Latest Poll
About 188BET.com:
188BET are a relatively young gambling provider, having been founded only four years ago in 2006. Owned by Cube Limited, 188BET is based on the Isle of Man and runs an online gambling service providing sports betting, a casino, poker and a few other neat additions. 188BET considers itself to be a live betting specialist with an in-play section on the website. The in-play section contains a list of active events that you can bet on alongside a list of upcoming events. As can be inferred from this focus on live betting, 188BET are primarily a bookmaking service with other gambling options included on the side.
Promotions
188BET doesn't exactly break any records with promotions, in fact it is quite lacking. Not only is there an absence of variety, but the promotion that is available at the moment isn't very enticing. Offering £25 (which doesn't really leap out at you when compared to other sites) the deal itself is limited to a simple refund up to this amount if your first bet goes sour. While this is a nice little welcome it doesn't really stand up to some of the other offers out there.
Sports bets are what 188BET is all about and you'll find yourself on the sports section of the site as soon as you arrive. The bookmaking services are well laid out on the left of the main page and you'll find a short list of live bets in the centre of the site. A few adverts adorn the home page but nothing overbearing and it isn't too cluttered. Before you can use any of the services you'll have to register.
The register form pops up as an overlay and it's only one page worth of details to fill in- always a nice surprise. You'll be asked for the usual details along with how you want your odds displayed and what currency you use. Once you've filled in the form you will be welcomed and asked if you wish to make a deposit. The deposit menu is equally well designed with icons for each of the methods available laid out in a grid.
Once you're signed up and you've made your deposit you'll be free to start making bets. A strong selection of events is available, ranging from football to darts. You'll also find some alternatives to sports including the Academy Awards and some financial bets. As mentioned above you'll also have access to an impressive live betting service which can be quickly and easily navigated. A mobile betting service is also available at 188BET and all you need to do to access this is head to wap.188BET.net on your phone and use your username and password from the main site.
Casino
While 188BET does focus on bookmaking it also has a reasonable casino section. No download is required to play any of the casino games here but this also means that you won't get any of the fun additions you'd usually find in a downloadable program. You can play most games for fun or for money and most of the games have reasonably good looking interfaces that are easy to use.
The casino games browser is reasonably navigable but could do with a better way of displaying games. Featured games are up front and there is a side bar at the left which gives access to a wider selection via categories which drop down into lists. While neat, this isn't particularly fun to browse and it means that a lot of games are hidden away with no option to learn more about them before diving in. Only a small issue but it could be improved on.
There is no separate poker or bingo section of the site and this is a bit of a disappointment as it would complete 188BET as a full online gambling provider. Poker is available in the casino but this isn't quite enough to compete with other sites with their own poker sections set out for fans of the game.
Payment Options
There is a good selection of payment options available and they're well presented in the deposit section. Options include Moneybookers, Neteller, Visa, MasterCard, Entropay, Maestro, Delta, Solo, Ukash and bank transfers. A good selection of currencies is accepted by 188BET and you shouldn't have too much trouble finding the right one for you.
Conclusion
188BET, while relatively new, provides a well presented and effective betting service that doesn't cut corners. Mobile betting and an easily used live betting section add to the quality of the site. Help is provided in the form of guides for opening accounts and other tasks alongside a 24/7 help service. The website design and game interfaces are of varying quality with some possibilities for improvement. The absence of specialised poker and bingo sections also works against 188BET. Despite this, the site has a lot to offer- especially the in play live betting service.
Tick Box:
Safe: Yes
24/7 Support: Yes
Demos: Yes
Download Required: No
Live Betting: Yes
Mobile Gambling: Yes
Promotions: 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.