SkyBet Review

Last Updated: March 4, 2024

Review of Skybet

1|5

Editors Note:

SkyBet are one of the most well known bookmakers thanks to their advertising platform on TV but when you start to dig deeper into the company you find there are some seriously alarming questions surrounding the brand which we’ll detail in full in this Skybet review.

Sky don’t actually own SkyBet. Which is weird considering the branding. They are owned by a Canadian company who have no relationship with Sky.

On top of that SkyBet recently terminated deals with a number of their marketing partners overnight and suspended payments. This is a massive red flag for any company and I’m no longer comfortable recommending a bookmaker with, what from the outside appears to be, a question mark over their finances.

If the company are struggling financially then players funds are potentially at risk, as are payouts, and until resolved you’d be much better off sticking to a safer option.

Check out either Bet365 or Betvictor, both 5 star bookmakers, for better alternatives to Sky Bet.

Pros & Cons of Skybet

  • Lots of free to play promotions.
  • Well desgined website is easy to use.
  • Mobile service is excellent, with the app highly rated.
  • Not accepting customers using PayPal or other eWallet services.
  • SkyBet is linked to Sky in name only – totally different owners.
  • New owners have had significant issues with partners in the past.
  • Starter bonus isn’t the biggest.
  • Low max payouts at £500k for some sports & £250k for others.
Skybet Review
One of the WORST ratings we dish out!
Recommended:
No

Skybet Licensing & Safety

UKGC licensed & 5 star safety

Is Skybet Safe?

1|10
  • UKGC license
  • Alderney license
  • Strange ownership?!
  • Financial questions marks?!

Skybet WarningAlthough Skybet have all the correct licenses they need to operate, from the UK Gambling Commission and Alderney Gambling Control Commission, they aren’t actually owned by Sky and have a big question mark over their financials after sudden terminations with marketing partners who claim unpaid debts.

Bonne Terre Limited, the company that own Skybet, are licensed by Sky to use the Sky trademark so they can operate the Sky Bet bookmakers. This just feels like an odd situation and we’d be much more comfortable if Sky owned and ran the site.

At no point in any of their advertisements, on Sky TV, is it made clear that Sky don’t own SkyBet. In fact as a punter you just automatically assume they do by association.

With these two key points in mind, at this point in time we’ve assigned Skybet with our highest possible risk rating. We wouldn’t keep our money on the site so we don’t expect you to.

If you’re looking for an alternative option… check out our bookmaker reviews.

Deposits & Withdrawals at Skybet

Wide range of methods

Will I get paid?

7|10
  • Instant deposits available
  • Credit & debit cards
  • Skrill accepted
  • PayPal accepted
Method
Fee
Time Scale
Deposit
Withdraw
Limit
Method

Visa

Fee

£0

Time Scale

Instant

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

£10 – £10,000

Method

Mastercard

Fee

£0

Time Scale

Instant

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

£10 – £10,000

Method

Maestro

Fee

£0

Time Scale

Intant

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

£10 – £10,000

Method

Neteller

Fee

£0

Time Scale

Intant

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

£10 – £50,000

Method

Skrill

Fee

£0

Time Scale

Intant

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

£10 – £100,000

Method

PayPal

Fee

£0

Time Scale

Intant

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

£5 – £5,500

Method

Paysafecard

Fee

£0

Time Scale

Intant

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

£5 – £750

Method

BACS

Fee

£0

Time Scale

3-10 days

Deposit

Withdraw

Limit

£1 – £100,000

How To Deposit To Skybet

Depositing with Skybet is simple. Click on the person icon in the top right corner and from the My Account options, click Deposit.

From here, you will be shown a list of options you can deposit on the site with. Select from one and add the amount you wish to deposit in the box and then click the green Deposit button.

You can add other betting options, such as a Debit Card from this menu too. While you can add further payment methods by clicking on the Manage Payment Methods options in your account.

How To Withdraw From Skybet

To withdraw from Skybet, you simply click on the person icon once again to access the My Account section of the site. From here select the Withdraw option.

As is the case with all UK betting sites, you can only withdraw to a payment option that you have used previously, so if you used PayPal to make a deposit, then you will be able to withdraw back to your PayPal account.

Simply select the payment method you have used that you wish to withdraw back to, enter the amount you want to withdraw and click on the Withdraw button.

Your withdrawal will then be actioned by the site.

How Long Does It Take To Withdraw At Skybet?

Given that new customers at SkyBet can only tend to use different forms of bank withdrawal (including via ApplePay and GooglePay) then most withdrawals on the site take from two to five days. This does not include weekends or bank holidays.

You will need to verify your identity before you make a withdrawal for the first time, or for a large or unusual withdrawal subsequently and this process can also delay the withdrawal of your funds.

It’s worth noting that some bookmakers, notably Bet365 & Betvictor, offer much quicker withdrawal option with some taking place under 24 hours – Skybet reviews poorly in this category vs the wider market.

Customer Service at Skybet

A number of support options available

What’s customer support like?

4|10
  • Help section hard to navigate
  • Hard to get direct support contact
  • Lots of options are available
  • Includes social media support

SkyBet has an extensive help section which does take an absolute age to work through if you want to get to customer services. It’s hard to be a fan of this as if a customer has an urgent issue, the last thing they want is to have to wade through question after question to be able to speak or chat to someone.

When you do get through to the Customer Support options there are five options available to you:

  • Phone – Although this option is not always available (was offline when we did our review at 9:16am GMT).
  • Live Chat
  • SkyBet Help Twitter Account
  • SkyBet Help on Facebook Messenger
  • Dedicated Safer Gambling Live Chat

All of the above options are accessed via the help section on the Skybet website, which as previously stated, isn’t the easiest to navigate.

When we first researched customer service for this Skybet review it looked promising and the safe gambling live chat option was a really positive addition but until support is made easier to access they’ll still score poorly.

Skybet Website Review

Mobile & desktop site review

Is Skybet Easy To Use?

7|10

Skybet Mobile Review

SkyBet have spent a lot of time on developing their mobile product and it is one of the better ones on the market today.

The app has an excellent rating of 4.7/5 on the app store and it does have a large number of five star reviews, with very few poor reviews, although we’re slightly suspicious when an app doesn’t have more than a few lower reviews…

That being said it is easy to see why people like SkyBet’s mobile offering. You can access all the same bets, markets and promotions as you can on the website, the app is intuitive and very user-friendly, it is quick, stable and doesn’t crash very often. It’s in-play betting is also good.

One nice touch is the way this SkyBet app links in with other SkyBet apps, such as the Soccer 6 prediction game, and vice versa.

Although we do have some issues with Skybet, it’s fair to say its app service is excellent.

Skybet Desktop Review

Like it’s mobile service, SkyBet’s desktop website offers a simple, smooth and easy-to-use service that is nicely designed and appealing to use. The fact the site uses extensive graphics and features many people familiar from Sky Sports does give users a sense of familiarity and an overall professional feel.

The number of bets available on the site for the top sports is good and their odds are generally competitive and their bet boost options, which are available in plentiful amounts on the site each day, do improve the value of these particular markets quite considerably.

However, what is extremely odd is that a site that is so strongly linked to Sky Sports does not offer a great live streaming service, with only live streams of UK and Irish horse racing available, which requires you to have bet £1 on a race to tune in.

That’s the only really black mark against the site as otherwise, its in-play and standard sports betting options are good, as are the extensive range of promotions on the site too.

How To Join Skybet

You can join Skybet on the app or the website in the following ways:

  1. Click on the Join button in the top right corner.
  2. When the Registration page has loaded enter in your details in the spaces provided.
  3. Click on Next
  4. You can now select your payment method, although you don’t have to deposit at this time. You can also set deposit limits and other responsible gambling options at this time if you so wish.
  5. Click the button to proceed. Your account will be verified and then once that is completed, your account will be confirmed.
  6. If your account fails verification, then you may need to verify your account by sending in documentation.

Markets & Odds at Skybet

Decent range of sports

What sports can you bet on at Skybet?

6|10
  • 30+ sports
  • Average odds
  • In-play betting
  • Limited live streaming

When it comes to sport, Sky is one of the biggest name in the United Kingdom, covering all kinds of different events on their many television channels. This massive scope also extends to the huge amount of different sport markets that they have on their gambling site, therefore meaning that there is something for everyone.

The sports that they offer markets for are:

  • Athletics
  • Aussie Rules
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Bowls
  • Boxing
  • Cricket
  • Cycling
  • Darts
  • eSports
  • Football
  • Formula One
  • Golf
  • Greyhounds
  • Handball
  • Horse Racing
  • Ice Hockey
  • Lotto
  • MMA
  • Motor Sports
  • Music
  • Netball
  • NFL
  • Politics
  • Rugby
  • Snooker
  • Speedway
  • Tennis
  • TV & Films
  • UFC
  • Virtuals
  • Volleyball
  • Winter Sports
  • Wrestling

As can be seen, if you can find the sport to watch on Sky Sports, then the chances are you will also be able to find a market for it on this site. Sky have used their considerable resources to provide one of the most comprehensive list of sports around, as well as to make sure that all of the sports covered are covered in great depth. This means that from low league encounters through to World Cup matches, you will be able to find what you are looking for here.

A note on the odds: whilst the odds you’ll find on Skybet aren’t a million miles away from the other major bookmakers they are by no means the most generous and when it comes to football for example you’d be much better off at one of these sites.

In-Play Betting Review at Skybet

Limited live streaming & odds

Is live betting offered at Skybet?

5|10
  • Expected range of events
  • Cash out offered
  • Live stats & scores
  • Limited live streaming

Skybet In-Play BettingAs you would expect from a site of this size, Skybet also offers a comprehensive in-play section, which means that you are able to place bets as the event is being played out. Odds are constantly updated on this feature and it is offered for nearly all matches that are ongoing, regardless of the sport.

The live menu can be found right in the middle of the homepage, with details of the match and the number of different bets that are being offered. Once an event is selected you’ll be presented with a console where the live score is at the top, odds below, a graphic displays the current state of play and clicking the stats icon in the top right switches to match stats.

However in-play bet types are limited and the odds available certainly seem tight when compared to other online bookies. These two negatives put them right back in the middle of the pack in this category.

To be honest there are better live options out there. For the top two check out our Bet365 review or our BetVictor review.

Live Streaming on Skybet

Given that Sky have the television rights to pretty much every sport worth watching you’d think they’d have a pretty stellar live streaming section… well unfortunately you’d be wrong.

In fact they recently reduced their live streaming service and now only offer UK and Irish horse racing. You must bet at least £1 per race to watch.

All in all it’s vastly disappointing and when you compare them to Bet365 who stream over 100,000 events per year on top of horse racing it doesn’t look great. We’ve been forced to downgrade Skybet as a result here. Click the previous link to read our Bet365 review if live streaming is important to you – you’ll be looked after there.

Overall Review

Here’s our overall take on things…

Our Review of SkyBet

Avoid for now
OUR RATING FOR:
SKYBET
1 | 5

After conducting our Skybet review we felt that, given our concerns, they were worth no more than a 1 star rating.

They have all the correct gambling licenses required to operate an online bookmakers but as we’ve mentioned previously in this review they company isn’t owned by Sky themselves and they’ve recently had disputes with marketing parters over contracts and payments.

It’s a real shame that the above two issues overshadows what could be quite a solid online bookmakers. Their depth and range of markets is decent, odds are competitive if not outstanding and there’s plenty of offers (such as Super 6) to keep punters interested.

A lack of live streaming does also let them down, especially given the TV platform… but as we know Sky don’t seem to own SkyBet so I guess that explains why this is an issue.

If they are able to resolve on going disputes with their marketing partners then to us that would prove they at least have the financial security to upgrade their rating. Unfortunately at this time we wouldn’t use Skybet and therefore would be uncomfortable recommending you do.

See bookmakers we DO recommend in our reviews section.

Sky Bet FAQ

Your questions answered

What's The Sky Bet Bonus?

The Sky Bet bonus is currently worth just £10 to new customers. Which when compared to other companies is outrageously small. Compare it to the bet credits at Bet365 and you’ll wonder why people bother with SkyBet at all.

Why Aren't Sky Bet Owned By Sky?

It’s a very good question. Sky actually sold Sky Bet to The Stars Group in 2018 and therefore retain zero ownership over the brand so whilst you think you’re getting the a brand with Sky’s long standing reputation you getting it’s name only.

Why Are There So Many Negative Reviews Of Sky Bet?

The main reason there are so many negative Sky Bet reviews online is that just before they were sold the company cut all ties with their promotional partners and broke financial agreements worth millions of pounds. If they can do that to their so called ‘partners’ then can they really be trusted by players?!

How To Contact Skybet

SkyBet customer services is accessed through the help section on the site. When there you have five options to contact the company:

  • Telephone – The phone line service is not available at all times.
  • Live Chat
  • SkyBet Help on the official Twitter Account
  • SkyBet Help on the official Facebook Messenger page
  • There is also a dedicated Safer Gambling Live Chat option.

How To Close Your Skybet Account

If you wish to close your Skybet account, then the only way you can do this is to contact customer services and request that your account be closed.

You can though contact customer services again in the future and ask them to reopen your account.

A range of other self-exclusion options for varying periods of time are also available for people interested in this alternative.

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