of the best bookmakers for serious bettors. They offer incredibly high odds on handicaps and they provide a large game selection in various sports. We highly recommend signing up with SBO or playing through a broker. Here is our full SBOBET review.
Who should bet with SBO? The answer is very simple: Anyone who is serious about his or her sports betting. SBO is one of the few serious bookmakers on the market that actually allows players to win in the long run. Their mix of high odds and high limits are making things nice for sharps, and SBO should absolutely be part of your portfolio if you want to improve your chances of winning.
SBOBET is licensed on the Isle of Man for their European operations, and licensed in the Philippines for their Asian operations. It is the biggest online bookmaker in Asia, but people from a wide selection of countries are able to bet legally with SBO. The bookmaker was founded in 2004 and their website can be used in English as well as 10 other languages.
Contents
Odds
An important part of any review is to look into the odds. And SBOBET certainly ranks among the best here.
They are strongest when it comes to handicaps, specifically Asian handicaps in soccer/world football. Here you will typically find a theoretical payback rate of 98%, meaning an equal matchup will be priced at 1,96-1,96 odds. SBO has odds that are close to Pinnacle on most events, although sometimes a bit better.
On game totals (over/under) in soccer/football, SBO ranks as the best on the market. They often have a payback rate of 99%, which is insanely good.
While SBO is best for soccer/football betting, it is also great for tennis, e-sports, motorsports, American sports leagues, along with many other popular sporting events. The odds are quite high throughout the markets. So if you’re looking for a bookmaker with amazing odds, then SBO is arguably the best place to bet.
Rating: 10/10
Game selection
We can’t say anything bad about the game selection that can be found at SBOBET. You will be able to bet on most big events
The most popular sports available on SBO are:
- Soccer/football
- Basketball
- Baseball
- Tennis
- American football
- Motorsports
- Mixed Martial Arts
- E-Sports
- Ice hockey
There is a clear focus on handicaps, but you’re also able to bet on outright winners, totals and much more. In sports with multiple athletes competing individually against each other, SBO will usually provide matchups between selected players.
Rating: 9/10
Limits
SBOBET does not impose personal limits. If you win, you will not be limited, which is very appealing to sharps.
However, there are some normal market limits that apply to everyone. These limits are high in the most popular sports (football, basketball, tennis), but low in niche sports. If you place a maximum bet, the odds may fall, and then you can place more money if you still believe there is value.
On average it is not a problem to place a lot of money with SBO, and in opposition to European soft bookies that are fast to limit the players, SBO is actually a serious bookmaker that allows winners. So we rate it quite highly here.
UPDATE: While still avoiding personal limits, SBO has slashed its general limits, meaning it’s a bit harder to get big money out on the outcomes. We will decrease the rating here from 9/10 to 8/10.
Rating: 8/10
Bonuses
Since SBOBET mostly wants to attract serious players to help them balancing the odds, they are not advertising much with their bonuses. And they have very few of them in general – although all new users will be able to get a first deposit bonus up to 200 euros.
You need to use the promo code DEPBON49 to activate this. The bonus can only be used on the sportsbook. You get 15% of your initial deposit as a bonus, but with 200 euros as the maximum. There is a rollover requirement of 14 times, and you have 60 days to do so. Only bets placed at odds 1.50 or higher applies in the rollover requirements.
Generally, SBO is a bookmaker that focuses mostly on providing high odds and therefore doesn’t offer regular bonuses or VIP-benefits.
Rating: 4/10
SBO has a fresh blue design that is nice to look at. The platform is very reminiscent of typical bookmaker layouts, so nothing surprising here. It’s easy to find the events you’re looking for, as all available sports are shown in the left side. From here, you can click on to the specific league or event you are looking for.
We like to navigate around SBO, as it is easy and trouble free.
Due to a high amount of visitors, the website of SBO can sometimes be a bit slow, with loading times sometimes being annoying. That is the reason why we downgrade from 10/10 to 8/10, even though the general layout and navigation works very well.
Rating: 8/10
Mobile
The mobile platform is not great – in fact it is quite messy. It would be great if SBO made a modern app, or if they at least optimized the mobile browsing platform better. So far, this is a minus, and it counts down in the overall rating. It is best to have computer or tablet access if you intend to bet with SBO.
Rating: 3/10
Customer service
You can contact SBOBET’s customer service at any given time through live chat or email. They also have phone lines for each continent, and if you want to avoid high calling costs, SBO also offers help on WhatsApp which makes calling and texting completely free.
Usually you’ll get an answer quite fast – even email responses rarely take more than a day. The customer service will help you solve your issues and are available whenever you have question. We believe they are doing a good job in this area.
Rating: 9/10
Deposit and withdrawal
You have several different options when you want to deposit and withdraw money to SBOBET. First of all, you can use your credit card, such as a VISA or a MasterCard. You can also use e-wallets such as Neteller or Skrill. In most cases, the money will be there immediately when you choose to deposit, and there are never any issues.
When you want to withdraw, it will usually happen through international bank transfer. You will need to complete the KYC-process before you are able to withdraw money. That means sending personal identification, proof of address, proof of deposit (if you deposit with a credit card, you have to proof that it belongs to you), and then you are able to pay money out. You only need to go through this process once. After that, expect between 2-5 days before the money will reach your account.
Rating: 8/10
How to sign up
SBOBET happily accepts users from most countries. If SBO is available for your country, you can simply go to their website and sign up as a user. If SBO is NOT available in your country, you can try using a bet broker, such as SportMarket (available in all countries except US, UK and France). On their platform, you will also get access to SBO.
Conclusion
We love SBOBET and consider it to be one of the best bookmakers on the market. It is a must for serious players, since the odds are high, and since winning players are welcome.
Check out SBO yourself and see if you’ll like it. If not, you can check out some nice alternatives, such as Pinnacle, Betfair, Cloudbet or any other bookmaker/exchange that also accepts sharps. Best of luck!