188bet review

• Overall info
• 188 bet Sportsbook Review
• 188bet casino
• Customer Service
• 188 bet Bonuses
• Deposit and withdrawal
• Special betting options
• Mobile apps
• Our verdict
• Customer Review

188Bet is an Isle Of Man-based bookmaker with a casino. They claim themselves to be the best Asian online bookmaker, and this 188Bet review will check if it corresponds to reality. We will consider every point essential for understanding how good a gambling website is: from the betting lines and odds and casino games selection to the customer support agents’ performance, gambling license, and extra services like additional options for sports wagering and bonuses.

Overall info

188Bet is a sports betting platform and a digital casino fully equipped with various activities including live dealer tables, virtual sports, action games, and lottery. A quick look over the games and sports markets is enough to understand that the 188Bet sportsbook is mainly focused on Asian bettors. A big variety of Soccer and Horse Racing markets are probably a blast from the past when 188Bet used to be one of the legal British sportsbooks approved by the UKGC located on a separate 188Bet UK website. Besides, Asian gamblers are also keen on British sports, and the variety of Asian casino games and special markets still imply that the most welcomed members come from China, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand. Among the other allowed countries are the following:

• Algeria;
• Angola;
• India;
• Bulgaria;
• Canada;
• Chile;
• Costa Rica;
• United Arab Emirates;
• Vietnam;
• Norway;
• Venezuela;
• Brazil, and more.

188bet history

188Bet started their operations in 2006; in 2007, they launched the desktop site and a mobile platform aimed primarily at Asian gamblers, but soon they expanded their services to Europe, and particularly Great Britain and Ireland. In 2010, they opened a new website exclusively for the British betting audience; the site was operated by a sister company Annatar Ltd. However, they left the British market in 2019 and closed all sponsorships with English football clubs so today it maintains mainly an Asian-faced digital bookmaker and casino.

188bet – official website of the bookmaker

Bookmaker license

The 188Bet owner is Cube Limited, a company officially registered in the Isle of Man. They hold a gambling license of the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, with the latest renewal of the license in 2017. Before 2019, 188Bet was also registered and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, but they do not hold it anymore and do not have the right to provide their services in the United Kingdom and other related jurisdictions.

188 bet Sportsbook Review

188 Bet embraces a pretty small number of sports, and their top sports are mainly focused on Great Britain. Overall, you can bet on a bit more than twenty sports at 188Bet, from a vast number of Soccer, Tennis, Basketball, Baseball, and Volleyball events, to such disciplines as Handball, Rugby, Table Tennis, or Swimming.

The Sportsbook has a clean and neat layout. When you open the sports betting section, you can click on the icons for each sport and check out all available offers, divided into the UK and European sports. You can also opt for additional settings to customize your account: for instance, you can bookmark your favorite events, sports disciplines, or select Remember My Stake service if you regularly place the same wager amount.

188Bet has a reputation as a sportsbook with a ‘winners welcome’ policy as they have pretty big betting limits and allow to make large withdrawals. The biggest possible payout is $1,500,000.

Pre Match line

The sportsbook coverage depends on the season but is mainly focused on British sports and also offers good markets for eSports. One of the main 188Bet features is the Asian handicaps for Soccer, with very low margins compared to the opponent bookmakers. As 188Bet is determined to deliver the best service to both Asian and European betting pools, they provide a choice of the Asian and European Views that you can easily switch between.

As we have mentioned earlier, the sportsbook is mainly worth joining for their soccer markets; it is the strongest offer of 188Bet, and the coverage is impressive varying from the most popular British and European leagues, like the English Premier League to some niche and less famous ones, including women’s tournaments and local games worldwide. The number of markets for one game can exceed one hundred and they include very valuable Asian handicaps in almost every match’s line.

Bet line

You can also find a decent number of markets for basketball (mainly NBA), American Football, Ice Hockey, and Baseball, however, there is still no such in-depth coverage for these disciplines. We touched eSports, too — there are lines for League of Legends, Dota 2, Overwatch, and more games, but a closer look shows that you will get more than a couple of markets only for the top-tier events of The International level.

Horse Racing includes all British and Irish races, and there are also many events in greyhound racing; in terms of horse and greyhounds racing, 188bet is on a par with the leading British online sportsbooks.

Many bettors opt for 188Bet’s financial markets; they have one of the widest choices of such bet types and include the following indexes in their line:

• Shenzhen SSE Composite Index;
• TSEC Weighted Index;
• Japan Nikkei 225 Index;
• Korea KOSPI Index;
• Shanghai Stock Composite Index;
• Thailand SET Index;
• NASDAQ, and more.

Live betting

Live betting is also focused on soccer so you will not find much in the other sports. While there are various last-minute markets and teams or players props for Soccer in-play betting and sometimes American football events, you will not find many lucrative offers for eSports or Ice Hockey. Things are better when it comes to in-play horse racing wagering, but the overall focus is still on Soccer.

The live streaming service is exclusively available in a range of particular countries (Brazil, China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam); instead, you can use convenient graphical tables catching every little event happening on a field.

188 bet odds

The overall odds are pretty competitive but the actual value depends on the particular event and market. The Asian handicaps for soccer are the strongest part of 188Bet in terms of odds and margins, and the other soccer markets are also very attractive, especially when it comes to the most popular events. For instance, the margins for a popular international soccer match can be the following:

• 1,8% for Asian Handicap;
• 4% for Moneyline;
• 3% or less for Totals.

Overall, 188bet odds are among the best for soccer and a bit better than the average ones when it comes to the rest of the disciplines. The average margin does not exceed 6%, and the special betting options we will discuss later in this review can make the value a little bigger.

Virtual Games

Virtual Games of 188Bet are represented by almost twenty titles from Leap and Betradar. You can play the following virtual sports:

• Football: Virtual Football League by BetRadar, Virtual Football by Leap, Instant Football, Virtual Football Asian and European Cups;
• Greyhounds;
• Virtual Horse Racing and Trotting;
• Velodrome and Speedway;
• Virtual Tennis;
• Virtual Basketball.

188bet casino

The 188bet casino library consists of a huge selection of slots and a range of table games. As an Asian-faced casino, 188Bet has a vast variety of games in Asian style, but you can still find a range of famous classical titles. The casino has two major divisions: Classical Casino and a Live Dealer casino; besides, you can enjoy a Bingo game and a Lottery. There are country restrictions for the two latter divisions, so depending on your location, you may see either the full set of services or lack Bingo and Lotteries.

188Bet casino cooperates with several digital gaming providers:

• Betsoft Gaming;
• Evolution;
• Genesis;
• Habanero;
• Leap;
• iSoftbet;
• PlayTech;
• Microgaming;
• Play’N’Go;
• Pocket Game Soft;
• XJ;
• Pragmatic Play.

Slots

A Casino section features a vast library of slots and a smaller table games collection. When you open the Casino page, you will be able to search games by their titles or opt for the other filters: Most Popular, Highest Payout, New Titles, Rating, software provider, themes (with a big focus on Asian locations and graphics). The games are sorted out by the following categories:

• Favorites: 188Bet Sweet Bonanza, Wild West Gold, Unicorn Forest, and more;
• Jackpot: Middle Shot, Major Millions, Mega Moolah Series, Treasure Nile;
• 3D Slots: Treasures of Aztec, Candy Bonanza, Lucky Neko, Shaolin Soccer, and other titles;
• Oriental: a large collection of Asian slots and mini-games: Wild Orient Slot, Dragon Dance Slot, Mahjong King, Chinese Chess, etc.;
• Social: Playboy Gold, Poker the Guy, and Fu Farm JP.

Besides, you can find a range of table games; some of them have Asian themes, too, for instance, a Chinese-styled Baccarat. Still, most of the selection consists of classical versions of the Baccarat, European and American Roulette, Blackjack, and a range of various video poker versions, like Deuces Wild. The overall library includes seventy-nine Las Vegas-styled table games powered by more than ten software providers.

Live casino

The Live casino section is pretty small but still involves all the most popular live dealer tables. The overall library is divided into six parts: Grand Suite, Western Suite, Vegas Suite, Oriental Suite, Imperial Suite, and the Royal Suite. Among the titles you can find the following live dealer tables:

• Baccarat: various options, from the classical one to No Commission, Multi-Table, VIP, and more versions of Baccarat;
• Live Poker: Caribbean Stud, Extreme Texas Holdem, Triple Card, and more;
• Game Shows: Dream Catcher, Mega Ball, Football Studio, Monopoly, and more;
• Dice Games: Lightning Dice;
• Roulette: Lightning Roulette, Hindi Roulette.

The library obviously lacks more Roulettes as the main focus is made on card and dice games, but there are some rare titles so it is a decent option for those who want to try something different from the standard Vegas-style American and European digital live casinos.

Customer Service

188Bet customer service is available 24/7 and consists of the following divisions:

• Live Chat: you can find the replies to standard questions with the help of a chatbot; otherwise, you will be switched to the agent;
• Phone: two numbers for Asian and European customers;
• Email address: [email protected].

The customer support works fine; we contacted the agents via a chat and received an instant reply; according to the other members’ feedback and various 188Bet reviews, the users are also content with the customer support, and we did not find any severe complaints about this 188bet’s site.

Besides, 188Bet has a big Help Center which contains many articles dedicated to various frequent questions. While its layout and structure may seem a bit confusing at first, it is still possible to navigate and find the replies to many inquiries, including various bet types explained without contacting the company’s representatives.

188 bet Bonuses

188Bet bonuses may vary depending on your country of residence and become available only after you register, choose your country and currency. There is a first deposit bonus for new members, seasonal promotions, redeposit and rebate promotions. The bonus amounts may also vary depending on your country and currency, so check the terms and conditions after you register and indicate your location. For instance, the welcome bonus can be different for Indian and Chinese customers.

Overall, the choice of promotions is pretty vast, and you can find bonuses for both sports betting activities and casino services. The wagering requirements are mostly adequate but we still strongly recommend getting acquainted with all specific terms and conditions; they are described in detail on each bonus’ page.

Deposit and withdrawal

Deposit and withdrawal methods vary depending on the location and chosen currency. Among the convenient things about 188Bet is that you can check available methods before registering: go to the Help Desk, choose the ‘Deposits and Withdrawals’ tab and fill in two gaps in the table that will appear on your screen: your country and your preferred currency.

188Bet accepts a wide range of currencies, including USD, GBP, INR, JPY, MYR, RUB, RMB, THB, and more.

For each combination, there is a list of available banking options. Among the most popular payment systems are the following:

• AstroPay: processing time is up to 2 hours, limits: $10-$5,000 (may differ depending on the chosen currency);
• LBT: processing time is up to 6 hours, limits: RMB500 -RMB200,000 (may differ depending on the chosen currency);
• Neteller: processing time is up to 2 hours, limits: $10-$5,000 (may differ depending on the chosen currency);
• Skrill: processing time is up to 2 hours, limits: $10-$5,000 (may differ depending on the chosen currency);
• EcoPayz: processing time is up to 2 hours, limits: $10-$5,000 (may differ depending on the chosen currency);

You can not submit any payments with credit and debit cards. 188Bet allows you to withdraw up to five times a day; withdrawal limits also depend on your chosen currency.

Special betting options

Except standard Moneylines, Totals, and Handicaps, including Asian Handicaps, 188Bet offers a range of more exquisite betting variants available for all or selected markets. Besides, there are different extra services that allow you to get more of your bets or, on the contrary, save money on some unsuccessful bets.

The full set of specials 188Bet offers is pretty typical for a good sports betting site, and we will list them for your convenience if you want to compare them with 188bet’s opponents or have a better idea of the possible wagering experience with the chosen platform.

Betting options:

• Parlay Bet. A multiple bet, when you combine more than two wagers in a single bet with a higher payout.
• Each Way Betting. A betting option allowing you to win a part of the funds for an outright bet. Such bet is split into a Win part and a Place part; if the bet wins, you will receive your winnings for both parts; if the bet loses, but the place terms are fulfilled, you will get your Place funds.
• Cash Out. You can get a full or partial refund of your stake before an event finishes.
• Match Center. Convenient live statistics in visual graphics available for each match.

Mobile apps

188Bet features a native app compatible with Android and iOS. You will not find them directly in both stores, so you must visit a mobile 188bet.com website to choose an operating system and download a compatible version. To download an app, you must be a registered user.

The app includes all the activities you can find on the desktop website: all sports betting markets, online casinos, lottos, and virtual sports.

The app works fine and does not show any severe technical issues; it may lag sometimes, but overall the performance is okay. The layout is convenient enough to quickly find all sections you want to reach.

Our verdict

188Bet does not offer anything sky-high and can be regarded as a trusted reputable sportsbook with a decent offer for Soccer betting and an Asian-focused casino platform. Their bonuses are pretty mediocre, as well as the number of the offered sports, special betting options, and odds. However, it can become a great option for high-rollers who want to earn much on soccer betting as their betting limits are higher than many bookmakers usually allow. The betting and winning limits are probably the strongest sides of 188bet, and they rarely block the winning accounts or require a double-check of gamblers’ identity to withdraw large amounts, so if you want to bet on soccer at high odds and the other sports on the average odds and win much, you will most likely enjoy 188Bet.

The casino has many titles you will not come across in a standard European Internet casino, so it is at least worth trying. Overall, the site leaves a good impression of a reliable place but does not offer anything extraordinary especially for the recreational bettors who prefer a big choice of promotions and a vast variety of covered sports to possibly large profits.

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