Grosvenor Sport Review:

Grosvenor is a long-established name in the world of offline gambling. Since first opening its doors in 1970, the company has grown to 55  bricks-and-mortar casinos nationwide, with some 6,000 staff on the payroll and an estimated 8.5 million customers. No surprise, then, that it is regarded as a trusted, legitimate operator – more than 45 years of experience and millions of satisfied customers tell their own story.

Despite its youth, its online betting offering is very strong, and a rival for the biggest names in the industry. While this isn’t the focal point of Grosvenor’s business, they still do a good job with the range of markets, promotions and odds available – especially if you’re betting on football. Grosvenor sportsbook may be relatively new to the market, but with the Grosvenor name and expertise behind it, you can be sure of a classy experience. For the nust and bolts of their bookmaking operation read our in-depth Grosvenor Sports review below.

Grosvenor is no stranger to licensing, being subject to the licensing conditions set out by the UK Gambling Commission for a number of years. It’s impossible to run dozens of land-based casinos without doing something right, and this is a track record that speaks volumes to the trustworthiness of the Grosvenor brand. The sportsbook is also licensed by the Gambling Commission (as well as the Alderney Gambling Control Commission a very credible licensing authority), so if there was any doubt, you know there’s a credible third party overseeing their every move.

Grosvenor has been recognised by the industry numerous times since the company was set up in 1970 – mostly for its casinos, rather than its sportsbook. Awards like ‘Casino Operator of the Year’ 2013 are among the highlights so far. The sportsbook is, of course, a much more recent addition to the lineup, but given the quality of the experience, and the reputation of the Grosvenor brand, it surely won’t be too long before they’re picking up awards for sports betting to add to the collection.

Owned and run now by the Rank Group, which also operates the Mecca Bingo brands, Grosvenor offers a safe and secure betting experience for UK bettors.

Deposits can be made via all of the usual methods, but the options for withdrawals are slightly more limited, with only Maestro and MasterCard supported. It’s probably a good idea to check you have the means to get your money off the site when needed. You certainly don’t want to find yourself in a position where you’re unable to withdraw your winnings.

Grosvenor doesn’t offer an app at the moment. However, you can still enjoy the platform from your mobile device’s browser, logging in through your usual account as if you were gambling on the desktop version of their site.

That means you can expect an identical experience if you’re on an iPhone, an iPad, an Android device like the Samsung Galaxy S7, or virtually any other smartphone device.

The lack of an app is a bit of a bummer, to be honest. Mobile responsive sites are fine but they don’t offer that instant experience that apps do. Still, like much of the Grosvenor betting product, things are still in their early stage. We’re happy with the look and performance of the mobile site. It doesn’t feel “second-best” to the desktop site at all. In many ways it’s a more pleasurable experience.

If there was an element of the Grosvenor Sports platform that could do with some work, it would be their free bets and betting offers. Grosvenor aren’t as gimmicky as some other operators, and they tend to focus on the prestige and reputation they’ve built up, rather than on clever marketing. Their main offer is a double the odds opening offer to new bettors. Basically, on your first bet click the virtual betting slip and whatever odds are showing will be doubled, meaning you can win potentially double your wagered amount. This is a nice promotion offer but its hampered by a maximum bet of £10.

You can also get a 100% match deposit bonus on your first deposit, worth up to £20, but this bonus can only be used on the casino side, not much good for people who just want to punt. There’s a 5x wagering requirement and no ‘evens’ bets are allowed.

At the time of writing, there were no specific promotions for the sports betting side running, but these are expected to be offered in the near future. However, Grosvenor does make up for this lack of ongoing promotions by offering more competitive odds on a huge range of sporting events and markets, so to a certain extent, it’s swings and roundabouts.

Powered by Kambi there’s an impressive selection of markets here, across virtually all of the major sports you’d want to bet on. Within football, as an example, you can bet on everything from Premier League and Champions League fixtures, through to the Azerbaijani lower leagues. 

The website itself looks really smart, with the main betting console standing out well against a muted backdrop of grey, black and blue. In its favor it alsom looks a lot less cluttered than some of the other betting sites out there (yes that includes you William Hill). Unlike the other betting sites we’ve reviewed, Grosvenor really presents betting as a product within its casino site, but at least it’s easy to jump between Grosvenor products using the tabs at the top of the screen.

Grosvenor has pulled out all the stops with their range of sports available to bet on. There’s somewhere close to 40, including non-sports markets, to choose from. Basketball, ice hockey and rugby offerings are especially comprehensive, with thousands of global markets on offer. 

With Kambi growing all the time and its volumes increasing, the odds available are competitive and getting better all the time. This is the case whether you’re betting on basketball, baseball or ice hockey. And with so many fixtures covered, each with multiple markets available, there’s enough choice to satisfy even the pickiest punter.

The selection of in-play events is decent enough, and you’ll still be able to bet on most fixtures once the action is underway. There isn’t any streaming at present, so you won’t be able to watch the games unfold – a minus for us. However, it’s possible to keep track of match stats and other data points as the game progresses, and you can watch the action update in real-time.

There were seven events available for in-play betting at the time of writing, which isn’t bad, but hardly compares to the dozens on offer over at Paddy Power Sports at the same time.

We’ve seen better in-play features, but this is surely a reflection of their recent entry into the market, rather than a substantive failing. It’s all very classily presented, like the rest of the site, but lacks any real visual flair. Hopefully, this is an area that Grosvenor’s capable design team continue to improve.