About Pokerstars Sports – FKA Betstars

Anyone who knows anything about online gambling would be familiar with the brand that is PokerStars, one of the biggest and best online poker sites in the world. Nearing the end of 2015, PokerStars launched its sister company, a sports betting company initially known as Betstars but rebranded to Pokerstars Sports. As you may well understand, being a major part of the PokerStars branding, this is a fantastic sportsbook. Betstars has already been able to earn some top industry awards, being lauded for its ‘Innovation in Sports Betting’ among other successes. Pokerstars Sports is a betting site that is getting bigger and better all the time. It is definitely set to be one of the best in the industry. In this Betstars review, we’ll take a look at what it is that is set to get this star shining so brightly in an already crowded night sky.

Market Offering

There are a huge number of betting markets to choose from when you hit the Pokerstars Sports site. The minute you enter the homepage, you’ll be greeted by a wide number of games and matches on which you are able to place your wagers. The sports vary from the very obvious, like football – which offers around 100 different betting options on thousands of markets, all the way through to floorball. In fact, when it comes to football betting, it ranks as one of the highest among many of its competitors. You can bet on most top leagues, cups and championships around the globe. The sports Pokerstars Sports focuses its attentions on are:

On top of this decent selection, there are also certain eSports games and tournaments to bet on like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends. Furthermore, you can vote on US and UK politics, regarding the number of seats won by different parties and the next Conservative leader; you can also bet on TV events as well – such as the winner of Dancing on Ice or the Sports Personality of the Year.

In-Play Betting

The amount of games and matches you are able to bet on in-play is very impressive. There are lots of options presented to you that allow you to place different types of in-play bets, such as next goal scorer etc. It covers many sports such as football, tennis, snooker, basketball and badminton.

The information available with regards to the statistics as the games and matches are in play is great. There is a running commentary on the ball in play, where it is, if it’s in a dangerous position or if a foul has been committed. This assists you a lot to understand what is happening in the match play. However, there is a clear lack of live-streamed games which is a bit of a shame. Pokerstars Sports believe that it is up to the punter to be aware of the game progression, scores and time left and that they hold no liability if any live score update is late or incorrect.

Because of this, it also allows itself to implement a delay to any bets you place if it believes that you have a more up to date stream or faster internet connection.

Odds

The odds available at Pokertstars Sports, especially when taking into consideration the big football matches in the Premier League are pretty competitive. In certain games, they are even better than some of the bigger and more established online bookmakers. Having said that, in order to make up for some of these more competitive odds, it seemed that Pokerstars Sports odds for underdogs are somewhat lower than its competitors. So, based on that, for favourites and top football matches, this is a great site, but if you are thinking about trying for a long-shot bet, maybe this isn’t the best around.

However, underdogs aside, it does offer highly impressive price boosts and enhanced odds. In fact, one of the offers is ‘odds boost’ trebles and more on some of the sports. This gives its punters the ability to improve their odds by as much as 10-times using the ‘Spin and Bet’.

Bonuses & Offers

Welcome Bonus

To welcome you to the Pokerstars Sports family, it is currently offering a sign-up bonus of awarding you with a £5 free bet when you place your first bet. It is pretty decent compared to your average welcome bonus. Simply make your bet at odds of 2.0 or higher on any sports or market and Pokerstars Sports will give you a free bet matching the value of your first bet up to £5. It will credit the bonus into your account in just 36 hours or less.

There are terms attached. Of course, it needs to be minimum odds of 2.0. As well as this, it isn’t valid for customers using Neteller or Skrill to make their bets. Furthermore, you can’t use the bet on the ‘Spin and Bet’ feature and any unused bonus will expire in 7 days.

Europa League 80 Minute Offer

If you place a Match Result bet on any Premier League, Champions League or Europa League match and a goal scored after the 80^th minute turns your bet into a losing bet (excluding Extra Time goals and Penalty goals) then you’ll get your entire stake refunded as a free bet (up to £20). It only applies to bets placed on odds of ½ or greater; it also comes with standard bonus terms and conditions.

Up to 100% on Accas

Tennis: If you place a treble or higher on a tennis match and it wins, then Pokerstars Sports will boost your win by up to 100% to as much as £100,000. Trebles will earn a 5% boost and this percentage increases all the way to an 18-fold accumulator which will see you get a 100% boost. It has attached certain terms, such as minimum odds of 2/5 on all legs. System bets like Yankees don’t count; it only applies to Match Betting, Set Result, Set Betting, Total Games and Handicap Total Games bets.

Football: There is a very similar promotion in football as well, although the 100% boost is earned when you make a 14-fold acca. As with the tennis 100% acca boost, there are terms attached. All legs must be at odds of ½ or higher; they are also one for the following bet types: Match Result, Both Teams to Score, Over/Under bets, Correct Score, Half Time/Full Time, and Handicap Match Result. Again, system bets like Yankees don’t count.

Others

Pokerstars Sports offers lots of other lifetime bonuses and promotions, depending on the events that are on offer. There are currently Cheltenham promotions, Valspar Championships Best Odds Guarantee and more. Be sure to check out all the current promotions as this is one area that Pokerstars Sports excel in. When it comes to sportsbetting promotions, this bookmaker is in a league of its own.

Security and Regulations

As part of such a globally recognised brand, the security standards and regulations adhered to by Pokerstars Sports is of a very high standard. It currently holds its licenses with the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission; this means that it is totally regulated and safe to play within the United Kingdom. As further evidence of its trustworthiness, it has also become the first international sports betting operator to get a license to trade within the Czech Republic.

As well as these top certificates, it is now a member of the IGC (Interactive Gaming Council) which is a body that was established to maintain fair and responsible trade guidelines, with the idea of improving confidence in the online gambling industry. On top of this, the Pokerstars Sports shuffle has its Random Number Generator tested extensively and frequently by outside parties to make sure that it is totally and completely fair and random. Furthermore, Gaming Labs has certified the site so everything on the site has been tested by third parties and declared fair and honest. The site has also employed SSL encryption technology to ensure the protection and safety of both your personal and financial data so you can rest assured that they are looking after you and your money.

Banking Options

Pokerstars Sports offers a very decent amount of options with which you can deposit and withdraw your money. All the transactions are fully protected and secure. You have the option of the following deposit and withdrawal methods:

All methods process your deposits immediately, so you don’t have to wait to place your bets. Also, there are no fees attached to any depositing method, so this is definitely a bonus. There is a minimum £10 deposit on any method of payment, but there is no maximum attached.

Depending on the method used, the withdrawal times differ quite extensively. If you choose to withdraw via your Visa card then it can take up to 72 hours; if you use an eWallet it generally takes less than 24 hours. However, if you decide to withdraw via Bank Transfer or Wire Transfer then it generally takes between 2-5 days; having said that, it can take up to 8 working days.

In terms of withdrawal limitations, this varies very much on the method chosen:

Visa has a minimum withdrawal of £10 and a maximum of £6,500
Neteller has a minimum of £1 and a maximum of £50,000
Skrill has a minimum of £0.01 and a maximum of £50,000
PayPal has a minimum of £1 and a maximum of £10,000
Bank and Wire transfers have no limitations set.
The currencies that you can use on the site currently are GBP, USD and EUR.

Customer Service

The Pokerstars Sports Customer Support team is pretty decent. However, it doesn’t have a whole lot of methods in which you can contact them. They have 2 ways that you can reach them – email or an online contact form. The email address, [email protected] is a good way of contacting them as the answers are very comprehensive and helpful, although obviously this isn’t immediate assistance and can take up to 24 hours. This is great for an in-depth reply but not so much for an urgent query.

The contact form is available 24 hours a day and is available in a variety of languages. Unfortunately, there is currently no live chat or a direct contact number; this can be frustrating if you have an urgent query and need to speak to someone directly.

The FAQ section of the site is great though; in some ways, this makes up for the lack of immediate customer support. The FAQs are full and very robust; this allows you to find answers to many queries straight away, with no need to contact the support. In total there are 12 different sections and so it’s easy for you to locate the answers to most queries.

User Experience

Pokerstars Sports betting site looks great. The backdrop looks decent, with an image of a football pitch under the bright glare of the floodlights. Not only does it look good, but it’s also really easy to find your way around. At the very top of the homepage, you can locate the links to the most popular sports on offer: Football, Tennis, Horse Racing Darts and more. Then there’s also a full index of all the sports on offer if you are looking for something a little different.

On top of this, you can also use the search function so you should be able to locate everything quickly and simply. The link to the promotions is also easy to get to; this leads you to the whole host of current promos available. You can also easily fond all of the highlighted and popular games on which to bet on quickly and easily.

As an extra, Pokerstars Sports have even added a guide to sports betting to assist those who are new to it and need some assistance, which makes it even better for newbies. It helps you to understand different bet types, how odds work and more if you aren’t sure what to do.

Mobile Experience

Despite that fact that this is one of the newer online bookmakers on the scene, it has definitely made every effort to deliver a great mobile product. Pokerstars Sports has pushed its mobile betting app a lot and it seems that Pokerstars Sports intends to gather a host of mobile players. The mobile interface is very easy to navigate, for sure. However, it is also a little simplistic in its design, which is hopefully something Pokerstars sports will work on. There are also lots of products and markets available on the mobile site. However, this leaves the slight issue that at times it can run a little slower than the desktop version. On the whole, this generally isn’t a great problem although it may cause issues with live play betting.

This is a very decent app, with lots to commend it and with a few tweaks, it will be even better.