188Bet Review

Last Updated: March 27, 2024

Review of 188Bet

2.5|5

Editors Note:

Our review of 188bet looks at every aspect of the site to help punters make an informed decision about whether or not they want to open a 188Bet account. We’ve rated them with a 2.5 star grade overall – which means they are a solid online bookmaker but with some issues.

Up until recently 188Bet was making a concentrated effort on the UK market and trying to establish their name as one of the bigger online bookies… however in May last year they shut their doors to UK customers citing that the decision ‘was a commercial one in a very competitive market place’.

Given the higher level of scrutiny the UKGC are putting on UK licensed betting sites, whilst not proven, it looks very much like 188Bet knew they couldn’t stand up to this or their licensing agreement and pulled the plug before the plug was pulled on them.

As a result of this move we’ve downgraded them to 2.5 stars and realistically they are now very much an Asian facing online bookmaker so only consider them if you’re outside the United Kingdom.

Pros & Cons of 188Bet

  • Broad range of bets for the markets offered.
  • Regional based welcome bonus offers.
  • Excellent In Play betting console.
  • No Live Streaming Service.
  • Not available in the UK any longer.
  • Questions should be asked as to why they pulled out of the UK market in 2019.
  • Complete lack of promotional offers on site.
188Bet Review
Only suitable for the Asian market.
Recommended:
Outside UK Only
T&C’s apply, 18+.

188Bet Licensing & Safety

Not licensed in the UK

Is 188Bet Safe?

6|10
  • No UK license
  • Isle of Man gaming license
  • Quick pull-out from the UK market
  • Gaming Labs affiliation
Open an account at 188Bet!

T&C’s apply, 18+, New customers only.

Isle Of Man188Bet is regulated and licensed by the Isle of Man government and NOT the UK Gambling Commission. The fact that they are governed by a professional organization ensures that the integrity of the site is maintained. This regulation ensures that:

  • All minors are prevented from accessing the services that the site offers, so as to protect them from the risks associated with gambling.
  • All of the transactions carried out on the site are clear and not open to fraudulent activities, either by the users or the owners of the site.
  • Both losing wagers and winning wagers are honoured in full.
  • Anyone suffering from gambling related problems is able to contact the site for details about how to get help.

188Bet are owned by Annatar Limited who operate out of the Isle of Man and currently sponsor both the Asian Grand Prix and the 2020 Thomas & Uber Badminton Cup.

Note: 188Bet pulled out of the UK market very quickly in May 2019 after spending considerable funds investing in the space. This pull out aligned with a crackdown on questionable operators by the UK Gambling Commission and therefore questions must be asked about 188Bet’s activities and why they decided to end their license agreement in such a large worldwide gambling market.

Deposits & Withdrawals at 188Bet

Very limited options

Will I get paid?

3|10
  • Instant deposit options
  • Mastercard deposits
  • JCB deposits
  • ecoPayz deposits
Open an account at 188Bet!

T&C’s apply, 18+, New customers only.
Method
Fee
Time Scale
Deposit
Withdraw
Limit
Method

Mastercard

Fee

0

Time Scale

Instant

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

3,000 – 550,000

Method

JCB

Fee

0

Time Scale

Instant

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

3,000 – 550,000

Method

ecoPayz

Fee

0

Time Scale

Instant

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

1,000 – 2,500,000

How To Deposit To 188Bet

Once you have got your 188Bet account and have logged in, click on your account and from the options available click deposit.

From here you can select which deposit option you want to use from those available on the site. Click on this and then enter any details or follow the instructions to deposit into your account.

Depending on the deposit method chosen, deposits will be in your account anywhere from around 15 minutes after the deposit, until a few days later.

How To Withdraw From 188Bet

Depending on where you access 188Bet from and the currency you selected to operate your site in, you will have a list of withdrawal options available to you, as you do for depositing at the site.

Simply click on your account details once logged into your account and then from the options available select Withdraw.

You then need to select which of the available withdrawal methods you wish to withdraw funds too.

One thing to note is that in some countries, some withdrawals will incur fees and some of the minimum withdrawal amounts can be pretty high (£100 or equivalent for example), so you need to be doubly aware of these charges when you make a withdrawal.

How Long Does It Take To Withdraw At 188Bet?

Because there are so many different payment methods available across a wide range of countries, it is hard to give a definitive answer to this. Suffice to say that the average times for fund transfers when you make a withdrawal are a good rule of thumb.

So that would be anything from instant to a few hours for some eWallet withdrawals or similar, up to a day for Fast Bank transfers or similar and between 2-5 days for other methods such as standard bank transfers.

Customer Service at 188Bet

A number of support options available

What’s customer support like?

5|10
  • Support in multiple languages
  • Europen phone number
  • Asian phone number
  • Live chat service on website
Open an account at 188Bet!

T&C’s apply, 18+, New customers only.

188Bet offers a good customer support service, which somewhat oddly is based out of the UK, despite the site now facing Europe and Asia as their main markets. You can contact support in a variety of languages though which is helpful.

You can contact customer support through two dedicated phone numbers, one for Asian customers, one for customers in Europe, a Live Chat service on the site and also a customer support email address.

This is a good selection of customer support options for patrons of the site and does offer peace of mind that you can speak to someone quickly if you need an issue sorted on site.

  • Phone – Asian Customers – +852 5808 3608
  • Phone – European Customers – +44 20 3318 0702
  • Email – support-en@188bet.co.uk
  • Live Chat – available on website/app

Review of 188Bet Website

Mobile & desktop site review

Is 188Bet Easy To Use?

3|10
  • No dedicated betting app
  • Somewhat lacking features
  • Good in-play betting
  • Behind bigger operators
Open an account at 188Bet!

T&C’s apply, 18+, New customers only.

188Bet Mobile Review

Unlike other betting sites, 188Bet doesn’t have a dedicated mobile app, despite the fact that other reviews online may mention they do. What they do offer is a link to a browser-based mobile site, which is essentially a mobile-optimised version of their desktop site.

Now while browser-based services are generally much improved on mobile nowadays, they tend not to be as smooth or as user-friendly as apps, and that is the case here, although 188Bet’s mobile site does offer all the same things you would get on the desktop site, including the option to sign up with the company.

The site is designed well and is intuitive, it is easy to find the markets that you want, however we feel the in-play betting service is the best aspect of the mobile site (as it is the standard site) and get the feeling that this is the part of the site 188Bet wants to promote more to its customers.

Obviously not having a dedicated app means that, when it comes to the 188Bet review score, marks are going to be deductred big time in this category.

188Bet Desktop Review

In truth, the desktop site is almost exactly the same as the mobile version, it is just that the larger screen allows more items to be displayed on screen.

What we will say here is that 188Bet don’t waste space on promotions or other items. Their home page is all about betting with markets shown on the page and little else. It is a rather plain looking site and while it works perfectly well, it is somewhat boring to look at.

It will likely remind you of working through a spreadsheet and a few GIFS or scrolling items would liven up the home page a bit.

Navigating the site is easy and it is pretty responsive. The site has been improved in that respect over the years, but it is a long way behind the market leaders in the industry such as BetVictor or Bet365 sport.

How To Join 188Bet

Joining 188Bet is relatively simple, provided you live in a country where the site is operational.

  1. Head over to the 188Bet site and click on the orange Sign Up button.
  2. A form will load up which requires you to fill in your personal details.
  3. Click the box to confirm you are 18 years of age and have read the Terms and Conditions.
  4. Enter the Captcha Code in the box provided.
  5. Click the Sign Up Button and your new account will be created.

Markets & Odds at 188Bet

Most popular sports available

What sports can you bet on at 188Bet?

7|10
  • 25+ different sports
  • In-play betting availale
  • E-sports & virtual sports
  • Asian handicap specialists
Open an account at 188Bet!

T&C’s apply, 18+, New customers only.

188Bet is not one of the most popular sports betting websites around but it allows customers to bet on a variety of different sports, although there are sites with more sports than this one. One thing that you can expect though is that all of the sports are comprehensive, so you will be able to bet on almost any eventuality. The sports offered 188Bet are as follows:

  • American Football
  • Badminton
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Chess
  • Cricket
  • Darts
  • Entertainment
  • eSports
  • Financials
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Greyhounds
  • Handball
  • Horse Racing
  • Ice Hockey
  • Lottery
  • MMA
  • Motor Racing
  • Politics
  • Pool
  • Rugby
  • Snooker
  • Tennis
  • UFC
  • Volleyball

All of the sports listed above have their own dedicated section on the 188Bet website, therefore meaning that there is wide variety of opportunities for each. Also, many of the categories, such as football, envelop a huge amount of different leagues, both domestically and internationally. This means that whether an event is in London, Lisbon or Los Angeles, you will probably be able to bet on it at 188Bet however if it’s more obscure sports you’re after then 188Bet probably isn’t the right site for you.

If you compare the offerings at Betvictor or Paddy Power for example to that of 188Bet in terms of markets available then you’ll soon see why they don’t get a higher rating in this category.

In-Play Betting Review at 188Bet

Good coverage but slightly confusing

Is live betting offered at 188Bet?

6|10
  • In-play section
  • Decent range of events
  • Live scoring, stats & updates
  • Live streaming not available
Open an account at 188Bet!

T&C’s apply, 18+, New customers only.

188Bet In-play188Bet offers all customers the chance to bet while a game is in-play, therefore meaning that punters can bet on a variety of different situations at the click of a button. The in-play menu is completely comprehensive and shows all of the major odds for the different games, although to find more specific odds you need to click on the actual game being played. All of the odds are constantly being updated, as are the stats that the site provides.

Game time, score, cards, action areas and plenty of other in game stats are provided in the in-play section which is good to see. Even some of the bigger bookmakers don’t include these so this is a really plus for 188Bet.

To access the in-play features, all you have to do is click on the “Sports” tab, before then clicking on the “In-Play” tab (under the top menu). There is a preview of all the in-play matches as well, which can be found on the left of the main sport page.

It’s hard to find fault with the in-play betting suite offered at 188Bet. It runs smoothly, displays live scores well and offers plenty of markets to bet on. One thing it doesn’t do is offer live streaming of events to customers – for this service check out Bet365 who’ve got by far the best live betting/streaming options around.

Given 188Bet reviews well in this categoy and still doesn’t live up to the standards of the bigger operators it’s hard to make an argument for having an account.

Welcome Bonus

Varies by region.

New customer offer

5|10
  • First deposit bonus
  • Wagering requirements attached
  • Mainly focussed on casino products
  • Not attractive for sports punters

188Bet do run welcome offers for most new customers however the amount available massively depends on which region you are joining from. One thing all regions do have in common is the bonus comes in the form of a percentage deposit match with the latest advertised for customers from Japan being 200% up to $200/JPY 10,250.

A similar bonus is likely available regardless of which region you are joining from but it’s best to check that out using the button below – click and you’ll be taken to 188Bet where the bonus info for your location will be shown.

Click to check your 188Bet bonus!

T&C’s apply, 18+.

How To Use The 188Bet Bonus

At the moment, it appears that 188Bet is not offering any Welcome Bonus for its customers. If you click on the promotions tab on the site, you simply get a list of terms and conditions for any promotions that they may offer, but none are listed on the site at present.

Overall Review

Here’s our overall take on things…

Our Verdict of 188Bet

Middle of the road option
OUR RATING FOR:
188BET
2.5 | 5

At the very start of our 188Bet review page you might well have picked up on the 2.5 star out of 5 rating that we’ve given 188Bet. Now without any justification that doesn’t really mean much so in this part of the page we’re going to tell you why 188Bet gets 2.5 stars.

Basically 188Bet gets the midlle of the road rating. What does this mean? Essentially the product that 188Bet has to offer is decent but nothing more.

The problems start when it comes to promotions and the opening bonus. Promotions aside from the opening bonus (which varies by region) are not exactly plentiful which means they get marked down heavily. Add to that the fact that they no longer serve the UK market and you’ve got, what feels like, a bookmaker in decline.

We’ve never really heard any mention of 188Bet closing player accounts, denying bonuses or doing anything else underhand. They sponsor various sports and are pretty much known as a reputable brand but the lack of value for players is a real off put.

When you compare 188Bet with the likes of BetVictor there’s actually very little reason to join 188Bet over them – in fact you’d be better off with an account at number of our other reviewed betting sites.

188Bet just aren’t industry leaders, if you join up you’ll be provided with a decent service but there’s no real draw. There’s no live streaming, the bonus is below average in terms of generosity and there aren’t any promotions running either. The site works fine – it’s just not the best that’s out there.

Click to check your 188Bet bonus!

T&C’s apply, 18+.

188Bet FAQ

Your questions answered

How To Contact 188Bet

You can contact 188Bet using email, live chat or two dedicated phone numbers.

  • Phone – Asian Customers – +852 5808 3608
  • Phone – European Customers – +44 20 3318 0702
  • Email – support-en@188bet.co.uk
  • Live Chat

How To Close Your 188Bet Account

There is no option to close your 188Bet account on the site, so you can only close your account by sending a request to the company to delete your account. You can send this via email, or by the phone numbers listed above for Asian and European customers. They do ask that you send a security code answer via email, together with a reason as to why you have closed the account.

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