Sportsbet is one of Australia’s largest online and phone betting bookmakers. Its founder, Michael Tripp, was smart enough to anticipate a boom in online and phone betting when he founded the company in 2007.
He quickly developed sophisticated technology that would streamline the betting process and automate it to make placing bets as simple as possible. He also pioneered innovative marketing techniques like money-back specials and “justice payouts” where bettors were refunded in the wake of extreme unlucky circumstances. These strategies helped Sportsbet to grow into the giant that it is today.
The sportsbook’s odds are calculated by odds compilers who weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of each team, and then set their prices accordingly. They do this by looking at a number of different factors, including how the teams have performed in previous matches, head-to-head results, and other handicapping factors. The odds you see on the screen will be based on the most recent calculations by the odds compilers, but they can change over time. That’s why it’s important to check out the ‘Open’ and ‘Actual’ columns on each bet slip to see how much a line has moved since it opened. You can also find detailed line movement stats for each game by clicking the icon.
In the ‘Open’ column towards the left, you will see the odds that were available when a market opened. In the ‘Actual’ column on the right, you will see how those odds have changed over time. The difference between the two numbers indicates how much a particular team has been backed or pushed by bettors. The higher the number, the more bettors have backed a certain outcome. You can use this information to identify the best value bets and avoid betting on teams with low support.
Another great feature of sportsbet is their Bet with Mates feature. This allows you to create a group with your friends, pool your funds, and place bets together on any Racing or Sports market. Each mate can choose their own Buy-In amount and then can bet on any market at any time. The organiser of the group can track their mates’ activity and performance on the group homepage, which also features emoji reactions.
The downside to Sportsbet is that their odds are often less competitive than other bookmakers. While they offer plenty of extras like their Same Game/Race Multi Builder function, race insights, tips and live streaming, they don’t always match or beat their competition when it comes to price. In fact, we’ve found that sites like Neds and Unibet offer better odds and have more horse races to select from.
They also deduct more from winning bets than their competitors, even though they display a schedule of deductions on the website (which they describe as a “guide”). It’s this policy that makes us recommend betting with Neds instead – they are incredibly competitive and also have a great range of extra features like race insights, speed maps and a Blackbook.