Sport Nation Bookmaker Review

Multiple Welcome Bonuses

With so much going on at Sport Nation, it wouldn’t be surprising if they shied away from a welcome bonus. After all, this would only add to the vast number of inquiries from customers over sports, casino and virtual games. However, the good news is that Sport Nation isn’t fazed by this. Instead, you’ll indeed receive a welcome bonus – and quite a hefty one at that.

The welcome bonus at Sport Nation is refreshed and update regularly, but tends to follow a formulaic pattern. Usually, you can expect to receive a big deposit bonus on your first ever deposit at the site.

It’s not exactly free cash, as a number of terms and conditions apply. This includes meeting certain wagering requirements, which can be quite taxing; sometimes in the region of 60x your initial deposit, depending on what type of game you play.

All Types of Players Can Benefit

Because the website offers a wide range of gambling options, it does also offer multiple welcome bonuses. One fixed offer rarely works across both sports betting and casino, so it’s good to see the team have come up with more than one offer. It means all types of players can benefit when signing up.

On the one hand, you may not be overjoyed at the loopholes you need to jump through to unlock the bonus. But, in the defense of Sport Nation, the terms are very clearly displayed on the offers page.

You don’t need to trawl through hidden terms and conditions

You don’t need to trawl through hidden terms and conditions or navigate through a tricky site. Everything you need is right there, up front. It’s an honest approach which we appreciate, and this kind of transparency is always a good sign.

Whilst turning your deposit bonus into withdrawable cash might be a stretch for most punters, it does offer a good route to familiarising yourself with the site itself. Just make sure you know whether your bonus is for sports betting or casino, before taking the plunge.

What Sports Are Available?

Even first-time punters will find it relatively easy to navigate the site here. At the top of the page you’ll notice six tabs: ‘Sports’, ‘In-Play’, ‘Casino’, ‘Live Casino’, ‘Virtuals’ and ‘Rewards’. We like the fact that ‘Sports’ and ‘In-Play’ in particular are broken up. It’s frustrating when you want to quickly place a bet as the action is unfolding live, so this is a smart time-saver that seasoned bettors will appreciate.

Once you click on ‘Sport’ you’ll see a long list of different sports that the site covers. The familiar US favourites occupy most of the top spots – think American football, baseball and NBA – but there’s a rich list of other sports to compliment them, too. British football – or soccer – sits alongside cricket, golf, tennis, boxing and more.

The site even offers punters the chance to back some more obscure forms of betting. The E-Sports section gives live odds on gamers playing the likes of Counter-Strike, Rainbow Six and Kings of Glory. Trotting, floorball and bandy make up some of the other less common sports, which is great news for players who like a niche wager.

Basketball

Cricket

Boxing

Football

Floorball

Golf

Handball

Tennis

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Hundreds of Markets

There are hundreds of markets available within each individual game, for the more popular sports. A typical Premier League game will feature around 130 different betting markets.

These will range from the basics – first goal scorer, full time result, winning margin – to some more specific markets, such as outright up to 70th minute, and team to miss a penalty. It’s a varied mix which keeps things exciting.

The in-play section is decent as well. A graphic at the top of the page is certainly what we would describe as above average. Most sports betting sites now include basic graphics to indicate how the match is going, such as an arrow showing the direction of attack at any given moment. Here, the graphics are lush and fairly in-depth text updates assist the images to make it feel like you’re really up-to-date.

There are also various graphs which show which team has been in control for the majority of the game, which is a good snapshot to give you an overall feel for the game.

What’s Mobile Gaming Like Here?

The bad news is that there’s no app available. For a lot of players, having a mobile app is an essential component of mobile sports betting. It lets you jump right into the heart of the action in one tap. This is particularly important in the modern age, where in-play betting is becoming more and more common. The act of firing up the website URL on your mobile or tablet may only cost you a few additional seconds, but sometimes that can be enough to make the difference.

Grid Format

If you’re not too fussed about using an app, then you’ll probably be quite happy with the mobile site at Sport Nation. The layout is essentially the same on desktop and mobile, though the sizes of the assets has been manipulated a little to make things easier to navigate. With so many sports available it would be a nightmare if the two sites were like-for-like, so it’s refreshing to see that the team have made an effort to keep things smooth with smaller buttons and a tweaked menu.

One key difference between desktop and mobile is how the sports are laid out. On the desktop, there’s a long list of text down the left-hand side. Whilst this works perfectly well on a monitor, it would be a hassle on mobile. Instead, Sport Nation displays all games in a grid format, which makes it easier to tap and flick your way between games. It’s a small thing, but it certainly adds to the experience – especially in lieu of a betting app.

the mobile experience here is a pleasant one

Overall, the mobile experience here is a pleasant one, as long as you can live without the app. Because you only need to enter the URL to access the mobile-optimised site, it will work on the majority of devices including Apple, Android and Windows.

Is it Easy to Deposit and Withdraw?

Considering how many sports and casino options there are at Sport Nation, you would think they’d have a huge list of deposit methods to match. Unusually, this is not the case.

Players can deposit using Visa, MasterCard or Trustly. All deposits are instant, which is pretty much the norm nowadays. What people really want to know about is the withdrawal times.

If you’re lucky enough to back a few winners and want to cash out, the first thing you should note is that all withdrawals must be made using the same method you used to deposit. So, if you make an investment using Trustly and want to cash out, you won’t then be able to withdraw to your credit card – even if you provide ID to prove you are who you say you are.

No Hidden Fees

When making a deposit, there are no hidden fees. The minimum withdrawal is in-line with the industry standard, and the maximum deposit is fairly generous. High rollers will be happy to see they can inject funds amounting to five figures without too many eyebrows being raised.

If you want to cash out, you can do so by logging in and heading to the cashier. It’s a straightforward process, and once you’ve done your bit the team should review your request within 48 hours. After this, it could take another 3-5 days for your bank to process the withdrawal. Overall, you can expect to wait one working week to receive your funds, on average.

Cashing out does not incur a fee and the minimum withdrawal, whilst not tiny, will not be prohibitive for most players. We personally like it when the minimum withdrawal is more akin to the price of a cheap lunch, but the majority of players will be at ease with the figures here.

Which Countries Are Restricted? Which Currencies Are Supported?

As with a lot of sites, the default language here is English. This serves the customer base well, considering the top sports here are primarily based in the US and the UK. This is the only language that the site is currently offered in.

It might be nice to see a few more languages added over time, but most players will be more than happy with the communication already available.

US Players Not Permitted

It’s a similar case when it comes to currencies. Sport Nation holds a full license from the UK Gambling Commission, so it’s no surprise to see that they operate using GBP.

With relatively few deposit methods available, this keeps things simple and allows the operator to create plenty of promotional offers in one fixed currency. Creating the same special offer across multiple currencies creates a lot of extra legwork and can lead to complications. If a sports betting site is able to get away with only offering one currency, it makes sense to do so.

Unfortunately, players from the US are not allowed to play at Sport Nation, which is a shame considering the wide range of American sports on offer here. Non-native English speakers may also struggle here due to the lack of alternative languages, and players from the Ukraine, Macau and Turkey will also run into a barrier when trying to access the site.

How Safe Is Sport Nation?

One of the most important things to take into consideration at any bookmaker or casino is safety. There are lots of errant sites out there just waiting to trick customers into handing over sensitive details in order to commit fraud, so always keep your wits about you.

A logical way to do this it to ensure the site has obtained a gambling license. Sport Nation has acquired a license from the UK Gambling Commission. This is one of the most sought-after licenses around, meaning you can have faith that the site is a trustworthy one.

Visa and Mastercard make up two of only three deposit methods available here

This is particularly important given that Visa and Mastercard make up two of only three deposit methods available here. Fortunately, this shouldn’t matter, as the site seems entirely safe and above board.

Transparent About Response Times

To get in touch with support, first click on the ‘Help’ tab on the top menu, then ‘Contact Us’. This will bring you to a page which offers you two different ways to get in touch, both of which are online. You can either enter a live chat, which is available until 10pm each night, or you can fire off an email to the helpdesk.

One thing that helps Sport Nation stand out is the fact that they include an average response time here to give you an idea of how long you’ll have to wait. The email responses could clearly do with a bit more speed – the average response time can be as high as 48 hours – but we love the fact that they’re so transparent about this, just as they are with their welcome bonus.

If there’s one thing everyone would agree on at Sport Nation, it’s that they are an honest and open bookies. You won’t be stung with hidden charges, lengthy delays or any other unwanted surprises. In that sense, it’s one of the safest and most trustworthy online betting sites around.

Our Verdict

Having reviewed Sport Nation in some depth, we have to say that the overall experience here is definitely one to remember. It’s rare to come across a sports betting site which is as open and honest about everything, even when it risks jeopardising their appeal.

We’d like to see a mobile app added as this could be a deal breaker for many players. And it wouldn’t hurt to add a few more deposit and withdrawal methods.

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