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About Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes PLC is one of the oldest and most established brands in gambling. To give you an idea of the heritage and stature this company has built over the years, the betting outlet has roots within the industry dating back to 1886 and now employs over 16,000 people across six countries. In 2008 the well known name took £16 billion in stakes from 740 million bets resulting in £1.1 million revenue. Ladbrokes now operates 2,700 betting shops across the world which include nine situated in English Premier League football grounds and numerous outlets at various racecourses including Ascot. Since going online 725,000 active betting clients still exist making it one of the biggest and most successful bookies around.
The main home page of the site advertises all of the options available to visitors and these include sports, casino and game betting. Next to these, along the right hand side of the page is more information on the company and information on how to sign up and join in. It also offers help on how to actually place a bet with the more personal option of telephone betting available. A store locator also exists on the page so you can go into your local shop if you prefer to actually speak to a person rather than use the anonymous option of online betting. One interesting option offered by Ladbrokes is the reward card known as the Odds On Card. If you sign up for this you can accumulate points every time you place a bet in store and these then equate to bonus vouchers that can boost your shop winnings or entitle you to free bet vouchers, awarded to you for your loyalty with the bookie. The stand out element on your first visit however is the scrolling image located in the middle which details special offers, latest odds and promotions.
Betting
Once you have selected the area in which you wish to place your money on, you enter the site proper. The first option that you come to is sports and it is the unusual markets that help to highlight this site. The scrolling image at the top of the page details current markets that are available at the time of your visit. Each event comes with a short editorial piece previewing it along with the latest odds for the different outcomes. Underneath this is an in-depth look at the available markets which mostly consist of events that will be taking place at the time you go onto the site. If you look at the range of different sports on offer then you will see that Ladbrokes certainly offer one of the best. Markets on sports such as Floorball and the Norwegian Melody Grand Prix (whatever that is!) are available as are the traditional options of boxing, golf and cricket amongst others.
The odds themselves are pretty standard, whilst not being the best, they are far from being the worst. Ladbrokes offer more sports related markets than any other we have experienced to date. While bets are available on individual sporting events, bets on the topic itself are also available. A good example of this is an entire market on England World Cup 2010 specials. Here you can bet on how you think England will go out of the World Cup (optimistic!) and also on who you think will and won't be included in the squad that travels to South Africa. You can also refine your search to give you a better chance of finding exactly what you want, for example quick tabs to Live Betting and specific country and league searches. There are even individual markets on team betting for the likes of Chelsea, Milan and Manchester United which gives you more of an idea of the depth and variety the site offers.
Aside from sport, there are also markets on who you think will win the next Eurovision Song Contest and there's even a tasty little bet on snow falling on the roof of the London Weather Centre on Christmas Day 2010 with odds of 5/1 being offered. A side bar on the site allows you to set your favourite betting area so you have quick access to it next time you visit and you can convert each page so that it displays decimal odds rather than traditional fractions.
Poker
As well as traditional betting we have all the other expected additions to a site the size of Ladbrokes. Poker is the most obvious addition and here you are able to earn a bonus of anything from £30 to £600 dependant upon how much you place into your account when you first join. You can download the feature to your desktop too allowing quick and easy access to online tables. You are also able to qualify for the Irish Open 2010 through the site for the more hardcore of you out there. The 100 Series is one of the many poker tournaments available through this area of the site and this will consist of 100 player maximum multi-tables with a guaranteed €30,000 in winnings up for grabs. The Poker option on the site is clearly aimed at players of all experiences with the inclusion of the Poker Player Club which rewards regular players who participate with Ladbrokes. The reward comes in the form of Poker Points which can be used to gain access to exclusive tournaments, for example. A '5 Minute Sit Out Time' option has also been recently added which gives players the opportunity to take a break from the action if it gets too intense or if you just need a wee!
Casino
Casino offers all the usual suspects with Roulette and Blackjack making appearances as well as UK Pub Slots and slot tournaments, something that a lot of competitors do not offer. Live Dealer, Scratchcards and table games are also present with the option to download a virtual casino also available. A gambling site just wouldn't be complete without Bingo and Ladbrokes does not disappoint with a range of games and a £20 bonus when you spend £5 on joining. Financial betting is also available as is the option to wager on the results of worldwide lottos ranging from New York to Spain. An interesting offering comes in the form of Ladbrokes Backgammon which is an entire area dedicated to the traditional past time. Here you can get involved in tournaments and also learn the background to the game with memories documented by the legend that is Lewis Deyong.
Ladbrokes is seen as one of the most detailed and fun gambling sites around and it is easy to see why. The broad range of markets is very attractive indeed and it is clear that this is not a site purely aimed at the betting elite. All ages and experiences are catered for here and the more obscure markets are enticing and in some cases unique.
Tick box:
Safe: Yes
Demos: Yes
24/7 support: Yes
Live chat: Yes
Download required: Yes (Casino and Poker)
Promotions: Yes
Live-Betting: Yes
Mobile Betting: Yes
Disclaimer: All deals and promotions listed were correct at the time of this review, and are subject to change. For current promotions, please visit the website as listed above. Please feel free to use the comments section to post details of current promotions including, where applicable, valid dates.