Goalbet Bookmaker Review

Goalbet Summary

Goalbet Features

• 100% welcome bonus up to €50
• Wide range of payment methods
• Excellent football odds

Website

The Goalbet bookmaker landing page features a series of graphics indicating the various sports available on the site, and there is a sliding banner at the top of the page giving information about offers, concessions and services.

When customers click on the ‘sports’ link, they are directed through to the bookie, which is neatly designed. A simple black, white and yellow theme is incorporated, with the increasingly popular online bookmaker layout utilised. The left hand side of the page has a list of all the available sports, whilst in the middle there are links and graphics back to the casino and games section and a list of upcoming events/games for a variety of different sports. The right hand side of the page plays host to a series of live events, providing the teams, score and time elapsed. Customers can access these matches immediately and place a bet in running. The bet slip appears above the live events and all in all the page is laid out in a clear and easy to navigate manner.

Areas for improvement? It would be beneficial for Goalbet bookmaker to have provided a search bar so that customers can find their specific bet faster, and a statistics section so that users can make informed decisions is always a nice touch.

Goalbet do have a mobile friendly website which enables users to access the bookie and live betting while on the move. The only negative is that it is difficult to find the language button to change to English and therefore unless customers are fluent in Greek, they could have a hard time finding their way around.

Languages

The Goalbet bookmaker website can be displayed in Greek, German and English.

Markets

There are sixteen different sports listed on the website, which would have to be considered towards the lower end of the spectrum. It appears that the sports are listed in popularity order, with football, basketball and handball being the top three events. One noticeable absentee from the disciplines covered is American football – a staple sport for 90% of online firms out there. This sport is getting increased coverage worldwide and is becoming more popular as a betting sport for Europeans, so it is a strange move not to cover any of the matches.

All of the sports such as rugby union and league, boxing, cricket and darts are fairly mainstream – there are no fringe events that may attract specialist punters. The politics tab has a strong emphasis on Greek markets, with several different bet types for the national elections available.

Football is naturally the most popular sport, and there are 24 different countries covered, from Saudi Arabia to Israel, to Vietnam to Iceland. The depth of most of the leagues extends to the top division and maybe a domestic cup, but the offering for English football is excellent. In addition to the Premier League, there are matches all the way down to the English Southern league (tier 7 and 8) and even competitions as minor as the England Cheshire Senior Cup are covered. This is impressive.

There are an extensive number of additional markets for each match which is a positive. The standard total goals, over/under, Asian handicap bets are listed, but there are also double chance bets, Asian halftime handicap bets and much more.

Handball coverage is good, with matches from European countries such as Russia, Portugal and Poland all on the schedule, although the only odds offered are 1X2 – there are no additional bet types.

The basketball fayre encompasses seven different countries from around the world. The market depth is fairly poor here, with the most prestigious league – the NBA, having just 1X2, under/over and moneyline odds for each match.

Odds

Goalbet bookmaker has some absolutely superb odds available for football and the English leagues in particular. The competitiveness of odds can be determined by the total sum of all of the odds for one event, when expressed as percentages. A 100% book would indicate that the odds have been compiled with absolutely no inbuilt in profit margin, and getting as close to 100% as possible, is desirable for punters.

Goalbet offer 102% books for both the Premier League and the Championship. To put this in perspective, market leaders tend to operate in the 102.5-103.5% bracket, and their odds are a rarity. Other industry stalwarts such as SkyBet and Ladbrokes work to 105-106% figures, so Goalbet’s book percentages really are at the top of the tree. The Spanish and Italian leagues are usually compiled to around 104-105%, which is very competitive.

The basketball odds are not quite so generous. NBA games are typically compiled to 111% and handball matches are even worse, at an average 114%.

Promotions

Goalbet bookmaker offers a 100% sign up bonus up to €50. As usual, there is only one offer per person, family, household etc.

The offer is not available to those registering from: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macao, FYROM, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Taiwan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam.

Can the bonus be extracted easily? Not really. The bonus must be turned over 5 times with bets which include 3 selections or more and minimum odds of 1.50 per selection. For example, for a bonus of €50, customers must turn over €250 (5 x €50 bets) on 3 or more selections with odds of 1.50 or bigger.

The bonus must be turned over within one month otherwise it will be cancelled and deducted from the account and even if part of the bonus is lost, the same turnover requirement still must be met.

Customer Service

The customer services are solid. Goalbet offer their website in three languages, and have dedicated customer service teams from each country to deal with any issues or account queries customers may have. Their Greek operation seems to be the largest and they have a telephone line (801 700 7887) which is manned 7 days a week, from 9am until midnight. The UK operators are available Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm (0043 699 1729 4433) and German speaking representatives can be reached on the same line, Monday-Friday from 7am-3pm.

In addition to the telephone lines, customers can also contact customer service representatives through an online contact form. They then receive an email which helps record the conversation between the two parties.

Having three languages and the ability to liaise with employees over the telephone has to be viewed as a positive, as an increasing number of newer betting companies are making their services ‘online only’.

Payment Types

There are several different payment methods customers can use to fund their Goalbet bookmaker account:

• Ukash
• Skrill
• Neteller
• Paysafecard
• Mastercard
• Visa

Having a choice of e-wallets is useful as this is an increasingly popular way for customers to fund accounts.

Overall

The football odds on Goalbet bookmaker really are a hidden gem and should entice bettors to use the website. Books as low of 102% are generally unheard of and provide customers with great value. The odds on the other sports could be brought a bit more into line with the football, as especially with handball, they are uncompetitive. Customer service is solid and there are plenty of avenues through which customers can fund their accounts. Goalbet could definitely improve by adding a few more sports such as American football and horse racing, but overall their operation seems professional and reputable and they are recommended.