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How We Review Sportsbooks

Updated at: October 6th, 2024
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At Sporting Post, we want to give you objective, unbiased reviews that will inform you of the pros and cons of each sportsbook, rather than just giving you our personal opinions.

As such, we rate every single app using the same scale, to make things clear, concise, and simple to understand.

Here’s a rundown of how our review process works.

Review criteria

In every review, we use the same nine criteria to judge different betting apps and sites.

This will help you to better understand the specific pros and cons of each, and will also make comparing through our reviews much easier.

The review criteria that we use are:

1. Safety

To assess the safety of a sportsbook, we check whether it has a US license, and analyze its operating history, so you can rest assured that your money will be safe when betting.

We will also highlight any specific safety features that the betting site employs to keep its users protected.

2. Mobile betting app

We will show you the layout of the mobile app, how it functions on an everyday basis, and what the overall user experience is like.

We will also detail any unique features, customization options, and big pros/cons.

We will also detail the process of making a bet, analyzing how easy it is for everyday use.

3. Web betting site

We will personally test the website, checking out its features, highlighting the best bits, and detailing the biggest cons.

We will also show you how to make a bet and detail any customization options available.

4. Deposits & withdrawals

We assess the number of deposit and withdrawal methods available, to make sure that adding and withdrawing funds is a smooth and simple process.

We will also highlight any associated fees with the bookmaker, and detail how long deposits and withdrawals can take.

5. Markets

In this review section, we will look at the number of sports you can bet on for each betting app.

We will also explore the overall quality of each market, and compare the selection to other sportsbooks.

6. Pre-match betting

We will assess how good the pre-match betting features are, taking into account user-friendliness, versatility, and any other relevant factors.

7. In-play betting

In this section, we will assess how good the betting site’s in-play betting is.

To do this, we will test the watching service, and live markets and break down the overall usability of the betting site for live bets.

8. Welcome incentive

In the penultimate review section, we will detail any current welcome incentive that the betting site is offering to new users.

Sign-up bonuses can be a make-or-break factor when deciding between betting sites, so we will also compare and contrast the betting site’s incentive to others.

9. Customer service

Finally, we will assess the quality of the betting site and app’s customer service, personally testing all of its features like live chats to assess response times and response quality.

Scoring breakdown

Scoring shouldn’t be a confusing metric.

So, we’ve kept things simple by using a points system for each review criterion. This is then converted into a star rating.

Here’s a breakdown of what the points system looks like:

Points

Star rating

9.1-10

5 stars

8.1-9

4.5 stars

7.1-8

4 stars

6.1-7

3.5 stars

5.1-6

3 stars

4.1-5

2.5 stars

3.1-4

2 stars

2.1-3

1.5 stars

1.1-2

1 stars

0-1

0.5 stars

We then use these individual points to come up with an overall rating of each betting site.

This can help you to understand if, on the whole, a betting site is right for you.

Overall rating

To give the betting site a noverall rating, we calculate the average score of all the criteria.

This gives us the overall percentage score of each betting site, which will then be converted into a star rating.

Here are the star bands for the overall rating:

Percentage

Star rating

91-100

5 stars

81-90

4.5 stars

71-80

4 stars

61-70

3.5 stars

51-60

3 stars

41-50

2.5 stars

31-40

2 stars

21-30

1.5 stars

11-20

1 stars

0-10

0.5 stars

Example

To solidify your understanding, here’s an example of a review of betting app X.

In the individual categories, it scored as follows:

Category

Points

Star rating

Safety

8.8

4.5 stars

Mobile betting app

2.5

1.5 stars

Web betting site

6

3 stars

Deposits & withdrawals

9.6

5 stars

Markets

9.1

5 stars

Pre-match betting

2

1 stars

In-play betting

8

4 stars

Welcome Incentive

6.6

3.5 stars

Customer Service

7.1

4 stars

Based on these figures, the mean score equates to 66.3 points giving betting app X a 3.5 star rating overall.

Why you can trust our reviews

Here are the three main reasons why you can trust our reviews:

  • Objectivity: We look at each part of every betting app and site objectively, basing the overall rating on universal criteria. This means that you can easily compare betting sites using different reviews to find the one that’s right for you.

  • Simplicity: When reading our reviews, you won’t be bombarded with complex jargon, page-long paragraphs, and pointless anecdotes. Instead, we aim to provide clear and concise reviews that will help you get an understanding of a betting site in just a few minutes.

  • Thorough analysis: We leave no stone unturned, and we will make you aware of every single feature a platform has (or doesn’t). We also test each website to give you an accurate idea of how each performs in an everyday setting.

Author

Josh Miller
Josh Miller, Sporting Post’s Sports & Casino Editor and Writer, brings over five years of experience in feature writing, blog content, and SEO. Known for his expertise in football coverage and sports betting, Josh’s work has also been featured in VAVEL. In addition to sports, Josh writes about online casinos, offering insights into games, bonuses, and gambling trends. His ability to craft engaging, informative content makes him a trusted voice for Sporting Post readers.