McBookie Review

Website design

The design of the McBookie site is distinctive and pleasing. The colours are clean and crisp, and the layout avoids any gimmicky or garish decoration, sticking to a solid dark blue colour scheme, which contrasts well with the white lettering. This combination of blue and white is of course a nod towards the site’s Scottish theme. Although the site also offers casino games, it seems primarily aimed at sports betting fans, and the main tabs at the top of the page reflect this, offering quick links to both sports and in-play betting, along with relevant sign-up information and other essential links. The influence of Bet Victor is also clearly apparent in the way that the whole site has been laid out, including the arrangement of covered sports on the left of the page. The centre of the home page is dominated by upcoming sports events and live markets, while on the right, punters will find the McBookie betting slip and a list of popular markets and promotions.

McBookie Registration Process

The initial stages of registering for a new account can be completed very quickly. Simply click on the Sign-Up link, fill out the online form with your details and then choose your user name and password. The registration process is as smooth and efficient as any site in the industry, although like all responsible betting operators, they also require you to verify your identity. The documents needed to do this will vary according to your location, but you will usually be required to upload a copy of your passport, driving licence or recent utility bill. Although this can be frustrating, it is an important part of the registration process in order to keep the site safe for all users and should reassure punters that this is a sportsbook that takes its obligations to be a responsible operator seriously.

Fully Licensed Operator

Punters wanting extra reassurance about this sportsbook should know that it is licensed by three of the most stringent jurisdictions in the online betting industry: the UK Gambling Commission, the Gibraltar Gambling Commission, and Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners. This means that in order to continue operating, McBookie has to adhere to the highest standards of security and player protection. This is underlined by their partnerships with gambling organisations such as GamStop and Be Gamble Aware, and their extensive policies on tackling problem gambling, including self-exclusion and gambling limits.

McBookie Bonus for Scottish Punters

The McBookie Sportsbook offers a handy £25 matched bet bonus for new customers. Under the terms of the deal, those who sign up for a new account will be able to benefit from a bonus of up to £25 when they make their first bet. Qualifying bets have to be made at odds of 2.00 or greater, and the bonus cash has to be wagered a minimum of 4 times before it can be withdrawn, so the terms and conditions of this deal are more generous than you will find with some sports books. The disappointing aspect of the McBookie bonus promotion is that it is only available for Scottish residents. While this obviously fits with the theme and target audience of the site, it is a shame that this promotion isn’t available more widely. That said, there are other regular offers on the site, including a Best Odds Guarantee for all horse racing bets, and the Coupon Buster deal, which refunds all losing stakes on accumulator bets if one of the selections is a loser.

Impressive Depth of Football Market

McBookie base their sportsbook product heavily on English and Scottish football and their market depth for these games is impressive. For example, even five days out from match day, you will usually be able to find at least 70 market options on matches from the top English and Scottish leagues and that number will increase closer to the day of the game. As well as the in-depth coverage of Scottish and English football, there is big section of football specials, which includes a wide variety of original markets such as league handicaps, top scorers and manager departures. The market depth for other sports isn’t quite so impressive, but McBookie does manage to cover most of the popular options, and they are particularly good on US college basketball, offering up to 10 additional markets for every game.

Good Sports Coverage

As mentioned above, the core of the McBookie sportsbook is based on English and Scottish football, and this is restricted to English and Scottish leagues, so you won’t be able to bet on any European football through McBookie, but their coverage of those two countries is unrivalled. As well as pricing up all of the fully professional leagues, they also offer odds on more obscure Scottish competitions, including the Highland League, Lowland League and the West, East, North and South Region games, along with the Scottish Junior Cup. No other site can offer the same in-depth level when it comes to lower tier English and Scottish football. McBookie also cover all UK and Irish horse racing, and provide a Best Odds Guaranteed service, which means that if a horse wins at a bigger SP than the price that McBookie were offering, they will pay out on the bigger price. This core product of football and horse racing will keep the majority of UK customers happy, but there are 29 sports overall covered by McBookie, including hurling, Gaelic football, and boxing, with all the main European and US matches priced up. McBookie don’t provide the comprehensive sports betting coverage that you will find with some sportsbooks, but they have concentrated on covering the main sports thoroughly.

Speedy Betting Process

Like most modern sportsbooks, McBookie have focused on making the betting process as quick and efficient as possible. To make a bet, all you have to do is click on your selection and this will open up the McBookie betting slip. This is laid out as clearly and crisply as the rest of the site and gives you the option to adjust your stake, turn your selection into an each-way bet, or combine your selections into a multiple. There is no Cash Out facility with McBookie, but overall, punters will find the betting process extremely user friendly.

Live Betting Options

Live Betting is a big deal in the modern gambling world, and McBookie have responded by offering a good choice of in-play action, particularly when it comes to football, snooker, basketball and ice hockey. Crucially, the In-Play section of the site is well laid out and easy to use, which is essential when you are betting live, as every second counts. As yet, there is no live streaming service on McBookie, so Live Betting punters will have to rely on other sources to stay up to date, but despite this drawback, the live betting options at McBookie are solid, and should satisfy most in-play punters.

Comprehensive Banking Service

As with most sportsbooks, your access to particular payment methods can depend on your location, but McBookie have a wide range of banking options that should satisfy most punters. You can make deposits and withdrawals at McBookie with the following methods: Mastercard, Visa, Maestro, Bank Transfer, Cheque, Paypal Transaction times vary according to the payment method you use, but McBookie is not out of line with most sportsbooks when it comes to payment times, so e-Wallet withdrawals are likely to be cleared within 48 hours while card transactions may take 3-5 days.

Excellent Mobile Coverage

McBookie have a specially designed betting app that works with Apple and Android mobile devices and launches automatically whenever the site is accessed using a mobile. In addition, the main McBookie site has been optimised for mobile use, so punters who prefer to access the site through their mobile browser will find no significant difference in performance. Casino users may find their content restricted if they access the site through their mobile device, but sportsbook users will be able to bet on all of the McBookie markets.

State Of The Art Security

Security is an important consideration when you’re undertaking any transaction online, but the good news for McBookie punters is that their site employs banking-industry standard encryption technology to protect all deposits and withdrawals. In addition, as it is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (licence number 009177), McBookie is required to adhere to the strictest standards of data protection, so you can be sure that your personal details and financial information will be safeguarded.

Industry-leading customer support

When it comes to customer support, there are few more impressive operators in the betting industry than McBookie, who appear to take this aspect of their business extremely seriously. Customer support contact details can be found at the bottom of the main page and consists of a 24/7 support service accessible by email or online chat. McBookie is also active on social media and you can contact support staff via this method, which is an innovative and customer-friendly development from a sportsbook that clearly values its punters.