BetMGM Review 2024: Expert Tested

If you’re thinking about betting on some of your favorite sports, then there are dozens of betting sites available to you. One of the most popular sites is called BetMGM.

In this review, I will analyze every aspect of BetMGM as a sportsbook, detailing my personal experience with the platform and formulating an objective rating.

We use a points-based system, to calculate an objective, overall star-based rating. For more information on how we rate view here.

Overall rating – 4.5 stars

Overall, I give BetMGM a rating of 4.5 stars based on an average of 82.1% and an overall score of 73.9.

BetMGM is a solid betting site with a great range of markets, excellent pre-match coverage, and awesome live odds.

However, the platform is seriously let down by an average app/website, poor customer service, and slow withdrawals. These inconveniences may seem minor, but unfortunately massively take away from the overall user experience.

Here’s a breakdown of how BetMGM performed:

Is BetMGM sportsbook legit? Quick video answer

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of BetMGM:

Pros

• Amazing selection of markets

• Great pre-match coverage

• The live betting experience is unmatched

• Attractive welcome incentive

Cons

• Weak customer service

• The mobile app and website aren’t as good as the competitors

• The company suffered a data leak in 2022

Safety – 4 stars

BetMGM is a very safe platform, holding a gambling license in several states. It also uses state-of-the-art security technology to keep your data safe.

However, a recent data leak calls this security into question.

Licenses

BetMGM is licensed in the following states:

• Arizona

• Colorado

• DC

• Illinois

• Indiana

• Iowa

• Kansas

• Kentucky

• Louisiana

• Maryland

• Massachusetts

• Michigan

• Mississippi

• Nevada

• New Jersey

• New York

• Ohio

• Pennsylvania

• Tennessee

• Virginia

• West Virginia

• Wyoming

Therefore, if you live in one of these states, you can comfortably use BetMGM safely in the knowledge that it has the legal right to operate in your state.

If you don’t live in one of these jurisdictions, however, you will not be able to use BetMGM.

Security

To keep your data safe, BetMGM also uses SSL technology to encrypt your data from potential fraudsters.

However, in 2022, the company admitted to suffering a data breach, in which the data of 1.5 million BetMGM customers was obtained by anonymous hackers.

The information leaked included not only contact information but also users’ social security numbers and transaction information.

This leak seriously puts a shadow of doubt on the overall security of the site.

Track record

Aside from this, however, BetMGM has a pretty good track record of fair and honest behavior.

The company was formed fairly recently in 2018, and aside from the data leak, has always shown to act honestly and maintain security well.

Pros

• Holds licenses in over a dozen states

• Fairly good track record

Cons

• Victim of a huge data leak in 2022

Mobile betting app – 4 stars

BetMGM’s mobile app is very strong, and it’s easy to see that a lot of money has gone into its development.

However, compared to top competition, the app does fall behind both in terms of design and functionality.

Look and feel

The BetMGM app does look pretty good, making use of a black, white, and gold color scheme, alongside well-designed icons to help you navigate your way around various tabs.

However, it’s certainly not the most attractive design I’ve ever seen.

For one, a lot is going on on the home page, and it does make navigation pretty tricky, at least while you’re getting used to the app.

I’m also not the biggest fan of the huge white bet boxes against the black background, and it doesn’t look nearly as professional as the simplistic design of Caesars, for instance.

Functionality is much stronger than the design, mainly thanks to a prominent search bar at the top of the layout.

This can be used to find various sports, games in markets, or even something as specific as a player.

There’s also a navigation tab at the bottom of the screen, where you can find things like your account information.

Making a bet

To make a bet on the BetMGM app, follow these steps:

• Create an account and make sure that you’re logged in.

• Find the market that you’d like to bet on by using the search bar, or in the menu at the bottom of the screen.

• Once you’ve found the desired game, click on the wager you would like to place (eg. moneyline, spread).

• From here, a bet slip will pop up. This will allow you to customize your bet and choose the amount you’d like to wager.

• When you’re ready, click ‘Place Bet.’

User experience

On the whole, I had a pretty good experience when using BetMGM’s mobile app.

The thing that impressed me the most was how well the sports betting app performed. I didn’t experience a single drop in frame rate or a crash. Instead, making bets, switching between tabs, and customizing my account was completely smooth and hassle-free.

My biggest problem with the app is the overcomplicated design.

As a bettor, I don’t want to be bombarded with one hundred different pieces of information as soon as I open up the app.

It’s confusing and messy, and I wish BetMGM would take a leaf out of FanDuel’s book and go for a less is more approach.

Nevertheless, the functionality of the app is solid, and it’s more than capable of handling all of your betting needs.

Pros

• Functionality is excellent

• Making a bet couldn’t be simpler

Cons

• Competitor apps do look a little better

Website – 3.5 stars

Unfortunately, BetMGM’s website design is far inferior to its mobile counterpart. The search bar is also very disappointing.

Look and feel

Straight off the bat, the website’s home page is far too busy and confusing to understand.

There’s a section for mini-games, promotions, a media tab, your bet slip, upcoming games, and two navigation tabs all on one page, which results in a home page that looks messy and doesn’t improve user experience in any way.

What makes this even worse is the website’s terrible navigation. There are two different search bars, but both lead to the same place, making for unnecessarily confusing navigation.

The search bar is also incredibly lackluster, and rarely took me to what I was searching for.

User experience

Unfortunately, my experience with BetMGM’s website was far worse than with its mobile app.

This was mostly down to the poor design and page layout. I honestly don’t understand the need for two menus that lead to the same place, or the desire to squeeze as much as possible into the home page.

On the plus side, the website does perform very smoothly, and I didn’t experience even a second of lag or delay. Making a bet is also a simple process once you get a feeling for the navigation.

Ultimately, the website is usable. However, I much preferred my time with BetMGM’s mobile app, and I would only switch to the web version if I had to.

Pros

• Performance is very good

• Handy navigation menu

Cons

• The home page is overcrowded and messy

• Two search menus make navigation confusing

• The search bar is poor

Deposits and withdrawals – 4 stars

BetMGM boasts an abundance of deposit and withdrawal methods. Deposits and withdrawals are likewise free to make.

However, no crypto payment options are available, and withdrawals are particularly slow.

Deposits

There are many ways to deposit money to your BetMGM account, including:

• Visa

• Mastercard

• Maestro

• Amex

• PayPal

• Bank Wire/Transfer

• Venmo

• Skrill

All of these deposit methods are free to make, instant, and with a minimum deposit amount of just $10, can practically be made at will.

The only feature I would like to see BetMGM implement here is crypto payments.

The market is moving in this direction, so hopefully, in the coming years, the company will add this deposit method to its roster.

Making a deposit

To deposit BetMGM, follow these simple steps:

• Log in to your BetMGM account.

• Head to your account settings by clicking on your profile picture in the bottom right-hand corner.

• Enter the cashier/payments page.

• Select a deposit method and choose the amount you’d like to deposit.

• Hit confirm!

Withdrawals

Withdrawals can be made by the same methods as above. They are likewise free, and the minimum withdrawal amount is set to $10.

The biggest issue regarding withdrawals is just how long they can take to process. With many competitors such as DraftKings, it’s not uncommon for the transaction to be processed within a day.

Through BetMGM, however, transactions will rarely take less than 48 hours, and depending on your payment method, you could be waiting for up to a week for the funds to hit your account.

Making a withdrawal

You can make a withdrawal through BetMGM by following these steps:

• Head to the same payments page as before.

• Click on the ‘withdrawals tab.’

• Choose the amount you’d like to withdraw and fill out any additional required info.

• Hit confirm!

Pros

• Plenty of deposit and withdrawal methods are available

• Depositing and withdrawing cash is free

Cons

• Crypto payments aren’t available

• Withdrawals are particularly slow

Markets – 5 stars

BetMGM does an excellent job of covering all markets thoroughly.

Whether you’re looking to bet on the big four leagues, or slightly less popular markets like the UFC, BetMGM has you covered.

Major Leagues

BetMGM has an excellent hold in all four major league markets, these being the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB.

You’ll be able to make straight bets, and futures and even build parlays for every game and any future event you would think of.

This wide range of options allows you to be flexible with your bets, and encourages some seriously outside-the-box thinking!

Other popular US betting options such as college football and basketball are also available through BetMGM, further highlighting its overall attractiveness.

Specialized coverage

If you’re not into the more popular betting markets, then you’ll be pleased to hear that BetMGM covers pretty much every other spot you could think of from Alpine Skiing to Water Polo. You can find these sports at any time through the A-Z menu.

BetMGM does a particularly good job of covering golf, as the company is an official partner of the PGA tour.

UFC betting is strong too, with over 15 different types of bets to make on any given fight.

Pros

• Great coverage of the major leagues

• Particularly good coverage for golf and UFC

Cons

• None

Pre-match betting – 5 stars

Thanks to the wide range of markets covered, BetMGM has excellent pre-match betting, and whatever you’re trying to make a wager on, BetMGM will be able to provide.

Coverage

BetMGM’s wide range of markets puts its pre-match betting at an inherent advantage over competitors like Caesars, as the sheer amount of sports available means the breadth of coverage is excellent.

But beyond the sheer breadth of markets is a real depth to the pre-match coverage.

No matter what sport you’re betting on, BetMGM offers dozens of different options.

Standard options like a money line, long-term options like who will win a league, and flat-out crazy wagers like whether a fighter will KO their opponent in less than 60 seconds are all provided, and you really couldn’t ask for anything more.

Pros

• A great range of markets entails great pre-match coverage

• Creative bets to choose from

Cons

• None

In-play betting – 4.5 stars

If you thought that BetMGM’s pre-match betting was good, wait until you see its in-play betting options.

Although the interface is clunky, the array of bets available and the live streaming service makes for a unique and overall excellent live betting experience.

Markets

The sheer selection of live odds available for any game is astounding.

Whether you’re watching an MLB game, the World Cup Final, or a heavyweight championship bout, BetMGM is there to provide you with up-to-date odds that have the potential to make you a huge return.

These odds tend to be on par, or at times better than the market too, allowing you to get the most bang for your buck.

Unfortunately, the interface that you use to place these bets is a little clunky and annoying to use. However, as you get used to it, it does become easier to use, mitigating this annoyance a little.

Live streaming

BetMGM also has a great live-streaming service. The matches that you will be able to livestream do vary depending on where you live.

However, some of the staples include tennis, golf, and soccer. Even niche sports like cycling and table tennis are streamed in plenty of states.

Pros

• Excellent selection of live bets

• Great live streaming service

Cons

• The interface is tricky to use at first

Welcome incentive – 5 stars

BetMGM’s welcome incentive blows the majority of competition out of the water.

By joining BetMGM, you’re essentially gaining free money, and the incentive makes signing up to the platform that much more compelling.

2024 incentive

Currently, BetMGM is offering any new user $150 in free bet credits when they make their first bet of $5.

This bonus is as good as it sounds and is essentially a free way to fund your account with $150. You can think of it as spending $5 to gain $150!

It’s important to note that the money that you receive is in the form of bet credits, not real money. This means that to withdraw it, you will need to use it to make a winning bet, and then withdraw those winnings.

How to redeem

To redeem BetMGM’s welcome incentive, just follow these steps:

• Create a new account and wait for it to be verified

• Deposit at least $10 into your account

• Make a qualifying wager of at least $5

• Whether you win or lose your bet, your account will be credited with 6 x $25 bonus bet credits

Comparative offers

This bonus bet is largely better than most of the competition. FanDuel, for instance, is currently offering a $150 bonus incentive to new clients.

However, to obtain this bonus, you need to make a winning bet. With BetMGM, on the other hand, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose your bet, making it a safer, and more attractive option all around.

Other promotions

Aside from this welcome bonus, BetMGM is always running a selection of different promotions. Some of the best include:

• Referral Bonus. If you successfully refer a friend to BetMGM, and they wager at least $100, you will be credited with $100 in bonus bets.

• NBA Odds Boost. Every time you place a wager on an NBA game on a Tuesday or Wednesday, you will receive a 33% odds boost.

• Parlay Boost. Some parlay bets can be boosted by up to 33% with specific one-time promos.

Pros

• Amazing welcome incentive

• Lots of other exciting promotions

Cons

• None

Customer service – 3 stars

Unfortunately, BetMGM is majorly let down by its customer service.

Contacting the team is overly difficult, and the lack of phone support is particularly poor.

Live chat

BetMGM does offer a 24/7 live chat service, which is fortunately handled by humans. However, if you didn’t read this article, you likely wouldn’t know the live chat even exists, as it’s buried so far at the bottom of the website.

And when you do find the live chat button, you have to go through a layer of FAQs before you’re even allowed to join the queue.

When you do get through to an agent, they will be more than happy to help, and from my experience tend to be very knowledgeable.

However, by the time you do eventually connect, you could have probably solved the problem by yourself!

Telephone

What’s even worse is that BetMGM does not have telephone support of any kind.

This is extremely poor, as sometimes the only way to solve a problem is by talking it through with an agent on the phone.

The lack of a phone number can also make the customer support feel a little distant, and like more effort than it’s worth.

Email

If you don’t want to use the live chat service, BetMGM does alternatively offer customer support via an email ticket service.

However, just like with the live chat, the email support system is extremely complicated. Each state has several different emails to contact, depending on the nature of the problem.

This makes it confusing to find the right address to contact, and this complex system doesn’t aid the response times in any way, which are lower than competitors like FanDuel.

FAQ

It’s also worthy of note that BetMGM does have a pretty extensive FAQ section that covers solutions to a lot of basic issues. However, in my view at least, this still isn’t good enough to make up for the lack of accessible, personal customer support.

Pros

• Agents are knowledgeable and friendly

• 24/7 live chat

Cons

• Contacting customer support is overly complicated

• Wait times can be long

• No telephone support

Final Thoughts

Overall, BetMGM is a bit of a diamond in the rough. At its core, it’s an amazing US sportsbook with access to a huge range of markets and different betting options.

The live betting service is also excellent. However, the surrounding services, like the mobile app, withdrawals, and customer service do take away from the overall attractiveness of the site.

If these issues can be addressed, then BetMGM will undoubtedly become one of the best sportsbooks on the market. Until that point, however, BetMGM will be outshone by more refined competitors.

How to gamble responsibly

Before we end this article, we need to caution you to always bet responsibly.

To ensure you’re being cautious, betting sites implement various responsible gambling practices that will help you keep your betting habits in check.

• Limits: Online sports betting apps allow you to set betting limits, i.e. limit how much you can bet in a day, a week, or a month.

• Cashouts: You can withdraw your winnings quite easily from any betting platform. This prevents you from spending all of your winnings. There’s also the option for early cashout, so you can still get paid if the bet is starting to go sideways.

• Help & resources: Betting apps provide access to resources for problem gamblers and point them to organizations that can help with gambling addiction.

To help with gambling, we created a 'how to bet on sports' guide, that helps new sports bettors understand the industry better, to play safer and more securely.

Responsible gambling organizations and charities in the US

FAQs