Cloudbet Sports Review
- World's premier bitcoin sportsbook
- Instant deposits and withdrawals
- Massive betting limits
- Clean, easy-to-use betting interface
- Available in several languages
General Information
Cloudbet is truly in a league of its own when it comes to some of its betting options and bonuses. In addition to the online bookmaker, it also offers an online casino and a live dealer casino.
Currencies:
- BTC
- ETH
- BCH
Payment Methods:
Professional and Polished
Cloudbet has the look of a truly professional outfit, and backs it up with a smooth interface. It’s also one of the few bitcoin gambling sites to offer its product seamlessly via mobile devices.
The interface is simple to use, and has an excellent backend, allowing bets to be placed within seconds. The team has put a lot of money into the design, and this shows in the impressive results.
There are tons of positives to go on about in regards to Cloudbet, but one negative is the lack of anonymity, an aspect that is important to some bitcoin gamblers. The crypto-bookmaker requires both an email address and email confirmation before bettors can make a deposit.
Deposit Bonus
The bookmaker comes through with flying colours with its deposit bonus. The latter is easily the biggest available to BTC sports bettors, with a 100% Match Bonus offered on up to 5.0 BTC. As of mid-2014, the price of bitcoin is ranging from $550 to $650 USD, making that Match Bonus easily worth several thousand dollars. This, then, rivals the deals offered by most online bookmakers, nevermind BTC specialists.
Players will have a full 365 days to clear this bonus, and that’s much longer than the period most sites allow for clearing. The catch is that players have to earn their bonus through Cloudbet’s loyalty program. The book gives players 0.01 BTC for every 800 loyalty points. These can be earned by wagering at the casino or sportsbook.
Cloudbet are also known for offering new customers a free bet
However, this system does mean that it takes a long time to clear the bonus. Players who cite this have a fair point, but since bettors will be clearing this bonus as they wager, they will be earning back their fees. If you’re a skilled bettor, clearing the bonus is more than possible (in contrast to some of the almost-impossible schemes offered by the company’s rivals), and will add a nice boost to your bankroll.
Cloudbet are also known for offering new customers a free bet and rewarding existing customers with an array of promotions.
Wagering Options
Cloudbet doesn’t have a specific US-bias, and is, in fact, rather neutral in its focus. Odds are available in several different formats, and the expansive list of markets touches just about every major country and sport in the world.
The USA’s “big four” major sports are well-represented, along with some of the larger European competitions, such as the English Premier League, Champions League, and a number of international competitions. These options barely scratch the surface, however.
Cloudbet has a broad selection of markets covering leagues across the world. The list goes on and on, and it may be tough to find an event that the site doesn’t have available. In addition to the large list of sports available, the company also specializes in live in-play action.
Offering the best live platform we have seen from the BTC market, Cloudbet allows live betting on a large list of markets. Almost every game in baseball, basketball, football and soccer will have an in-play option available, but the book also has such options on a host of other sports, including rugby, handball, volleyball and many more.
Massive Limits
Massive is the key word here, because Cloudbet’s betting limits are easily the highest of any current bitcoin sportsbook.
While the majority of the markets and live options are set at a much lower maximum bet, big money can be wagered on larger markets like the NFL and English Premier League Soccer.
The bookmaker accepts bets of up to 50.0 BTC on major markets. This is a whopping amount, especially in the BTC sportsbook market. The shop doesn’t leave recreational bettors behind, either, with a minimum wager of 0.001 BTC.
big money can be wagered on larger markets like the NFL and English Premier League Soccer
Cloudbet’s gargantuan limits might scare bettors. Many bitcoin sportsbooks have run off in recent months, taking players’ deposit with them. This is a real danger when dealing with any unregulated (and, in some cases, regulated) online bookmaker, regardless of whether the site uses bitcoins or traditional fiat currency.
With that said, Cloudbet has “passed the test” so far with bettors. It’s one of the top operators in this industry for a reason. Since its inception, the company has not had any issues with slow-pays or non-payment.
Support Staff
If there is one negative with Cloudbet, it has to be its support staff.
Email response times have seemed to deteriorate in recent months, rising from just a few hours when the company opened its doors, to 10 hours or more in some recent cases.
However, they have introduced live chat support, which is usually an efficient way to sort out any issues.
Safe and Secure
Cloudbet accepts deposits after one confirmation on the Blockchain, and normally accounts are credited instantly. Withdrawals are also mostly automatic. Once the deposit has received three confirmations, automatic withdrawals will be available in the vast majority of cases. Some larger amounts will need to be approved by management.
Deposits are held offline in what is known in the bitcoin world as a “cold wallet”. This means that the vast majority of player deposits are held offline, and are not accessible even if Cloudbet is hacked. The book also keeps a “hot wallet” for everyday withdrawals.
Cloudbet isn’t the only bitcoin sportsbook or gambling site to store most of its coins offline, but its process for doing so is explained to players on several pages on the site.
Top Bitcoin Sportsbook?
Possibly. The only current issue with the site is its relative youth. Too many betting sites have been “fly-by-night” operations, so what Cloudbet needs to do now is to continue its already strong service.
No other BTC sportsbook can match its wagering limits and deposit bonus, and the large number of markets beats out most others as well. Cloudbet claims that it has “the world’s premier bitcoin betting platform”, and right now we have to agree.