Introduction

Bet365, a Great Britain based company that has been in operation since 2000, has agreed to contract with a land based casino operator in Colorado. In accordance with state laws regulating online wagering, they have collaborated with Century Casinos in a deal that will initially last 10 years.

Bet365 has been one of the key operators globally since their inception and their entry into the U.S. began with Bet365 NJ, as New Jersey was one of the first states to permit online wagering and casino game play.

The following information is for anyone interested in exploring a potential membership with Bet365, a review of the Bet365 casino offerings, the sportsbook element of the operation and the and the Bet365 app, which in our view is one of the best sports apps on the internet.

Bet365 Background

From the start at the beginning of the 21^st century, Bet365 has been owned and operated by founder Denise Coates, with the help of her brother, John. The dad, Peter, had a retail betting operation that he started in 1974. Denis Coates and the other family members borrowed 15 million pounds (about $20 million U.S.).

In addition to the home office in Stoke-on-Trent, Bet365 has offices in Manchester, Malta, Gibraltar and Australia, so this corporate bookmaker covers most of the world where online wagering is legal.

The company employs more than 4,000 people and was reportedly the second-ranked taxpayer in the United Kingdom in 2018.

Bet365 reported worldwide revenue is around $4 billion in sports wagering alone and the corporation claims to be the largest online sportsbook operator in the world.

Bet365 USA

Online wagering in the U.S. is run on a state-by-state basis.

Gamblers must be physically present in a state where Bet 365 is authorized to operate. Bet365 takes this aspect seriously. Anyone who wants to use Bet365 NJ must download a software plugin that confirms location determined by ISP.

Even though Bet365 signed up to partner with Century Casino in May of 2020, they have not yet thrown the doors open for Colorado residents. The best guess is Bet365 will be up and running in Colorado sometime around the end of 2020 or early 2021.

This author has long familiarity with Bet365, extending back over 10 years, following the operation as it functioned in Australia. The balance of this review was written using the Bet365 site in New Jersey (NJ) and there is no reason to expect Bet365 to run much differently in Colorado (CO).

The success of online bookmakers is due in some part to the ability to offer live, in-play betting. This element of online wagering will be highly prized in the U.S. High-speed internet connections and capable technology will make it possible to instantaneously place bets on sports events as the events develop. Although gamblers living in Australia do not have state border restrictions to deal with, they must use the phone to call in to place a bet on an in-play event, a hindrance; still, live betting in Australia is a lucrative market for Bet365 and other online bookies.

Another substantial difference is that online casino gaming is not legal in Australia, as of August 2020.

The Bet365 Website

The Bet365 website is divided into two sections. One section is for sports betting and the other for the casino games.

Bet365 uses a three-column arrangement that lists available sports on the left, markets and odds in the middle and a betting slip on the right.

Years of following the sportsbook offerings of Bet365 have resulted in this author having a less-than-favorable view of the Bet365 website, yet that is only an opinion and if the Bet365 claims of being the world’s largest operator are anywhere near accurate, this writer’s opinion is not held by everyone.

Another opinion of mine is that the color scheme of the website and the Bet365 app is mainly okay, with muted grays and greens with primarily white text, but the odds are given in an odd yellow color that needs to go away.

The Bet365 App

My opinion holds true for the Bet365 casino app as well. While it may not be the best sports app or the best casino app, one thing over a decade of reviewing corporate sportsbooks and online casino operators is that the apps are constantly evolving as the operators expand their bettor databases.

The Bet365 looks in need of some polish. Downloading and installing the app on an Android device has the usual challenges associated with the Google Play Store, which is not the fault of Bet365, but beyond that, once the casino app is installed and running, it looks like something that was put together from spare parts.

It should be noted that it is necessary to have a mobile phone’s location setting turned on in order to complete the download.

Bet365, Google and every state in the country permitting online sports wagering and casino gaming are deadly serious when it comes to preventing residents on states where online wagering is not permitted from joining and placing bets.

There are some sources who would advise would be bettors from unauthorized states to use a Virtual Private Network to hide their locations.

This is a truly bad idea.

From the perspective of a bettor, if this fraud is discovered, that bettor’s account will be terminated and worse still, any winnings will be nullified.

Impressions of the Bet365 App

Whether viewed on a smart phone in landscape or portrait mode, icons for the various casino games appear to have been arranged in a random fashion. It took considerable scrolling vertically and horizontally to locate games.

For Bet365 NJ, customers must supply the last four digits of their Social Security numbers as part of the account verification process.

This is mentioned only in order to inform readers that it might take some time to verify their identities and begin depositing and wagering. In other words, do not wait until 10 minutes before the post to start thinking about a Kentucky Derby bet.

Again, this is not the fault of Bet365. They must comply with a labyrinth of state government regulations for every state in which they wish to operate.

Other than those two issues, minor issues to be sure, the Bet365 app and the Bet365 casino app are acceptably functional, fast, and highly intuitive to use by anyone who has sent an email, banked online or ordered food from smart phone apps.

Bet365 Sign-Up Bonus

Most people with any interest in sports betting or casino gaming will have been exposed to the sign-up bonuses the various wagering companies use to entice new members.

At the time this review was prepared, Bet365 was offering to match deposits of up to $100 with bet credits.

It is imperative that anyone considering joining Bet365 or any other operator to understand that these sign-up bonuses are conditional.

For one thing, with Bet365, bet credits must be used for wagers on moneylines of -500 or greater. Any deposit bonus will expire if not used within the first 90 days of establishing the account.

The Bet365 sign-up bonus, according to the Bet365 terms and conditions, cannot be used for the casino side of the wagering portal.

Online casino gaming and sports betting companies rely on returning customers and there is no doubt that Bet365 will make modifications as it becomes accustomed to the betting patterns in U.S. markets.

There will be a large clientele of bettors who will adapt to the Bet365 wagering portal and a large part of that adaptation will be because Bet365 offers a huge array of sports, ways to bet on those sports and casino offerings that are equal or superior to those of competitors.

They have a reputation for having superior odds in most instances, which is the bottom line for many bettors.

Bet365 Ongoing Promotions

If sign-up bonuses are the cake, ongoing promotions are the icing that keeps customers returning for second and third slices.

Bet365 does a good job with these.

They can be found on the website on the top left side of the page, under the label “Extra.”

On the Bet365 casino mobile app, these promotions will be found in the bottom right corner under the label “Offers.” Another place Bet365 promotions can be found is, on certain pages, a tab actually labeled “Promotions.”

A few sports examples offer gamblers the opportunity to take an early payout for sports such as baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis and soccer. Other sports will have a similar promotion for other sports when those sports are in season.

Bet365 Live Streaming

Not every bookie offers live streaming.

Bet365 has a robust presence in the live streaming environment, free to use for any funded member.

This is great for anyone with interests in sports other than main stream who does not want to buy cable or streaming service sports packages, games and sports that otherwise would not attract enough viewers for a company like ESPN, or even regional sports networks, to cover.

Bet365 Banking

There are many ways to fund a wagering account with Bet365.

They offer nine by my count. All of them process instantly, provided the identity requirements mentioned earlier are met and in every case, it takes only $10 to establish an account.

Credit cards, PayPal and online banking look to be the best way to fund. Worth a look is the Bet365 MasterCard, which can be used to withdraw winnings and get cash from an ATM, or used to make purchases online or in-store.

Bet365 does not charge any kind of fee for deposits or withdrawals.

Bet365 Customer Service

At the time this information was prepared, Bet365 was not offering telephone support. They do list a physical mailing address, but at the moment, the customer support options are email and live chat.

On the plus side, chat is available 24/7.

Conclusion

Years of examining sportsbook and online casino operators have convinced me that while Bet365 might not be my personal favorite from the perspective of the website and app design, it would be worth joining them for the live betting, the live streaming, the highly competitive odds Bet365 offers, and the longevity that has permitted them to stay relevant for 20 years in an industry where many operators have turned to dust.

Bet365 has not been without its share of controversies over that two-decade span of time, but their reputation as an open and transparent operator has outweighed those controversies. In the interests of balance and objectivity, it must be mentioned that these sorts of controversies are common to many sportsbook and casino operators.

My conclusion is that for anyone who takes the time to investigate Bet365 USA, the website and the mobile apps, applicable terms and conditions, features and services might discover that Bet365 offers excellent casino games, and might possible be the best sports app for some people.